IMAM MUSLIM (MAY ALLAH HAVE MERCY ON HIM AND BENEFIT US THROUGH HIM)
- Title: Asākir-ud-Din, al-Hafizh, al-Hujjah, al-Humām
- Teknonym: Abul Husain
- Name: Muslim ibn Hajjāj bin Muslim bin Ward bin Kaushādh
- Tribe: Qushair (most probably of Arab origin)
- Born: 202 / 204 / 206 A.H.
- Born in: Nishapur (great city of ancient Khurasan, now falls in Iran)
- Passed away: Monday 25 Rajab 261 A.H.
- Buried in: Nishapur
- Lived: 55 – 59 years
- Occupation: Trader. Also had land in Ustuwa.
JOURNEY OF KNOWLEDGE
- Hailed from a pious family. His father, although not a scholar, would love to attend religious gatherings.
- Heard Hadith from Imam Yahya ibn Yahya al-Tamimi when he was 12. He also heard from Imam Dhuhali and Imam al-Bukhari.
- Started his travels at age 14 when he left for Basra
- Went for Hajj in 220 A.H. and took from scholars like Imam al-Qa’nabi
- Took from the likes of Imam Ishaq ibn Rahwai and Yahya ibn Yahya in Khurasan
- Took from the likes of Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal and Imam al-Qa’nabi in Iraq
- Took from the likes of Imam Sa’eed ibn Mansur and Imam Abu Mus’ab in Hijaz
- Took from the likes of Imam Harmala ibn Yahya and Imam Amr ibn Sawad in Egypt
- Took from the likes of Imam Muhammad ibn Mihran and Imam Abu Ghassan in Transoxania
- Studied Hadith for more than 15 years, collecting more than 400,000 Hadith
- Has narrations from more than 220 teachers
- His Fiqhi school is not confirmed; either he was Mujtahid, or inclined to the Shafi’ee (or Hanbali) school
- He compiled around 20 known works besides his Sahih such as books on Tabaqāt, Ilm-ur-Rijāl and narrations narrated specifically from individual Muhadditheen
SPECIALITIES
- Never made gheebat or got into arguments; had excellent conduct with others
- Known amongst his teachers for his deeply respectful behaviour
- Very close to Imam al-Bukhari and was loyal to him during some tests that Imam al-Bukhari went through
- Teacher of Imam at-Tirmidhi, Imam Ibn Abi Hatim ar-Razi, Imam Abu Hatim ar-Razi, Imam Ibn Khuzayma, Imam Abu Awana and others
- His teacher Imam Ishaq ibn Rahwai said: ‘Who (i.e. how great) will this man be?!’
- Imam Ishaq Kausaj said to him: ‘There will always continue to be good as long as Allah keeps you amongst the Ummah.’
- Ishaq Kausaj was so impressed by his piety that he kissed his forehead and said (out of hyperbole): ‘Let me kiss your feet, O leader of Muhadditheen! O doctor in the field of finding within narrations their hidden defects!’
- Imam Abul Abbas considered him even more knowledgeable than Imam al-Bukhari
- Imam Abu Zura’ and Abu Hatim would prefer his view over others in establishing the strength of narrations
- The (great) Huffāzh (those Muhadditheen who memorised over 100,000 narrations) are four: Abu Zura’ in Rai’. Muslim ibn Hajjāj in Nishapur, Abdullah ibn Abd-ur-Rahman ad-Darimi in Samarqand and Muhammad ibn Ismail in Bukhara
- He passed away due to an incident that places him in a category of martyr. A Hadith was being discussed and he could not rest until he found it. He went home to search for it through his hundreds of thousands of narrations. He was engrossed for hours. His family sent him a basket of dates so that he would at least eat something. He kept searching and kept eating the dates. He found the Hadith. However, he developed an illness due to the dates and passed away from it.
- Imam Abu Hatim ar-Razi saw him in a dream after he passed away. He asked his state and he mentioned he was in Jannah and could travel wherever he wanted (a sign of a martyr).
