Vitabu sita vifuatavyo vya hadithi vinajulikana zaidi kama al-Sihah al-Sitta (vitabu sita sahihi vya hadithi):

The following six books of ahadith are better known as the al- Sihah al-Sitta (the six authentic books of hadith):

1. Bukhari 2. Muslim 3. Abu Dawud 4. Nisa’i 5. Tirmidhi 6. Ibn Maja Hakuna mvutano wowote kuhusu vitabu vitano vya kwanza, lakini wanazuoni walitofautiana kuhusu Ibn Maja na kama kinapaswa kujumuishwa katika vitabu sita vya hadithi au la. Hata hivyo, Ibn Maja hatimaye likapata umaarufu na kuchukua nafasi yake miongoni mwa vitabu sita vya hadithi.

1. Bukhari 2. Muslim 3. Abu Dawud 4. Nisa’i 5. Tirmidhi 6. Ibn Maja There is no disagreement about the first five books, but the scholars did differ about Ibn Maja and as to whether it should be included in the six books of hadith or not. Nonetheless, Ibn Maja eventually became famous and established its place amongst the six books of hadith.

Wengi wanadhani kwamba al-Sihah lazima ina maana kwamba hadithi sahihi zinapatikana tu katika vitabu sita vya hadithi, lakini dhana hii pia si sahihi. Kwa kweli, hadithi nyingi ambazo hazikukubaliwa katika al-Sihah al-Sitta ni sawa na, ikiwa si zenye nguvu zaidi kuliko, hadithi nyingi zilizomo katika al-Sihah al-Sitta. Kwa mfano, hadithi za Muwatta' ya Imam Malik ziliandikwa kwa mkusanyiko muda mrefu kabla ya hadithi za Bukhari, na kitabu hicho kilichukuliwa kuwa kitabu sahihi zaidi baada ya Kitabu cha Allah (SWT). Hata hivyo, Ibn Hazm alikuwa na maoni kwamba Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar ya Imam Tahawi ilikuwa ya kuaminika zaidi kuliko Muwatta' ya Imam Malik.

Many people think that al-Sihah must mean that the authentic hadith are only found in the six books of hadith, but this assumption is also incorrect. In fact, many of the ahadith not admitted in the al-Sihah al-Sitta are equal to, if not stronger than, many of the ahadith in the al-Sihah al-Sitta. For example, the ahadith of the Muwatta’’ of Imam Malik were compiled long before the ahadith of Bukhari and it was considered the most authentic book after the book of Allah (SWTH). Even then, Ibn Hazam was of the opinion that the Sharah Ma’ani al-Athar of Imam Tahawi was more reliable than the Muwatta’’ of Imam Malik.

Swali linabaki, ikiwa vitabu vingine vina hadithi zilizo sahihi zaidi kuliko al-Sihah al-Sitta, basi kwa nini ni vitabu sita tu maarufu vinavyoitwa al-Sihah al-Sitta? Ukweli ni kwamba, licha ya umaarufu wake mkubwa na kukubalika kwake katika ummah, bado haijulikani wazi jinsi vitabu sita vya hadithi vilivyopata kuitwa al-Sihah al-Sitta.

The question then remains, if other books contain more authentic ahadith than al-Sihah al-Sitta, then why are only the six famous books of ahadith called al-Sihah al-Sitta? The truth is that despite their widespread fame and acceptance in the umma, it is still unknown as to how the six books of ahadith came to be called al-Sihah al-Sitta.

Hatimaye, kilicho muhimu ni kwamba waandishi wote wa vitabu hivi vikubwa waliweka masharti ya kuingiza hadithi katika vitabu vyao. Iwapo masharti hayo yatazingatiwa wakati wa kusoma vitabu vyao, tunapata ufahamu wa kina zaidi wa hadithi na elimu inayotokana nazo. Kwa mfano, tunajifunza sababu ya hadithi kuwa sahihi au dhaifu, na kasoro zilizofichika katika usimulizi wa hadithi. Pia tunajifunza njia sahihi ya kutoa hukumu kutoka kwenye hadithi. Hii ndiyo huenda sababu ya kuitwa al-Sihah al-Sitta.

Ultimately, what matters is that all the authors of these great books put conditions for including a hadith in their books. If those conditions are kept in mind when studying their books, we gain a deeper understanding of the ahadith and the knowledge derived from them. For example, we learn the reason behind the authenticity or weakness of ahadith or the hidden flaws in the transmission of a hadith. We also learn the correct method of how to deduce rulings from the ahadith. This is possibly why they are called al-Sihah al-Sitta.

Haiwezekani kueleza nyanja mbalimbali za hadith katika utangulizi huu, lakini yeyote anayetaka kujifunza zaidi anaweza kurejea vitabu vingi vilivyoandikwa kuhusu somo hili. Hapa, nitafupisha malengo ya kila mwandishi wa al-Sihah al-Sitta na yale aliyokuwa akiyalenga alipokuwa akikusanya hadith kwa ajili ya kitabu chake.

It is not possible to cover the different fields of hadith in this introduction, but if anyone wishes to learn more, they may always refer back to the many books written on this subject. Here, I will summarize the objectives of each author of the al-Sihah al-Sitta and what they had in mind when compiling ahadith for their book.

Lengo la Imam Bukhari lilikuwa kufundisha mbinu ya jinsi ya kupata hukumu kutoka katika hadithi sahihi. Kila mlango mdogo una kichwa kinachoonyesha hukumu iliyopatikana kutoka katika hadithi zilizo chini ya mlango huo. Ndiyo sababu inasemwa kwamba fiqh ya Imam Bukhari imo katika vichwa vyake [fiqh al-Bukhari fī Tarajimihī].

