Kutub al-Sitta Facts for Kids

The Kutub al-Sitta (which means "The Six Books" in Arabic) are a very important collection of books for Sunni Muslims. These books contain hadith, which are records of the sayings, actions, or approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Six different Sunni Muslim scholars gathered these collections in the 800s CE. This was about 200 years after Prophet Muhammad passed away. People sometimes call them al-Sihah al-Sittah, meaning "The Authentic Six," because they are seen as very reliable. Since they were first put together, these books have been accepted by almost all Sunni Muslims as a key part of their faith.

Originally, there were five main books in this group. Later, a sixth book was added, but scholars sometimes disagree on which one it should be. In the 11th century, a scholar named Ibn al-Qaisarani officially grouped them and added Sunan ibn Majah to the list. However, some other scholars, like the Malikis, believe that al-Muwatta' should be the sixth book.

The reason Sunan ibn Majah was chosen is that it includes many hadith that are not found in the other five books. On the other hand, most of the hadith in al-Muwatta' can already be found in the other well-known, authentic collections.

Why These Books Are Important

Sunni Muslims consider these six hadith collections to be their most important. The order of how authentic they are can be a little different depending on the school of thought (a way of understanding Islamic law).

Here are the six main collections:

Sahih Bukhari: Collected by Imam Bukhari (who died in 870 CE). This book has about 7,563 hadith, including some that are repeated. If you count them without repetitions, there are around 2,600.
Sahih Muslim: Collected by Muslim b. al-Hajjaj (who died in 875 CE). It contains about 7,500 hadith, including repetitions, or around 3,033 without repetitions.
Sunan al-Sughra: Collected by al-Nasa'i (who died in 915 CE). This collection has about 5,270 hadith.
Sunan Abu Dawood: Collected by Abu Dawood (who died in 888 CE). It includes about 5,274 hadith.
Sahih al-Tirmidhi: Collected by al-Tirmidhi (who died in 892 CE). This book has about 4,400 hadith. Only 83 of them are repeated.
Sunan ibn Majah: Collected by Ibn Majah (who died in 887 CE). This collection contains about 4,341 hadith.

The first two books, Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, are often called the Two Sahihs. This means they are considered the most authentic and reliable. Together, they have about seven thousand hadith if you don't count the repeated ones.

The Scholars Who Collected Them

Here are the amazing scholars who put together these six important collections:

Muhammad b. Isma'il al-Bukhari: He wrote Sahih Bukhari. It took him sixteen years to complete this huge work! It is said that Imam Bukhari would always perform a special washing (ablution) and pray before writing down any hadith. He passed away near Samarqand in 869 or 870 CE.
Muslim b. Hajjaj al-Naishapuri: He died in Nishapur in 874 or 875 CE. His book, Sahih Muslim, is considered the second most authentic hadith collection after Sahih Bukhari. Some Muslim scholars even think Sahih Muslim is more authentic than Sahih Bukhari.
Abu Dawood Sulaiman b. Ash'ath al-Sijistani: He was from Persia but had Arab roots. He died in 888 or 889 CE.
Muhammad b. 'Isa al-Tirmidhi: He wrote the well-known Sunan al-Tirmidhi. He was a student of Imam Bukhari and passed away in 892 or 893 CE.
Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Nasa'i: He was from Khurasan and died in 915 or 916 CE.
Ibn Majah al-Qazwini: He passed away in 886 or 887 CE.

Kutub al-Sitta facts for kids

Why These Books Are Important

The Scholars Who Collected Them

See also