- Imam Muslim would quote Imam Yahya ibn Kathir’s quote: ‘Knowledge cannot be attained by keeping the body in comfort.’
SAHIH MUSLIM
Full name of book:
المسند الصحيح المختصر من السنن بنقل العدل عن العدل إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
The Musnad, the Sahih, the Mukhtasar compilation of Sunnah/Hadith narrations, as narrated from reliable narrators in a chain back to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
Number of Hadith and number of narrators:
8,000 or 12,000 narrations (depending on how they are counted). Without repetitions: 3,033 or 4,000. This he selected from a selection of around 300,000 narrations. Overall he narrates from 218 teachers in it.
Reason for compilation:
He was inspired by Imam al-Bukhari’s Sahih compilation but wanted to compile one with only Hadith and no Fiqh commentary. His student Abu Ishaq requested that he also compile a Sahih and upon pondering, he took on this great work. He wanted to compile a book of sound Ahadith to disprove deviant groups.
He presented it to the great scholar Imam Abu Zura’ and whichever narrations he found a hidden defect in, they were removed. After his teacher Imam Ishaq ibn Rahwai saw it, he would recommend it to others.
Compiled over a span of:
15 years, from 242 A.H. to 257 A.H. His student Imam Ahmed ibn Salamah accompanied him during this duration.
The Fiqh of the Imam in his Tarājim (chapter titles):
Uniquely, he did not have chapter titles, although all the narrations were organised by topic. He did this to keep it concise and for it to only consist of Ahadith. Imam Nawawi added the titles later during his commentary.
Manuscript:
The most common one studied is from his student Imam Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Sufyan Nishapuri. He accompanied Imam Muslim for a large part of his life and was also a student of the Hanafi scholar Imam Ayyub ibn Hasan. He finished writing its dictation in 257 A.H. He then dictated it to many of his own students, the most common chain through Imam al-Jaludi. Another manuscript is that of Imam Abu Muhammad Ahmed al-Qalānisi.
The first time copies of Sahihain came into print was 1851 A.D., through the efforts of Maulana Ahmed Ali Saharanpuri.
Famous Shuruhat:
Many great scholars have authored commentaries on it such as Imam Qadhi Iyadh, Imam al-Qurtubi, Imam as-Suyuti, Imam al-Qastalani, Nawab Siddeeq Khan, Imam Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Maliki, Imam Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Hanafi, Imam Mulla Ali al-Qari, Allamah Shabbir Ahmed Uthmani (whose commentary is being completed by the great scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani Saheb). The best and most famous commentary is that of Imam an-Nawawi. Many Allah Almighty reward all of them for their efforts.
Its rank amongst the books of Hadith:
A minority have said it is even more authentic than Sahih al-Bukhari but the dominant view is that it holds the great rank of being the second most authentic compilation of Hadith or equal in strength to Sahih al-Bukhari. It is considered the best laid out due to the way Imam Muslim combines multiple chains of narrations in an elegant fashion, how he clarifies the names of narrators, and how easy it is to find multiple narrations on one topic in a particular place. There are many Ahadith where the most authentic chain exists in only Sahih Muslim, as they are not mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari or other Sahih works.
Shaykh Abu Ali az-Zaghuni was seen in a dream after his demise. He was asked what the reason for his acceptance in the hereafter was, upon which he showed a document. It was Sahih Muslim.
The Muqaddimah:
Before Imam Muslim starts his compilation, he has a discussion on Isnād (chains) and the importance of being careful in narrating from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is an invaluable work in the science of Usul-ul-Hadith and is a book within itself known as the Muqaddimah of Sahih Muslim.
