Authentic hadith books.

[Innocent Soul]

Assalamualikum

I wanted to know what are the most authentic books of hadith . I came know only four. They are:
1.Sahih Al-Bukhari
2.Sahih Muslim
3.Sunan Abu-Dawud
4.Malik's Muwatta

But I heard that there are five or sometimes six :heated:. What about Tirmidhi?

If there is already a thread on this topic please post the link.

[Innocent Soul]

:bump:

:bump1::bump1::bump1::bump1:

[Innocent Soul]

:bump1:

:raging: This is too much. This is such an important topic. Hadith is one of the the two things which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said us to hold firmly :ermm:. Atleast tell me that how many authentic hadith books you know.

[Abu Zainab]

There are six of them. Imam Malik's Muwatta is completely authentic but is not considered among them because its not just a hadeeth book but also a book of ahkaams and fatawaa.

The six books are:

1. Bukhari
2. Muslim
3. Musnad Ahmad
4. An-nisaee
5. Abi Dawood
6. At-Tirmidhi

The first two are 100% authentic according to the majority of the ulema. The rest of the four are mostly authentic. But some ahaadeeth may contain some weakness due to their chains of narrations.

Any qualified muhaddith with a sound knowledge of the science of hadeeth can classify those ahaadeeth according to their strength.

If you find any hadeeth from Bukhari, Muslim or Muwatta you can take it without checking for any authentication.

But there is one point to note here. Always consult an Aa'lim when you are looking for a fatwa. But for the purpose of increasing your eemaan and knowledge you can definitely benefit from reading the ahaadeeth directly.

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[abdussattar]

actually, the Sah-sitta in order are

1)Bukari
2)Muslim
3)Tirmidhi
4)Nasaai
5)Abu-Dawood
6)Ibn-e-Majah

Musnad Ahmed does not come under sah sitta.


I can explain to you the terminologies of hadith classification like marfoo, mawkhoof, maqtoo, musnad, mursal, saheeh,hasan, zaeef, etc etc etc if you want but im a bit busy for the time being.

[Abu Zainab]

^ Thanx for the correction brother. Jazakallaah Khair. When you have the time we would love to know all about the different classifications.

[abdussattar]

Marfoo:-A hadith which reaches the prophet (S.A.W.S) in a chain of narrations.(also known as Musnad)
Mawkhoof:-A hadith which reaches a sahabi in a chain of narrations.(also known as mursal)
Maqtool:- A hadith which breaks between the chain of narrations.

Basis for determining authenticity of Ahadeeth
1)The person from whom the hadeeth is being collected should be Just.
2) The person from whom the hadeeth is being collected should have a strong memory power.
3)The person from whom the hadeeth is being collected should not me a sinner of gunah-e- kabeera
4)The chain should be authentic(Marfoo or Mawkhoof)
5)Should be clear and lucid.(This one is a base because ahadeeth are Explanation of Allah's orders. and Explanations do not require further clarification)
6)Should have several witnesses

Based on these, there are three types of ahadeeth:-

1)Saheeh:-Any hadeeth which satisfies all the above conditions is classified as Saheeh
2) Hasan:- Any hadeeth which satisfied all above except the second condition, memory
3) Za3eef A hadeeth which misses any of the above except memory

Based on number of witnesses:
1)Hadeeth-e-Mutawatir:-A hadeeth for which there are several witnesses in all eras
2)Khabr-e-wahid:-A hadeeth for which there are 1-5 witnesses
3)Mawzoo:-Fabricated hadith.

[mrashidhai]

The six most authentic and distinguished books of ahadith that are taught and learned in Islamic Studies are:
i) 1- Sahih al-Bukhari
ii) 2- Sahih Muslim
iii) 3- Jama’i at-Tirmidhi
iv) 4- Sunan Abu Dawood
v) 5- Sunan Nasa’ii
vi) 6- Sunan ibn Majah



Some of the scholar are of the opinion that the sixth book should have been Imam Malik’s al-Mawattaa insteadtead of Sunan ibn Majah. Also some scholars are of the opinion that the Sunan Al-Darimi should have been included amongst the top authentic hadith books.