The hadith library
The authors
Meet six major figures in hadith transmission: their lives, their works and their place in the library.
206–261 AH
Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj
مسلم بن الحجاج النيسابوري
Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj was a scholar from Nishapur. He travelled through Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Egypt to study hadith. He met al-Bukhari and paid close attention to the precise wording of transmitted reports.
His collection
Sahih Muslim records traditions with particular attention to wording variants and chains of transmission. Together with Sahih al-Bukhari, it forms the pair known as the Sahihayn.
Read the collection →202–275 AH
Abū Dāwūd
سليمان بن الأشعث السجستاني
Sulaymān ibn al-Ashʿath, known as Abu Dawud, came from Sijistan. He studied with Ahmad ibn Hanbal. His travels and research brought together the study of hadith and Islamic law.
His collection
Sunan Abi Dawud is mainly arranged around religious practice and law. It belongs to the six hadith books widely studied in Sunni tradition.
Read the collection →209–279 AH
At-Tirmidhī
محمد بن عيسى الترمذي
Abū ʿĪsā Muhammad ibn ʿĪsā at-Tirmidhī devoted himself to studying and transmitting hadith. Al-Bukhari was among his teachers, and he travelled to meet scholars of his time.
His collection
Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi brings together traditions on many aspects of religious life. It is one of the six major collections in Sunni tradition.
Read the collection →214–303 AH
An-Nasāʾī
أحمد بن شعيب النسائي
Ahmad ibn Shuʿayb an-Nasa’i was born in Nasa, in Khurasan. He travelled in search of knowledge before settling in Egypt, where he taught hadith to many students.
His collection
Sunan an-Nasa’i, also known as Al-Mujtaba, belongs to the six major hadith collections. It is arranged in thematic books.
Read the collection →209–273 AH
Ibn Mājah
محمد بن يزيد القزويني
Muhammad ibn Yazīd Ibn Majah came from Qazvin. After studying in his hometown, he travelled to Iraq, the Hijaz, Egypt and Syria to learn from hadith scholars.
His collection
Sunan Ibn Majah deals mainly with law and religious practice, alongside belief and ethics. It completes the traditional set of six major collections.