Nowadays some Muslims call those who follow Quran and Hadith by the name of new Firka (gang) and new religion and then going beyond this, they call those who do not follow any one of the four Imams as non-believers and followers of Islam. They give the name of being outside the circle and do not know by what names they call them. After all, since when is there a foundation for following this Quran and Hadith?

For the information of common people, this book is being presented with correct references and in the order of years. The purpose of this book is only to tell about the initial years from when Quran and Hadith were followed and when did taqleed e shakhsi (accepting the words of one person without any argument) begin. Also, when and how were the four Maslaks in the name of the four Imams introduced in Islam?

Then after this, when did Tadween Hadith (collection and writing of Hadiths) and Tadween Fiqh (writing of Fiqh) start? Apart from this, the teachings of the Imams have been presented and written in detail so that it can be checked as to what is old and what is new.

اللہ تعالی نے اپنے پسندیدہ اور آخری دین کو جس قوم میں نازل فرمایاوہ عرب کی غیر متمدن قوم تھی ، لیکن اس کے پاس بعض انسانی قدر میں رواداری ، ضیافت ، صدق گوئی، وفاداری اور امانت داری جیسے اعلی اخلاق و کردار کی روشن مثالیں بھی موجود تھیں، اس کے ساتھ ساتھ بعض خداداد صلاحیتیں، قوت حافظہ ، سرعت فہم و فراست ، خودداری و بے باکی ، حوصلہ اور جرأت مندی ، ہمت و سجاعت بھی ان میںبھر پور طور سے موجود تھی ، انتہائی سخت گیر ، سخت مزاج اور سخت جان بھی تھے۔ قبائلی عصبیت انتہائی عروج پر تھی، قبیلہ کی عزت و آبرو، اس کی عظمت و بڑائی ، زندگی کا سب سے بڑا مقصد تھا، سردار کے حکم کی بجا آوری پر مر مٹتے تھے ، جس چیز کو مان لیتے تھے اس پر اکڑ بیٹھتے تھے ، اس کے خلاف سننے کی قوت برداشت نہیں رکھتے تھے۔

One of the greatest compilations of the sunnah and books of hadith is the Musnad by Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, which is organized into compilations of the hadiths narrated by each Companion (Sahabi), starting with the ‘asharah mubashsharah (“the ten who were promised Paradise”). This highlights their status and the efforts they made to preserve the ahadeeth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

The scholars and muhadditheen praised the Musnad of Imam Ahmad. Al-Hafiz Abu Moosa al-Madeeni wrote a book in which he highlighted the great features of the Musnad. In his book he said: “This book is an important source and trustworthy reference for the scholars of hadeeth, as he (Imam Ahmad) selected from the large number of hadith he came across and the plentiful reports he heard, and he put a great deal of effort into making it a prominent, leading and reliable source. When disputing an issue, it is a refuge and a source of help.”

Abu Abdullah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal al-Shaibani

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, chose from among His slaves the best of the scholars and gave them the honour of conveying the Prophet’s ﷺ sayings.

First and foremost among these upright scholars are the noble Companions (Sahabah), who learned the Revelation from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and then conveyed it precisely to those who came after them among the Followers (Tabi’een). Then the Tabi’een transmitted it to those who came after them, until there came the time of documentation when the Imams of hadiths compiled the books known as Jawami`, Masanid and Sunans.

One of the greatest compilations of the Sunnah and books of hadeeth is the Musnad by Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, which is organised into compilations of the Hadiths narrated by each Companion (Sahabi), starting with the ‘ashra mubashshara’.

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Al-Muwatta’ is one of the great books of Islam which includes a number of marfoo’ ahaadeeth and mawqoof reports from the Sahaabah, Taabi’een and those who came after them. It also includes many rulings and fatwas of the author.

The Muwatta’ is so called because its author made it easy (watta’a) for the people in the sense that he made it easily accessible to them.

