Sahihayn

Priority: c, Quality: c
From wikishia
Most Important Hadith Books
Shia
(The Four Books)
Al-Kafi • Man la yahduruh al-faqih • Tahdhib al-ahkam • Al-Istibsar
Sunni
(The Authentic Six)
Sahih al-Bukhari • Sahih Muslim • Sunan Abu Dawud • Sunan Ibn Maja • Jami' al-Tirmidhi • Al-Sunan al-sughra






Ṣaḥīḥayn (literally: two authentic things) (Arabic: صَحیحَیْن) refers to two books of hadiths, Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, which are deemed the most authentic sources of hadiths by Sunni Muslims. Sunni scholars believe that the two books are the most authentic books after the Qur'an. Sahihayn and four other books of hadiths constitute “Sihah Sitta” (The Six Sahihs); that is, the six authentic books of hadiths for Sunni Muslims.

In Sahihayn, there are hadiths concerning the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (a). Nevertheless, Shias have expressed objections against the two books, including transmission of hadiths from unreliable transmitters who were hostile toward Ahl al-Bayt (a), insufficient treatment of the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (a), citation of very few hadiths from Ahl al-Bayt (a), and transmission of hadiths that are incompatible with reason and religion.

Terminology

“Sahih” is a book of hadiths in which the author only cites hadiths that he believes are authentic and sound with respect to their chains of transmission.[1] The term “Sahihayn” refers to two books: Sahih al-Bukhari' and Sahih Muslim. Sunni scholars hold that the two books are the most authentic books of hadith.[2] Along with four other collections of hadiths, they are known as “Sihah Sitta” (The Six Sahihs).[3]

The term “Sahihayn” also refers to books in which Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Bukhari are collected in one work, such as the book Jam' bayn al-Sahihyan by Farra' al-Baghawi.[4]

Sahih al-Bukhari

Sahih-al-bukhari
Main article: Sahih al-Bukhari

Sahih al-Bukhari was written by Muhammad b. Isma'il al-Bukhari (b. 194/810, d. 256/870), a well-known Sunni scholar of hadiths. Most, if not all, Sunni scholars believe that the book is the most authentic collection of hadiths and the soundest book after the Qur'an.[5]

Hadiths in this book amount to 7000 to 9200, a considerable part of which is repetitive.[6] Al-Bukhari is quoted as saying that he selected the hadiths in his book from 600,000 hadiths that he had gathered.[7]

Sahih Muslim

Sahih-al-Muslim
Main article: Sahih al-Bukhari

Sahih Muslim, written by Muslim b. Hajjaj al-Niyshaburi (b. 206/821, d. 261/875), is the most important Sunni collection of hadiths after Sahih al-Bukhari. Some have also said that its validity is more than Sahih al-Bukhari.[8] The book contains 7275 hadiths from the Prophet (s), and ignoring the repetitive hadiths, it contains about 4000.[9]

Ahl al-Bayt in Sahihayn

Sahihayn include hadiths about the virtues of Imam 'Ali (a), Lady Fatima (a), Hasanayn (a), Imam al-Sajjad (a), and Imam al-Mahdi (aj).[10]

Aside from repetitive hadiths, Sahih al-Bukhari contains two or three hadiths about the virtues of Imam 'Ali (a)[11] and four hadiths about the virtues of Lady Fatima (a).[12] Other hadiths in Sahih al-Bukhari include Hadith al-Manzila,[13] Hadith al-Raya, Hadith al-Bad'a (“Fatima is part of me”),[14] and the hadith “Fatima is the master of all the ladies in all the worlds.”[15][16] All the three hadiths about the virtues of Imam 'Ali (a) and three hadiths about the virtues of Lady Fatima (a) appear in Sahih Muslim as well,[17] including Hadith al-Manzila,[18] Hadith al-Raya, and the hadith “Fatima is the master of all the ladies in all the worlds.”[19]

Shias’ Objections to Sahihayn

Here are some of the objections made by Shias against Sahihayn:

