The Best Hadith Books for Understanding the Teachings of Islam

You can gain guidance from the Holy Islamic Books in all spheres of life. The Kutub al-Sittah which has the meaning ‘the six books’ are six (initially five) books consisting of the set of hadith that are the sayings or traditions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) composed by six Sunni Muslim scholars in the 9th century CE. Their record dates back to about two centuries after the demise of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). At times they are given a reference from al-Sihah al-Sittah, which means “The Authentic and Original Six”. They were initially formally collected and explained by Ibn al-Qaisarani in the eleventh century, who included Sunan ibn Majah to the ranks of these book’s authors. Ever since then, they have gained almost universal recognition as the acceptable source of the official reference to the Islamic knowledge.

It is Mandatory to Learn Hadith

Learning the Holy Quran with the absence of Hadiths is like learning English with absence of grammar. You can start to learn and read it, but you won’t be able to understand its true instructions and you will neither be able to get a grip on its true meaning without the best Islamic books. Hence, learning and memorizing the sayings of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) is not a choice but it is mandatory for all the Muslims. But, with our list of the best Hadith books for understanding the teachings of Islam you can gain the true knowledge about the Islamic lessons. Therefore, you should read the ones that can facilitate you in going in the right direction. To assist you with this task, we have compiled a list of these necessary books of hadith that you must get for gaining guidance.

Necessity of this Hadith Books

Muslims consider the six primary hadith books sets as their most important, although the perception of authenticity differs between different Muslim segments. We are giving their list below:

Sahih Bukhari, composed by Imam Bukhari (d. 256 AH, 870 CE), It consists of about more than seventy five hundred ahadith, including the repeats, and almost twenty six hundred without repetitions.

Sahih Muslim, composed by Muslim al-Hajjaj (d. 261 AH, 875 CE), includes seventy five hundred hadith (consisting of repeats, and around three thousand without repeats)

Sunan al-Sughra, composed by al-Nasa’i (d. 303 AH, 916 CE), consists of more than fifty two hundred hadiths (including repetitions).

Sunan Abu Dawood, composed by Abu Dawood (d. 275 AH, 888 CE), consists of more than five thousand ahadith (including repeats)

Jami al-Tirmidhi, composed by al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 AH, 892 CE), consists of forty four hundred ahadith (consisting of repeats, and only eighty three are repeated)

Sunan ibn Majah, composed by Ibn Majah (d. 273 AH, 887 CE), consists of almost more than four thousand ahadith (also consisting of repeats).

The initial two Hadith books, typically known as Two Sahihs because their name denotes they are authentic and, consists of almost seven thousand hadiths as a whole if the repetitions are not counted according to Ibn Hajar.

The Authors

The authors of the six sets are described below:

• The author of the Sahih Bukhari is Muhammad Isma’il al-Bukhari. The Hadith book was compiled over a duration of sixteen years.
• The author of the Sahih Muslim, the Muslim Hajjaj al-Naishapuri, and whose Sahih Muslim ranks second after the Bukhari. Some Islamaic hadith Muslim scholars consider the Sahih Muslim more authentic than Sahih Bukhari. Thus, you can refer to Sahih Bukhari because it is one of the original holy Islamic books.
• Abu Dawood Sulaiman Ash’ath al-Sijistani, a Persian who had Arabic lineage.
• Muhammad ‘Isa al-Tirmidhi, the composer of the famous Sunan al-Tirmidhi, who was the Bukhari’s student.
• Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Nasa’i, who belonged to the Khurasan..
• Ibn Majah al-Qazwini, is one of the contributing authors of the original Kutub al-Sittah.

A Note on Hadiths

Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim consist of plenty of same Hadith with different sequence branches, and Bukhari specifically also conveniently repeats the entire Hadith with the same sequence in several chapters. The best Islamic books can assist you in gaining knowledge to improve your faith in Allah Almighty (SWT). There is a difference of opinion on the Hadith records because many Hadith consists of a repeat (sequence/text modifications). Also, the opinion differs about whether to add some sequence repeats in the complete collection or not.

If you and your family are interested in finding out about Hadith then you can start educating your children with Islamic books kids. With these books they can improve their understanding of the religion and become better Muslims. Thus, with Islamic books you and your family can lead a life that is according to the guidelines of Islam. These books provide valuable insights into the teachings of Islam. So, you can make sure you are on the right path making you successful in this life and life hereafter.