| Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj | |
|---|---|
| Born | 204/206 AH [1] Nishapur, Iran |
| Died | 261 AH /c. 875 Nishapur, Iran |
| Occupation | scholar |
| Tradition or movement |
Shafi'i and ijtihad |
| Main interests | Hadith |
| Notable works | Sahih Muslim |
| Influences | Ahmad Ibn Hanbal Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh[2] Muhammad al-Bukhari [3] |
Abul Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj ibn Muslim ibn Warat al-Qushayri al-Nisaburi (Arabic: أبو الحسين مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري; Persian: مسلم نیشابوری; lived c. 206–261 AH/c.821-875 CE) was the author of the second authentic sahih collection of hadith in Sunni Islam, Sahih Muslim.
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He was born in the town of Nishapur, in present day northeastern Iran, into the Arab tribe of Qushair.
Among the author's teachers were included Harmala ibn Yahya, Sa'id ibn Mansur, Abd-Allah ibn Maslamah al-Qa'nabi, al-Dhuhali, al-Bukhari, Ibn Ma'in, Yahya ibn Yahya al-Nishaburi al-Tamimi, and others. Among his students were al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi, and Ibn Khuzaymah, each of which wrote works on hadith as well. After many studies throughout the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Iraq and Syria, he settled down in his hometown of Nishapur where he first met Bukhari, with whom he would have a friendship until his death.
Estimates on how many hadiths are in his books vary from 3,033 to 12,000, depending on whether duplicates are included, or whether the text only or the isnad is also counted. His Sahih is said to share about 2000 hadiths with Bukhari's Sahih.[4]
He died in 875 CE in Nishapur, where he was also buried.
The Sunni scholar Ishaq b. Rahwayh was first to recommend Muslim's work.[5]
Ishaq's contemporaries did not at first accept this. Abu Zur`a al-Razi objected that Muslim had omitted too much material which Muslim himself recognised as authentic; and that he included transmitters who were weak.[6]
Ibn Abi Hatim (d. 327/938) later accepted Muslim as "trustworthy, one of the hadith masters with knowledge of hadith"; but this contrasts with much more fulsome praise of Abu Zur`a and also his father Abu Hatim. It is similar with Ibn al-Nadim.[7]
Muslim's book gradually increased in stature such that it is considered among Sunni Muslims the most authentic collections of hadith, second only to Sahih Bukhari.
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