  • Some transmitters cited in Sahihayn were liars, unreliable, and deviated, such as Abu Hurayra, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, and 'Amr al-'As. Moreover, they were hostile towards Imam 'Ali (a) as well, and since according to hadiths cited in Sahihayn as well, enmity toward Imam 'Ali (a) indicates lack of faith, which in turn leads to one’s unreliability, the hadiths transmitted by these people are invalid.[20]
  • Al-Bukhari and Muslim, the authors of Sahiahyn, displayed denominational prejudice by refraining from citation of hadiths that are agreed upon by all Muslims and appear in other Sunni Sahihs, just because they indicate the superiority of Imam 'Ali (a) over the other caliphs. A case in point is the Hadith of Ghadir, a hadith concerning the Tathir Verse, hadith of Sadd al-Abwab, and the hadith “I am the city of the knowledge and 'Ali is its gate.”[21] Reportedly, there were about 260 hadiths about the virtues of Imam 'Ali (a) and Ahl al-Bayt (a) cited by al-Hakim al-Nishaburi in his al-Mustadrak 'ala l-Sahihayn (a supplementation of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim), which met the conditions for being cited in Sahihayn but were not cited.[22]
  • Sahihayn cite hadiths as transmitted by 2400 people who were hostile towards the Prophet’s Household or were unknown, and yet they do not cite hadiths transmitted by Ahl al-Bayt.[23]
  • There are hadiths in these two books, which are contradicted by reason or religion. A case in point is a number of hadiths according to which God can be seen with physical eyes.[24]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 1, p. 7.
  2. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 1, p. 8.
  3. ↑ Mudīr Shānachī, ʿIlm al-hadīth, p. 53.
  4. ↑ Mudīr Shānachī, ʿIlm al-hadīth, p. 69.
  5. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 1, p. 8.
  6. ↑ Mudīr Shānachī, ʿIlm al-hadīth, p. 63-64.
  7. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 1, p. 7.
  8. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 1, p. 8.
  9. ↑ Mudīr Shānachī, ʿIlm al-hadīth, p. 67-68.
  10. ↑ Fāḍilī, Fāḍil-i ʾAhl-i Bayt dar Ṣiḥāḥ-i Sitta, p. 232-251.
  11. ↑ Fāḍilī, Faḍāil-i ʾAhl-i Bayt dar Ṣiḥāḥ-i Sitta, p. 233.
  12. ↑ Fāḍilī, Fāḍil-i ʾAhl-i Bayt dar Ṣiḥāḥ-i Sitta, p. 237
  13. ↑ Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 5, p. 19, h. 3706.
  14. ↑ Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 5, p. 29, h. 3767.
  15. ↑ Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 5, p. 29, h. 3767.
  16. ↑ Fāḍilī, Fāḍil-i ʾAhl-i Bayt dar Ṣiḥāḥ-i Sitta, p. 232-239.
  17. ↑ Fāḍilī, Fāḍil-i ʾAhl-i Bayt dar Ṣiḥāḥ-i Sitta, p. 246-247.
  18. ↑ Nayshābūrī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 4, p. 1870, h. 2404.
  19. ↑ Fāḍilī, Fāḍil-i ʾAhl-i Bayt dar Ṣiḥāḥ-i Sitta, p. 245-247.
  20. ↑ Najmī, Siyrī dar Ṣaḥīḥayn, p. 99-107.
  21. ↑ Najmī, Siyrī dar Ṣaḥīḥayn, p. 112-113.
  22. ↑ Masʿūdī, Al-Mustadrak ʿalā l-Ṣaḥīḥayn
  23. ↑ Najmī, Siyrī dar Ṣaḥīḥayn, p. 118.
  24. ↑ Najmī, Siyrī dar Ṣaḥīḥayn, p. 145-146.

References

  • Bukhārī, Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Edited by Muḥammad Zuhayr b. Nāṣir al-Nāṣir. [n.p]. Dār Ṭawq al-Najāt, 1422 AH.
  • Fāḍilī, ʿAlī. Fāḍil-i ʾAhl-i Bayt dar Ṣiḥāḥ-i Sitta. Qom: Shīʿashināsī, first edition, 1391 SH.
  • Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Fatḥ al-bārī bi sharḥ ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Beirut: Dār al-kutub al-ʿilmīyya, 2003.
  • Masʿūdī, Jawād. "Al-Mustadrak ʿalā l-Ṣaḥīḥayn". accessed 16 February 2023.
  • Mudīr Shānachī, Kāzim. ʿIlm al-hadīth. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1381 Sh.
  • Muslim Nayshābūrī. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Edited by Muḥammad fuʾād ʿAbd al-Bāqī . Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Kutub al-ʿArabiyya, 1412 AH.
  • Najmī, Muḥammad Ṣādiq. Siyrī dar Ṣaḥīḥayn. Qom: nashr al-mahdī.
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