It was narrated that Imam Maalik said: I showed this book of mine to seventy of the fuqaha’ of Madeenah, and all of them agreed with me (waata’ani) on it, so I called it al-Muwatta’.

The reason why it was compiled: Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have mercy on him) stated in al-Istidhkaar(1/168) that Abu Ja’far al-Mansoor said to Imam Maalik: “O Maalik, make a book for the people that I can make them follow, for there is no one today who is more knowledgeable than you.” Imam Maalik responded to his request, but he refused to force all the people to adhere to it.

Imam Maalik read the Muwatta’ to people for forty years, adding to it, taking away from it and improving it. So his students heard it from him or read it to him during that time. So the reports in al-Muwatta’ are many and varied because of what the Imam did of editing his book. Some of his students narrated from him before it was edited, some during the process, and some at the end of his life. Some of them transmitted it in full whilst others narrated part of it. So a number of transmissions of the Muwatta’ became well known.

The conditions that Imam Malik followed in his book are among the most reliable and strongest of conditions. He followed a method of erring on the side of caution and choosing only sound reports. Imam Al-Shafi’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: There is nothing on earth after the Book of Allah that is more correct that the Muwatta’ of Maalik ibn Anas.

It was narrated that al-Rabee’ said: I heard al-Shafi’i say: If Malik was uncertain about a hadeeth he would reject it altogether.

Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah said: May Allah have mercy on Malik, how strict he was in his evaluation of men (narrators of hadeeth).

Al-Istidhkaar (1/166); al-Tamheed (1/68)

Hence you will find that many of the isnaads of Imam Malik are of the highest standard of saheeh. Because of this, the two Shaykhs al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated most of his ahaadeeth in their books.

In compiling his book, Imam Malik followed the method of compilation that was common during his time, so he mixed the hadeeths with the words of the Sahabah and Taabi’een and fiqhi opinions. The reports of the Sahabah number 613 and the reports of the Taabi’een number 285. In one chapter the marfoo’ ahaadeeth appear first, and are followed by the reports of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een, and sometimes he mentions the actions of the people of Madeenah, so his book is a book of fiqh and hadeeth at the same time, it is not just a book of reports only. Hence you will find that some chapters have no reports, rather they contain the views of the fuqaha’ and the actions and ijtihaad of the people of Madeenah. An example of that is the chapter on produce on which no zakaah is due, and the chapter on the fast of one who kills another by mistake, and so on.