Imam Bukhari’s objective was to teach the method of how to deduce rulings from the authentic ahadith. Every sub-chapter is given a heading that indicates a ruling deduced from the ahadith under that sub-chapter. This is why it is said that the fiqh of Imam Bukhari is in his headings [fiqh al-Bukhari fī Tarajimihī].

Lengo la Imam Muslim lilikuwa kukusanya katika kitabu kimoja machapisho yote tofauti ya hadith moja. Kwa sababu hii, ni rahisi zaidi kupata hadith sahihi mahususi katika Muslim kuliko katika Bukhari.

Imam Muslim’s objective was to compile all the different trans- missions of one hadith in one book. For this reason, it is easier to find a specific authentic hadith in Muslim than it is in Bukhari.

Imam Nasai alijikita katika kuchimba hukumu za Sharia kutoka katika hadithi, kama alivyofanya Imam Bukhari. Kwa sababu hiyo, kichwa cha kila mlango mdogo mpya kinafanana na kile cha mlango mdogo katika Bukhari. Lakini Imam Nasai pia alilenga kukusanya hadithi ambazo zina kasoro zilizofichika katika mapokezi yake. Ni mtindo wake wa kipekee kuanza mlango mdogo kwa hadithi zenye kasoro zilizofichika katika mapokezi, kisha kuzichambua kama walivyofanya wataalamu wa hadithi. Anamaliza kila mlango mdogo kwa hadithi ambayo yeye anaiona kuwa ndiyo sahihi zaidi katika mlango huo.

Imam Nisa’i concentrated on deducing rulings of the Shari‘a from the ahadith, like Imam Bukhari. For this reason, the heading of each new sub-chapter is similar to that of a sub-chapter in Bukhari. But Imam Nisa’i also aimed to compile the ahadith that carry hidden flaws in their transmissions. It is his unique style to start a sub-chapter with the ahadith that have hidden flaws in their transmission and then analyze them as the hadith masters did. He ends every sub-chapter with the hadith which he considers to be the most authentic in that sub-chapter.

Imam Abu Dawud alikusanya hadithi zote ambazo wanazuoni wa fiqhi huzitumia kuunga mkono hukumu zao; pia anajumuisha katika kitabu chake njia nyingi za upokezi wa hadithi moja; na ikiwa hadithi ni dhaifu, atatoa maoni yake kuhusu hilo. Hata hivyo, Imam Abu Dawud anafuata mwelekeo tofauti na Imam Nasa'i, kwani huanza kila mlango mdogo kwa hadithi sahihi na kuumaliza kwa hadithi dhaifu zaidi.

Imam Abu Dawud compiled all the ahadith that the jurists bring in support of their rulings; he also includes multiple transmissions of one hadith in his book; also, if a hadith is weak, he will comment on it. However, Imam Abu Dawud takes the opposite course of Imam Nisa’i in that he starts off every sub- chapter with a authentic hadith and ends it with the weakest.

Imam Tirmidhi alifungua sura-ndogo mpya kwa kila hadith au kikundi cha hadith ambazo wanazuoni wa fiqh wanazitumia. Yeye hakukusanya upokezi mwingi wa hadith moja kama walivyofanya Imam Nisa'i au Imam Abu Dawud. Mara nyingi atasimulia hadith moja inayounga mkono mmoja wa maimamu wanne katika hukumu fulani ya Shari'a chini ya sura-ndogo moja. Mbinu nyingine anayoitumia Imam Tirmidhi ni kusimulia hadith ambazo hazijawahi kutajwa hapo awali na wanazuoni wengine wa hadith kuhusu hukumu fulani ya Shari'a, kisha kuonyesha hadith nyingine zinazounga mkono jambo hilo kwa kusema, "hadith nyingi zaidi zimesimuliwa kuhusu somo hili na fulani." Hii ni kuonyesha kwamba kuna hadith nyingi zaidi kuhusu somo hilo. Pia mara nyingi hunukuu maoni ya wanazuoni wa fiqh kuhusu masuala fulani.

Imam Tirmidhi opened new sub-chapters for each hadith or group of hadith used by the jurists. He does not gather multiple transmissions of one hadith like Imam Nisa’i or Imam Abu Dawud. He will usually narrate one hadith that is in favor of one of the four imams in a ruling of the Shari‘a under one sub-chapter. Another method employed by Imam Tirmidhi is to narrate the hadith which have never been previously raised by any other of the hadith masters on a specific Shari‘a ruling and then indicate to other supporting ahadith [on that issue] by saying, “more ahadith are narrated on this subject by so and so.” This is to show that there are more ahadith on the subject. He also frequently quotes the opinions of the jurists on certain issues.

Sunan Ibn Maja inafuata mtindo uleule kama Sunan Abu Dawud, isipokuwa kwamba mpangilio wa hadith katika Sunan Ibn Maja unazidi ule wa Sunan Abu Dawud. Ibn Maja ina idadi kubwa zaidi ya hadith dhaifu kuliko vitabu vingine katika al-Sihah al-Sitta.

Sunan Ibn Maja follows the same pattern as Sunan Abu Dawud except that the arrangement of ahadith in Sunan Ibn Maja surpasses Sunan Abñ Dówñd. Ibn Mója contains the most number of weak ahadith in the al-Sihah al-Sitta.