The two most authentic books of Hadeeth

- ●◄ ►● - "Pub
lished by, M NajimudeeN Bsc - INDIA|®|- - - - * - Translator::
http://translate.google.com/m/ - ●◄ ►● - > Saheeh Al-Bukhaari:
Of all the works of Hadeeth, Saheeh Al-Bukhaari and Saheeh Muslim are
regarded as the most authentic and authoritative books, after
Al-Quran. Indeed the very word "Saheeh" means"authentic". Saheeh
Al-Bukhaari was compiled by Imaam (leader) of Hadeeth, Mohammad Ibn
Ismaa'eel Al-Bukhaari, born 194H in Bukhaara, central Asia . He
traveled at an early age seeking knowledge to Hijaaz (Makkaah and
Madeenah), Ancient Syria, Iraq Egypt etc. He devoted more than 16
years of his life to the actual compilation of this work. He learnt
from more than 1000 scholars. It is said that Imaam Al-Bukhaari
collected over 300,000 Hadeeths and he himself memorized 200,000 of
which some were unreliable. He wrote many books especiallyon the
bibliography of Hadeeth narrators and other books on various issues of
Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). However, his book 'Saheeh Al-Bukhaari',
standsout for being the most authentic book of Hadeeth. It was also
the first book to contain only authentic Hadeeths, while previous
books contained authentic and non-authentic Hadeeths, as well as
sayings of the companions and others. Imaam Al-Bukhaari died in his
hometown, Bukhaara in the territory of Khurasaan ) West Turkistan ),
in the year 256H.
He grouped the traditions of the Prophet under various headings
dealing with specific points of Islamic jurisprudence. In his time,
the schools of law had been generally established and his objective
was to catalogue the traditions he regarded as authentic in relation
to their respective topics of jurisprudence.
Before he recorded each Hadeeth,he would perform ablution and offer a
two-Rak'ah prayer and supplicate to Allaah. Many religious scholars of
Islam tried to find fault in the great remarkable collection, but
without success. It is for this reason, they unanimously agreed that
the most authentic book after the Book of Allaah is SaheehAl-Bukhaari.
Some facts about Saheeh Al-Bukhaari:
1. It contains 7,275 Hadeeths, which he chose from the large number of
Hadeeths that he had collected.
2. The number of complete unrepeated Hadeeths is 2230.
3. All the Hadeeths mentioned areauthentic.
4. The conditions for accepting a Hadeeth were very stringent. Such as:
a) The chain of narrators must belinked, i.e. every narrator must have
met his predecessor, (the man of whom he heard the Hadeeth from, up to
the Prophet .)
b) For it to be enclosed in the Saheeh, the narrators must be of the
highest caliber regarding their piety, manners, memory, integrity,
etc.
5. The book is not a mere book ofnarrations; it is essentially a
course of study on Hadeeth, its derivatives, inductions and research.
6. Each one of its 97 chapters is headed by a relevant verse from the
Quran that complements the meaning of the Hadeeths quoted.
7. Finally, much more could be said about this monumental work,
however, it is enough to say that many people have reached fame and
achieved the highest qualifications by studyingthe book, researching
it and commenting on it.
Saheeh Muslim:
Saheeh Muslim is the second most authentic book of Hadeeth after
Saheeh Al-Bukhaari, compiled by Imaam Muslim ibn Al-Hajaaj Al-Nisapuri
. Born in202H and died in 261 H. He traveled widely to gather his
collection of Hadeeth to Iraq Hijaaz, Ancient Syria, and Egypt . He
learnt from many scholars, most of which were Al-Bukhaari's teachers.
He also learnt from the Imaam Al-Bukhaari himself and became his most
loyal student. Like Imaam Al-Bukhaari, Allaah have mercy upon him, he,
Allaah have mercy upon him, wrote many books on the sciences of
Hadeeth.
He, Allaah have mercy upon him, sought not so much to complement the
issues at stake in the fiqh , the lslamic jurisprudence, but rather to
produce a collection of sound traditions, an authentic record, on
which future studies of Hadeeth could be based.
Some facts about Saheeh Muslim:
1. The book contains 4000 non-repeated Hadeeths and 12000 repeated ones.
2. Many narrations are mentionedin Saheeh Al-Bukhaari, but with
different chain of narrators.
3. In every chapter more than oneHadeeth with the same meaning but
with different chains and textare listed. The first Hadeeth in each
chapter is the strongest, followed by weaker narrations in order to
strengthen weaker narrations.
4. Excellent classification.
5. The book is forwarded by a detailed introduction about the basis of
the sciences of Hadeeth.
Saheeh Al-Bukhaari is preferred over Saheeh Muslim based on the
authenticity of the Hadeeths. Imaam Al-Bukhaari was more strict in
selecting Hadeeths (chains) than Imaam Muslim . Besides considering
all the conditions of a Saheeh Hadeeth, Imaam Al-Bukhaari stipulated a
further condition that a narrator should meet the person from whom he
is narrating the Hadeeth.
Imaam Muslim however, did not stipulate the evidence of meeting the
narrator from whomhe is narrating, but according to him, it is
sufficient to accept the Hadeeth of a narrator if he lives inthe same
period and there was the possibility of meeting the narrator from whom
he is reporting the Hadeeth. So, the condition of Imaam Muslim was
less strict than the conditionof Imaam Al-Bukhaari .
While Bukhaari's compilation is considered the more reliable of the
two, Muslim's arrangement of his material has been recognised as
superior, and rightly so. While Al-Bukhaari made the traditions in his
collection testify to his own schedule of various points of law,Muslim
left them to speak for themselves.