The knowledge of narration with respect to its types is divided into three categories:
Ḥadīth
Exegesis
Sīrat and History
One aspect of the science mentioned last in the above mentioned list is also referred to as Magāzī. In actuality, a Ḥadīth is a compilation of narrations, the primary objective of which, is the preservation of religious principles, even though exegeses and historical facts may find way of inclusion as well. Generally, Aḥādīth are comprised of those narrations the testimony of which, eventually reaches the Holy Prophetsa. In other words the last narrator in the chain states, “I heard the Holy Prophetsa state the following”, or “I saw him performing the following action”, or that “In my presence before the Holy Prophetsa, the following action was performed but he did not prohibit it”. However, a portion of such narrations is also found in the books of Ḥadīth, as are limited to the words and actions of the companions of the Holy Prophetsa alone and according to the phraseology of Ḥadīth, they are referred to as Āthār. There are countless books of Ḥadīth which have been written in the first, second, third and fourth century A.H., but all of them are not of equal calibre. This is because all of the Muḥaddithīn did not employ the same stringent standard, nor were they equally vigilant. The eminent books of Ḥadīth, along with their facts and particulars have been mentioned below in brief:
| 1 | Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī | Imām Muḥammad bin Ismā‘īl Bukhārī (194 A.H. to 256 A.H.) |
This has been deemed the most authentic of all the books of Ḥadīth. Imām Bukharī selected 4,000 Aḥādīth from a storehouse of 600,000, for his collection. He was greatly vigilant and without a doubt, his standard is second to none and above all the other Muḥaddithīn. |
| 2 | Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim | Imām Muslim bin Al-Ḥajjāj (204 A.H. to 261 A.H.) | The rank of this book is lower than that of Bukharī but supersedes all other books of Ḥadīth. A narration which is supported by both Bukharī and Muslim is referred to as Muttafaq ‘Alaih, and considered the most authentic of Aḥādīth. |
| 3 | Jam‘i Tirmidhī | Abū ‘Īsā Muḥammad bin ‘Īsā At-Tirmidhī (209 A.H. – 279 A.H.) | Ṣaḥīḥ Bukharī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim along with the next four books inclusively, formulate the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah. All of these books are consid-ered trustworthy and reputable. The status of these books is more or less equivalent to the order in which they appear in this list. |
| 4 | Sunan Abū Dāwūd | Abū Dāwūd Sulaimān bin Al-Ash‘ath | |
| 5 | Sunan Nasaʼī | Aḥmad bin Shu‘aib An-Nasaʼī | |
| 6 | Sunan Ibni Mājah | Muḥammad bin Yazīd ibni Mājah Qazwīnī (209 A.H. – 273 A.H.) | |
| 7 | Mu’aṭṭā Imām Mālik | Imām Mālik ibni Anas (95 A.H. – 179 A.H.) | This book is of a significantly exalted rank. As a matter of fact, some have asserted its rank commensurate to that of Bukharī. Since the majority of its content deals with matters of jurisprudence, it has not been included as a book of Ḥadīth in the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah. However, it is not less than any other collection of Ḥadīth with respect to its rank. Imām Mālik is one of the four authorities in jurisprudence. |
| 8 | Musnad Imām Abū Ḥanīfah | Imām Nu‘mān bin Thābit Abū Ḥanīfah (80 A.H. – 150 A.H.) | In the field of jurisprudence, he possesses the highest rank among the A’immah-e-Arbi‘āh
1. He was not a Muḥaddith, nor did he channel his attention in to this direction. However, in order to lay his foundation in jurisprudence, he collected some Aḥādīth. |
| 9 | Musnad Imām Shāf‘ī | Imām Muḥammad bin Idrīs Shāf‘ī (105 A.H. – 204 A.H.) | He is also among the A’immah-e-Arbi‘āh, of jurisprudence. His book comprises a small collection of Aḥādīth in support of his philosophies of jurisprudence. |
| 10 | Musnad Aḥmad | Imām Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ḥanbal (161 A.H. – 241 A.H.) | He is also among the A’immah-e-Arbi‘āh, of jurisprudence, however, his collection of Aḥādīth is extremely impressive, and is probably the largest among the books of Ḥadīth. However, the standard of the authenticity of its narra-tions are not equal to that of the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah. |
| 11 | Sunan Dārmī | ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Abdur-Raḥmān Dārmī (171 A.H. – 255 A.H.) | After the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah, the rank of this book is commendable. |
| 12 | Mu‘jam Kabīr wa Awsaṭ wa Ṣaghīr | Sultān bin Aḥmad Tabrānī (260 A.H. – 360 A.H.) | Written by a renowned scholar of Ḥadīth. |
| 13 | Sunan Dār Quṭnī | ‘Alī bin Muḥammad Dār Quṭnī (306 A.H. – 385 A.H.) | Written by a renowned scholar of Ḥadīth. |
| 14 | Mustadrak Ḥākim | Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad bin ‘Abdullāh (321 A.H. – 405 A.H.) | Written by a renowned scholar of Ḥadīth. |
| 15 | Various books on Ḥadīth and Sīrat | Aḥmad bin Ḥusain Baihaqī (384 A.H. – 458 A.H.) | Written by a renowned scholar of Ḥadīth. |
In addition to the above mentioned Muḥaddithīn, there are some who despite their distant time period, have traced the chain of narrations to the Holy Prophetsa or his companions and have reproduced these Aḥādīth.2 However, the names of more noteworthy Muḥaddithīn have been included in the following list. The collections of the Muḥaddithīn mentioned last in the above mentioned list possess a great deal of weak and less authentic Aḥādīth, either due to distance in time or lack of caution. Anyhow, it is these very collections of Ḥadīth through which a historian can derive beneficial information of a superlative degree which is pertinent to the biographical history of the Holy Prophetsa and early Islām. Therefore, as mentioned previously, the collections of Ḥadīth are far more authentic and reputable than the narrations of Sīrat and history. Moreover, the narrations of Sīrat hold very little value in comparison to the great books of Ḥadīth, such as Bukharī and Muslim.
1 The Four Great Leaders in Islāmic Jurisprudence
2 For example, Ibni Ḥabbān, Sa‘īd bin Manṣūr, Ibni Abī Shaibah, ‘Abdur-Razzāq, Abul-‘Alī, Ibni ‘Adī, ‘Uqailī, Khaṭīb Baghdādī, Bazzār, Ibni ‘Asākir, Ibni Abī Ḥāṭim, Ibni Mardawaih, etc, etc. From among these, some are also historians.