The Four Books

Distinguish from the Four Books of Chinese Confucianism.

Hadith collections
Part of a series on

Primary
Sunni collections Al-Sihah al-Sittah Sahih al-Bukhari · Sahih Muslim Sunan an-Nasa'i al-Sughra Sunan Abu Dawood Sunan al-Tirmidhi · Sunan Ibn Maja Shia collections Al-Kutub Al-Arb'ah (The Four Books) Kitab al-Kafi of Kulainy Man la yahduruhu al-Faqih of Shaikh Saduq Tahdhib al-Ahkam of Shaikh Tusi al-Istibsar of Shaikh Tusi
Sunni collections
Al-Muwatta Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) Sunan al-Darimi (868) Shamaail Tirmidhi ((9th Century) Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah (923) Sahih Ibn Hibbaan (965) Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain (1014) Mawdu'at al-Kubra (1128–1217) Riyadh as-Saaliheen (1233–1278) Mishkat al-Masabih (1340) Talkhis al-Mustadrak (1274–1348) Majma al-Zawa'id (1335–1405) Bulugh al-Maram (1372–1449) Kanz al-Ummal (16th century) Muntakhab Ahadith (20th Century)
Shia collections
Book of Sulaym ibn Qays (7th century) Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya (678–713) Wasael ush-Shia (17th century) Bihar al-Anwar (17th century) Haqq al-Yaqeen (17th century) Ain Al-Hayat (17th century) Sharh Usul al-Kafi (?–1081) -->Qalam-e-Mowla -->Daim al-Islam
Mu'tazila collections
'Sharh Nahj al-Balagha (?–1258)

The Four Books (Arabic: الكتب الاربعة Al-Kutub Al-Arbʿah') is a Twelver Shiʿa term referring to their four best known hadith collections.

The books are:

Name	Collector	Size
Kitab al-Kafi (divided into Usul al-Kafi, Furu al-Kafi and Rawdat al-Kafi)	Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni al-Razi (329 AH)	15,176 hadith
Man la yahduruhu al-Faqih	Muhammad ibn Babuya	9,044
Tahdhib al-Ahkam	Shaykh Muhammad Tusi	13,590
Al-Istibsar	Shaykh Muhammad Tusi	5,511

Shi'a Muslims use different books of ahadith than Ahl al-Sunnah's Six major Hadith collections. The Shi'a consider many Sunni transmitters of hadith to be unreliable because many of them accepted the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman in preference to Ali. Shia trust traditions transmitted through the Imams, Muhammad's descendants through Fatima Zahra.^[1]

The Four Books have been praised by many notable Shi'a scholars. This is what some have said:

Shaikh al-Hur al-Aamili said, "The authors of the 4 Books of shia have testified that the Hadiths of their books are accurate (saheeh) , firm and well conducted from the roots that all shia agreed on , and if you consider those scholars (the authors of the four books) are reliable then you must accept their sayings and their narrations . " [Al-wasa’el, vol. 20, p. 104]

Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi said: "Al-Kafi, Al-Istibsaar, Al-Tahzeeb and Mun La Yahduruhu Al-faqeeh are Mutawatirah and agreed on the accuracy of its contents (the Hadiths), and Al-Kafi is the oldest, greatest, best and the most accurate one of them.“ [The book of Al-Muraja'aat (A Shi'i-Sunni dialogue), Muraj'ah No. 110]

Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr said: “Although the Shia are on the unanimity of that the four books are accepted and all the narrations in them are accurate ( Saheeh ), But they did not call them by the name (Sihaah ) like Ahl-Sunnah did." [The Book of shia "Kitab al-shia" p. 127]

Al-Tabrosi (aka, Tabarsi) said:"Al-Kafi among the 4 shia books is like the sun among the stars, and who looked fairly would not need to notice the position of the men in the chain of hadiths in this Book, and if you looked fairly you would feel satisfied and sure that the hadiths are firm and accurate."[Mustadrak al-Wasail, vol. 3, p. 532]

References

^ Momen, Moojan, Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Yale University Press, 1985, p.174