خدمت حدیث بھی بلاشبہ عظیم شرف وسعادت ہے او راس عظیم شرف اور سعادت کبریٰ کے لیے اللہ تعالیٰ نےہمیشہ اپنی مخلوق میں عظیم لوگوں کاانتخاب فرمایا انہی سعادت مند چنیدہ شخصیات میں سرفہرست مجددِ ملت ،محدثِ عصر علامہ شیخ ناصر الدین البانی کا نام عالی شان ہے جنہوں نے ساری زندگی شجرِ حدیث کی آبیاری کی ۔امام البانی حدیث وفقہ کے ثقہ اما م تھے تما م علوم عقلیہ ونقلیہ پر عبور واستحضار رکھتے تھے ۔آپ کی شخصیت مشتاقان علم وعمل کے لیے نعمت ربانی تھی اورآج بھی آپ کی علمی وتحقیقی او رحدیثی خدمات اہل علم او رمتلاشیان حق کےلیے روشن چراغ ہیں۔آپ کی خدمات کے اثرات وثمرات کودیکھ کر ہر سچا مسلمان یہی محسوس کرتا ہے کہ اللہ تعالی نے آپ کوتجدیدِ دین کے لیے ہی پیدا فرمایا تھا۔علامہ ناصر الدین البانی  کاشمار ان عظیم المرتبت شخصیات میں ہوتاہے کہ جنہوں نے علمی تاریخ کےدھارے کا رخ بدل دیا ۔شیخ البانی نے اپنی خدمات حدیث سے امت میں احادیث کی جانچ پرکھ کاشعور زندہ کیا۔شیخ کی ساری زندگی درس وتدریس اور تصنیف وتالیف میں گزری ۔ان کی مؤلفات اور تعلیقات کی تعداد تقریبا دوصد سے زائد ہے۔دور حاضر میں شیخ البانی  نے احادیث کی تحقیق اور تخریج کا جو شاندار کام کیا ہے ماضی میں اس کی مثالی نہیں ملتی ۔زیر نظر کتاب سلسلة احاديث الصحيحة شیخ کی عظیم الشان تصانیف میں سے ہے جس میں شیخ نے عوام الناس کے فائدے کےلیے مختلف ابواب ،فصول،مسائل اور فوائد سےمتعلقہ صحیح احادیث کو جمع کردیا ہے ۔شیخ نے اس کتاب میں تبویب بندی اور کسی خاص ترتیب کا لحاظ نہیں رکھا بلکہ تخریج وتحقیق کے اصول وقواعد کے مطابق جیسے جیسے احادیثِ صحیحہ میسر آتی گئیں انہیں کتاب میں قلم بند کرتے رہے۔اور مختصراً متونِ احادیث ،اسانید طرق اور رواۃ پر بھی بحث کرتے ہوئے فقہی فوائد پر بھی روشنی ڈالی ہے اور بعض مقامات پر کسی خاص موضوع پر طویل ابحاث بھی پیش کی ہیں ۔ فضیلۃ الشیخ ابو میمون محمد محفوظ اعوان نے سلسلہ احادیث الصحیحہ کا ترجمہ کرنے کے علاوہ اس کتاب کی فقہی ترتیب،کتاب بندی،باب بندی اور تخریج وغیرہ کا کام بھی سر انجام دیا ۔ انصار السنہ پبلی کیشنز،لاہور نے اسے 6جلدوں میں شائع کیا ہے۔ اللہ تعالی شیخ البانی اس کتاب کو طباعت کےلیے تیار کرنے والے تمام احبا ب کی جہود کو قبول فرمائے (آمین) (م۔ا)

He made series of journeys to meet most of the foremost traditionalists of his time and acquired from them the most reliable ahadis quoting sources through which it reached him. Since the author collected ahadis which no one ever assembled together, his sunan has been accepted as standard work by scholars from many parts of the Islamic world, especially after Ibn Al-Qaisarani’s inclusion of it in the formal canonisation of the six major collections.

Urdu Translation by Abu Ammaar Omar Farooq Saeedi
Tahqeeq-o-Takhreej by Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai

About Imam Abu Dawud

Abu Dawud Sulayman Ibn al-Ash’ath al-Azdi, commonly known as Imam Abu Dawud was one of the scholars who compiled the six collections of hadith and was famous for his book Sunan Abu Dawud, which is one of the references of the Prophet’s Hadith (sayings).

He lived in the third century AH, which witnessed a revolution in compiling Hadith at the hands of a group of scholars. He was a contemporary of al-Bukhari, Muslim and other scholars who also collected the Prophet’s Hadith.

Abu Dawood was born in 202 AH (817 AD) and died in 275 AH (888 AD). He was born in Sistan but he traveled to many countries of the Islamic world, as was the case with the scholars of this era. Most scholars sought a journey of learning and knowledge. Thus, he visited Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Khorasan.

During his travels to Basra, Kufa, Damascus, Baghdad, Balkh and other cities, Abu Dawood compiled many Hadiths from different sources, primarily from al Bukhari.

Mishkat al-Masabih has enjoyed wide popularity in the world of Islamic learning Since 516 AH when it was first compiled by Waliuddin Abu Abdullah Mahmud Al-Tabrizi. Al-Tabrizi has identified at the end of every Hadith the source or sources from where the particular Hadith was taken. Thus, by doing so, he managed to overcome shortcoming of not mentioning the isnad (chain of authorities of the Hadith). Most of the Hadith are from the Sahih Sitta. (the six Authentic Hadith Books).

