Siha Sittah

According to the scholars of Hadith, Siha Sittah refers to the six authentic books of Hadith:

1. Saheeh Bukhari

2. Saheeh Muslim

3. Sunan Nasai

4. Sunan Tirmizi

5. Sunan Abu Dawud

6. Sunan Ibn Majah

These books contain authentic Hadith. As for the weak Hadith that are found in Nasai, Tirmizi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Maajah, they are very few. And this does not prevent these books from being authentic.

By classifying these books as authentic, this does not mean, at any moment, that all Saheeh (authentic) Hadith are found only in these six books. There is a number of Hadith that is authentic but that may not be found in these six books. Therefore, we should not make the mistake of rejecting a Hadith merely because it is not found in these six books. Similarly, it is a great mistake to reject the Hadith that are not found in Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim because according to Al-Isma-ili, Imam Bukhari (Rahmatoullaahi alayh) declared:

"لم اخرج فى هذا الكتاب الا صحيحا وما تركت من الصحيح اكثر" (هدى السارى)

"I have not reported anything besides what is authentic in this book. Authentic Hadith that I have left out are more than this." (Hady-us-Saari)

Imam Muslim also has never claimed that he compiled all Saheeh Hadith in his Saheeh Muslim.

That is, there are still many Hadith that are Saheeh but are not present in these two books. It is true that the Hadith of Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim are very authentic. But this is not a reason to say that the other Hadith are not authentic because we cannot use a Hadith that is more authentic as an excuse to qualify a hadith which is less authentic as inauthentic.

A more serious mistake

This same grave mistake has been committed by a certain group which refuses to accept Hadith as an authority in Deen with the excuse that it is not authentic and categorical like the Qur'an-e-Kareem. This is something very serious and dangerous against which Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) has warned the Ummah. This is a way to encourage the misinterpretation of the Qur’an-e-Kareem. 

It is good to know that the Qur’an cannot be understood without the Hadith. Similarly, without the help of the Aimmah, we will not be able to understand the true meaning and scope of the Hadith of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam). Therefore, just as it is important to use the Hadith to understand the Qur’an-e-Kareem correctly, in the same way, it is also important to use the research of the Aimmah to be able to understand the Hadith correctly. This shows that the proper understanding of Deen depends on the understanding of the Hadith of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) in the light of the research of the Aimmah because the research of the Aimmah is a guarantee for the Hadith and the Hadith guarantees the correct interpretation of the Qur’an.

[English version of "Siha sittah" – Al Jamiat – Vol.4 No.9]