Conditions of Sahih Muslim and any compilation of Sahih:
All the narrations have to be Sahih:
- The narrators must have adl (approval of trustworthiness)
- The narrators must have itqān of dhabt (excellent retention)
- The chain must be muttasil i.e. have no breaks
- There can be no shudhudh i.e. when the narrator narrates differently to a stronger narrator
- There can be no illah (hidden defect only spotted by experts) that is severe
Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim added other conditions which is why their narrations are so strong:
- The narrators must be agreed upon as thiqah (reliable) by the Ulemah of the time
- Atleast two thiqah narrators have narrated the Hadith in every generation after the Sahabah, thus there or no majhul (unknown) narrators or narrators who only had one student narrate from
- Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim bring narrators who are not only reliable but are kathir-ul-mulāzimah with their teacher i.e. spent a lot of time in their tutelage. Although as assisting narrations, Imam Muslim will also take from reliable narrators that have less mulāzimah.
Imam Muslim specifically:
- Brings narrators on the level of shahādah (giving testimony) as well as adālah
- Keeps a difference between the forms of narrating in the meanings of ‘akhbarana’ and ‘haddathana’
- Does not bring mauqoof narrations whereas Imam al-Bukhari brings them only as assisting narrations
- His stance on an ‘an-ana’ narration is that being in the same time period is sufficient provided there is a definite possibility that the one narrating could have met the one they are making ‘an-ana’ from
- In the very few instances that he does bring Mursal narrations, Muttasil chains for them are found in other places
Category:
It falls in the category of Jāmi’. That is a type of compilation which contains Hadith on all topics. It must include these 8 themes: siyar, ādāb, tafseer, aqāid, fitan, ashrāt, ahkām, manāqib. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sunan at-Tirmidhi are also Jāmi’ compilations.
Chain of narration:
Students of Hadith should have a chain of narration going back to Imam Muslim, and from him to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Did you know that the scholar with the shortest of chain – the most evaluated chain – going back to Imam Muslim passed away in 2017? He was Shaykh Muhaddith Dhahir-ud-Deen al-Mubarakpuri of India.
INTRODUCTORY ADVICE BEFORE STUDYING
These books of Hadith are so great that if a student studies them with a) concentration b) respect, they will be successful. The final year of the Islamic scholarship course focuses on Hadith. This is due to the importance and reliance on Sunnah in understanding the rulings of our faith and in understanding the meanings of the Qur’an.
The compilers of these books did not author the works yet they have put in more effort than any person who authors his own work. Imam Muslim passed away due to his spending hours searching for one Hadith. Even today there are people who travel the world and seek out scholars for their chains of Hadith. We should be very grateful that we are being offered it so easily.
This science is full of blessings. After you graduate, don’t ever think that you have not achieved anything from these books of Hadith. Don’t ever wish to exchange this knowledge for anything. Shah Ganj Muradabadi once saw a dream of the damsels of Jannah. He asked them if they were learned of the Qur’an. If they were, they could stay. Otherwise, he had no need for them. Such was the focus and love of our scholars of the Islamic sciences that they wanted this not to be an aspect of their life but to permeate their whole life. Many scholars suffer from chronic pain or fatigue due to old age but as soon as they teach Hadith, all their pain disappears and they deliver with more energy than young people.
Through the blessing of this course, as your life extends, it will continue to improve until you pass away with a good end. With any other qualification, it helps you make money. What do you do with money? Use it up. This wealth is in your heart. It benefits you here and there. These great Imams will intercede for you on the day of judgement. And In Jannah, this knowledge will also benefit, inshāAllah.
May Allah Almighty continue to send blessings to Imam Muslim and benefit the Ummah through his efforts. May He bless and have mercy on all the authentic and pious scholars. Aameen. Imam Muslim was a man whose life was dedicated to the love of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and in return Allah Almighty raised him to the rank of the greatest luminaries of this Ummah. He was hardworking, humble, passionate about his faith, and obedient to His Lord. He is known through his great work and his great work is known better by learning about the man behind its compilation. We pray to follow in his footsteps and to be amongst his companions in Jannah, for Allah Almighty is powerful over everything and we have good hopes in Him. Aameen.
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