Sahih al-Tirmidhi

The Sahih al-Tirmidhi (Arabic: صحيح الترمذي, romanized: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tirmidhī) is a hadith book compiled by Islamic scholar al-Tirmidhi in c. 864–884 (250–270 AH). Among the Kutub al-Sittah of Sunni Islam, is ranked fifth in authenticity.

Sahih al-Tirmidhi

Author	Al-Tirmidhi
Language	Arabic
Series	Kutub al-Sittah
Subject	hadith
Genre	Hadith collection
Published	9th century

Title

The full title of the compilation is (Arabic: الجامع المختصر من السنن عن رسول الله ﷺ ومعرفة الصحيح والمعلول وما عليه العمل, Al-Jāmiʿ al-Mukhtaṣar Min as-Sunan ʿAn Rasūl Allāh ﷺ Wa Maʿrifat al-Ṣaḥeeḥ Wal-Maʿlool Wa Mā ʿAlaihil al-ʿAmal).^[1][2] He began compiling it after the year 864/5 AD (250 AH) and completed it on the 9 June 884 AD (10 Dhu-al-Hijjah 270 AH).

The term Jami within the title indicates a complete collection covering all eight Risalah (Allah's message) subjects. The term Sunan within the title refers to the collection's focus and chapter arrangement based on the particular Risalah subject, ahkam (general law).^[3]

Al-Kattani said: "The Jamiʿ of at-Tirmidhi is also named The Sunan, contrary to those thinking them to be two separate books, and [it is also named] Al-Jamiʿ al-Kabir.^[4]

Description

It contains about 4330 Ahadith^[5] (now roughly 4400), and has been divided into fifty chapters—disputed as 46 books.^[6] It is also classified as a Sunan, which implies that the book has been chapterised according to legal chapters, such as Purification, Prayer, Poor-due and Fasting, narrated on the authority of Islamic prophet Muhammad, while the opinions of the companions are usually not mentioned.

Tirmidhi's method was that of placing the heading first, then mentioning one or two Ahadith which were related to the heading. These Ahadith are followed by his opinion as to the status of the Hadith. Subsequently, he mentions the opinions of the different jurists. He also indicates if there were other narrations transmitted by other companions on the same subject. His principal aim was to discuss the legal opinions of early jurists. Tirmidhi mostly mentioned those Ahadith which the jurists used as the basis for their legal decisions and he mentioned which school used which tradition/s. Hence this book became an important source for the different view-points of the various legal schools. The Jami' thus bears the distinction of being one of the oldest texts dealing with the difference of opinion amongst the various jurisprudential schools. Although Shafi'i (b. 150-d.204 A.H.) wrote his Kitab al-Umm before Tirmidhi's Jami', the Kitab al-Umm is less comprehensive in comparison to the Jami' of Tirmidhi.

Praise

Al-Hafidh Abu'l-Fadl Al-Maqdisi said: "I heard Al-Imam Abu Ismaʿil ʿAbdullah bin Muhammad Al-Ansari in Harrah - when Abu ʿIsa At-Tirmidhi and his book was mentioned before him - saying: "To me, his book is more useful than the books of Al-Bukhari and that of Muslim. This is because only an expert can arrive at the benefit of the books of Al-Bukhari and Muslim, whereas in the case of the book of Abu ʿIsa, every one of the people can attain its benefit."^[7]

Ibn Al-Athir said: "(It) is the best of books, having the most benefit, the best organization, with the least repetition. It contains what others do not; like mention of the different views, angles of argument, and clarifying the circumstances of the hadith as being sahih, da'if, or gharib, as well as disparaging and endorsing remarks (regarding narrators).

Shah Waliyullah al-Dehlawi (d. 1176 AH) said that Jami at-Tirmidhi, Sunan Abi Dawud and Sunan an-Nasa'i were second in rank to the Sahihayn and Muwatta of Imam Malik.^[8]

Authenticity

Sunnis regard this collection as fifth in strength of their six major hadith collections.^[9] Ibn al-Jawzi stated that there are twenty-three^[10] or thirty^[11] forged hadith in it, while Al-Albani identified sixteen fabricated hadith.^[12] Some scholars like al-Suyuti have criticised Ibn al-Jawzi's findings as being too strict, concluding that there are no fabricated hadith in the Jami.^[13]

Types of hadith included relating to their authenticity

Of the four Sunan books, al-Tirmidhi's alone is divided into four categories. The first, those hadith definitively classified as authentic, he is in agreement with Bukhari and Muslim. The second category are those hadith which conform to the standard of the three scholars, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i and Abu Dawood, at a level less than Bukhari and Muslim. Third, are the hadith collected due to a contradiction; in this case, he clarifies its flaw. And fourth, those hadith which some fiqh specialists have acted upon.^[14]

Contents

Editor, Ahmad Muhammad Shākir's 1937-65, Cairo publication, in 5 volumes, provides the standard topical classification of the hadith Arabic text.^[15] The book is divided into 49 chapters:^[16][17]