Sunan An-Nasai has the fewest weak ahadith after the two Sahih collections. This Sunan is one of the six is al-Mujtaba or as-Sunan as-Sughara, which is a synopsis of a large collection of ahadith which he considered to be fairly reliable.

In the smaller collection, only those ahadith which he considered to be reliable have been included. It was compiled by the great scholar of hadith, Abu Abdur-Rahman Ahmad bin Shu’aib bin Bahr An-Nasae (Nasa’ of Khurasan) (214-303AH). Imam An-Nesai, like other great scholars of hadith traveled to Baghdad, Ash-Sham, Egypt, Mecca, and many other cities to seek knowledge.

He received the praises of many scholars including Ad-Daraqutni who said about him: “He is given preference over all others who are mentioned with this knowledge from the people of his time”. Some scholars consider his compilation to have the least number of defective or weak narrations among the four Sunan. This great book of his contains 5761 ahadith, making it as an invaluable addition to anyone’s library.

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Each book (subtopics in each volume categorized by very broad topics such as the Book of As-Salat) contains many chapters which represent one logical unit of Ahadith. Each book contains anywhere from one to 150 chapters with each chapter containing several Ahadith.

This book will be a great addition to your library while giving you a true perspective on the traditions of the Prophet ﷺ. In Imam Bukhari’s ‘Al-Jami-al-Sahih’ (Sahih Al Bukhari) the Imam had recorded all the Sayings of the Prophet which he found to be genuine after thorough examination and scrutiny.

He spent sixteen years in research and examined more than sixty thousand Sayings from which he selected only sayings whose genuineness and accuracy he established beyond the slightest doubt. Deducting duplicates, the Imam’s collection contain about four thousand distinct Sayings.

Sahih Bukhari Mai Takhreej Mukammal (8 Volume) (Deluxe Edition)

About Imam Bukhari

Imam Mohammed Al-Bukhari is considered as one of the most distinguished scholars of Hadith in Islamic history. His book Sahih al-Bukhari, in which the Prophet’s words, actions, or habits were collected, is one of the greatest sources of the prophetic influence in history.

His full name is Abu Abdullah Mohamed bin Ismail Al-Bukhari and was born in 194 AH (8100 AD) in Bukhara, one of the present cities of Uzbekistan. His father died when he was young, and he was raised as an orphan by his mother, who educated him well and had a role in sharpening his love and passion for science.

Read more about Imam Bukhari

Tohfatul Muslim Sharah Sahih Muslim is a collection of hadith compiled by Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi (rahimahullah). His collection is considered to be one of the most authentic collections of the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and along with Sahih al-Bukhari forms the “Sahihain,” or the “Two Sahihs.” It contains roughly 7500 hadīth (with repetitions) in 57 books.
The work of Imam Muslim needs no introduction. His collection of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is one of the most authentic collections of Hadith after the collection Sahih al-Bukhari. This is a set of all the volumes of Sahih Muslim published in premium quality paper and reading friendly format in the Urdu language. It contains all the chapters under which Imam Muslim collected various sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

About Imam Muslim

Imam Muslim’s full name is Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj ibn Muslim ibn Warat al-Qushayri al- Naysaburi (206-261 AH/821-875 AD). Imam “Muslim,” as his nasba shows, belonged to the Qushayr tribe of the Arabs, an offshoot of the great clan of Rabi’a.

Imam Muslim meticulously collected 300,000 hadith and after a thorough examination of them retained only 4000, the genuineness of which were fully established. He prefixed to his compilation a very illuminating introduction, in which he specified some of the principles in which he had followed in the choice of his material. Imam Muslim has to his credit many other valuable contributions to different branches of Hadith literature, and most of them retain their eminence even to the present day. Amongst these Kitab al-Musnad al-Kabir ‘Ala al-Rijal, Jami’ Kabir, Kitab, al-Asma’ wa’l-Kuna, Kitab al-Ilal, Kitab al- Wijdan are very important.

Read more about Imam Muslim