1. purification
2. salat (prayer)
3. al-witr
4. the day of friday
5. the two eids
6. traveling
7. zakat
8. fasting
9. hajj
10. jana'iz (funerals)
11. marriage
12. suckling
13. divorce and li'an
14. The Book on Business
15. Chapters on judgements from the messenger of God
16. blood money
17. legal punishments (al-hudud)
18. hunting
19. sacrifices
20. vows and oaths
21. military expeditions
22. virtues of jihad
23. jihad
24. clothing
25. food
26. drinks
27. righteousness and maintaining good relations with relatives
28. medicine
29. inheritance
30. wasaya (wills and testament)
31. wala' and gifts
32. al-qadar
33. al-fitan
34. dreams
35. witnesses
36. zuhd
37. the description of the day of judgement, ar-riqaq, and al-wara'
38. the description of paradise
39. the description of hellfire
40. faith
41. knowledge
42. seeking permission
43. manners
44. parables
45. the virtues of the qur'an
46. recitation
47. tafsir
48. supplication
49. virtues

Commentaries

• Aridhat al-Ahwathi bi Sharh Sunan al-Tirmidhi written Ibn al-Arabi d. 543H (1148-49 CE)
• Sharh Jaami' al-Tirmidhi of which only the last portion of remains – Sharh 'Ilal at-Tirmidhi – by Ibn Rajab
• Al-Kawakib al-Durri sharh Jami al-Tirmidhi by Rashid Ahmad Gangohi
• Commentary on al-Tirmidhi's Hadith Collection by al-Zayn al-Iraqi
• Footnotes, including explanation and verification, of approximately the first third of the Sunan by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir
• al-ʿUrf al Shadhi Sharh Sunan Al-Tirmidhi by Anwar Shah Kashmiri
• Maarif al-Sunan sharh Sunan al-Tirmidhi by Yusuf Banuri
• Tuhfat Al-Ahwadhi Bi Sharh Jamiʿ Al-Tirmidhi by 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mubarkafuri, ed. 'Abd al-Rahman Muhammad 'Uthman, 10 vols., Beirut
• Fuyoodh Un Nabi, Sharh Jami Al Tirmidhi (in Urdu Language) by 'Allama Mufti Muhammad Arshad ul Qadri', Taleem wo Tarbiyat Publisher, Lahore, Pakistan^[18]

 

Arabic Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Sunan al-Tirmidhi

See also

• Sahih al-Bukhari
• Sahih Muslim
• Sunan Abu Dawood
• Sunan al-Sughra
• Sunan ibn Majah
• Muwatta Malik

Notes

References

1. Imam Tirmidhi and his Al-Jami’ al-Sunan: http://daruliftaa.com/node/7130 2014-01-27 at the Wayback Machine
2. Jonathan A.C. Brown (2007), The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon, p.10. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-9004158399. Quote: "We can discern three strata of the Sunni hadith canon. The perennial core has been the Sahihayn. Beyond these two foundational classics, some fourth/tenth-century scholars refer to a four-book selection that adds the two Sunans of Abu Dawud (d. 275/889) and al-Nasa'i (d. 303/915). The Five Book canon, which is first noted in the sixth/twelfth century, incorporates the Jami' of al-Tirmidhi (d. 279/892). Finally the Six Book canon, which hails from the same period, adds either the Sunan of Ibn Majah (d. 273/887), the Sunan of al-Daraqutni (d. 385/995) or the Muwatta' of Malik b. Anas (d. 179/796). Later hadith compendia often included other collections as well.' None of these books, however, has enjoyed the esteem of al-Bukhari's and Muslim's works." 2018-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
3. "Imam Tirmidhi and his Al-Jami' al-Sunan (الجامع السنن للإمام الترمذي رضي الله عنه) - daruliftaa.com". daruliftaa.com. 26 March 2005. from the original on 2014-01-27. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
4. Al-Risalah al-Mustatrafah, pg. 11.
5. Brown, J. A. C. (2009). Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World (2nd ed., p. 34). Oneworld Publications.
6. "Jami' at-Tirmidhi - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. from the original on 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
7. Shurut al-A'immah al-Sittah, by al-Maqdisi, pg. 101.
8. Kamali, M. H. (2005). A Textbook of Hadith Studies: Authenticity, Compilation, Classification and Criticism of Hadith (p. 42). The Islamic Foundation.
9. Haddad, G. F. . Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2006-03-12.
10. Tirmidhi, M. I. (2007). The Translation of the Meaning of Jami Tirmidhi with Explanatory Notes and Brief Biographical Sketches of Major Narrators (p. 10). Darul Ishaat.
11. Kamali, M. H. (2005). A Textbook of Hadith Studies: Authenticity, Compilation, Classification and Criticism of Hadith (p. 203). The Islamic Foundation.
12. Al-Albani, M. N. (2000). Daeef Sunan at-Tirmidhi (nos. 172, 801, 2494, 2505, 2681, 2699, 2714, 2762, 2887, 2888, 3570, 3684, 3709, 3923, 3928, & 3939). Maktab al-Maarif.
13. Muqaddamah Tuhfat al-Ahwazi, pp. 180-181 as cited in Tirmidhi, M. I. (2007). The Translation of the Meaning of Jami Tirmidhi with Explanatory Notes and Brief Biographical Sketches of Major Narrators (p. 11). Darul Ishaat.
14. Shurut al-A'immah al-Sittah, by al-Maqdisi, pg. 92.
15. Hadith and the Quran, Encyclopedia of the Quran, Brill
16. "All books and chapters of jami al tirmizi". www.islamicfinder.org. from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved Jun 27, 2019.
17. "Jami' at-Tirmidhi". sunnah.com. from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved Jun 27, 2019.
18. . Archived from the original on 2016-04-20.