Understanding Imam Muslims Inclusion of the Hadith of the Seven Ahr

Translated by AI, may contain inaccuracies.

🕌 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Why Did Imam Muslim Include the Hadith of the Seven Ahruf in the Book of the Prayer of Travelers?

✍️ By: Dr. Muhammad Akram Nadwi, Oxford

📝 Question:

❓ I received a message from our esteemed Shaykh Yahya al-Ghawthani (may Allah preserve him and benefit us through him): “Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh, and Eid Mubarak. I received the following question, and since you have expertise in Sahih Muslim, I have forwarded it to you: Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh, dear Shaykh. I hope you are in good health. I have had a question in my mind for quite some time. I searched for the answer but could not find it. What is the reason for mentioning the Hadith of the Seven Ahruf in the Book of the Prayer of Travelers?”

📚 Answer:

Imam Muslim’s book is organized into books and chapters. For example, it begins with the Book of Faith, followed by the Book of Purification, then the Book of Prayer, the Book of Zakat, and continues until the Book of Tafsir, which is at the end of the collection.

Each book is further divided into chapters relevant to that book’s subject. The hadiths within each chapter are arranged in a structured manner: starting with the strongest narrations, followed by supporting and corroborative narrations. If there is a hadith with a minor defect but still meets his criteria, it is placed at the end of the chapter.

There is no disagreement among scholars that Sahih Muslim is organized into books and chapters, which is evident to anyone who reads through it. It is also agreed that the chapter titles were not set by Imam Muslim himself but were added later by narrators, editors, and commentators, with considerable variation among them. Some even suggest that a few book titles might have been from Muslim himself, which is possible.

When I prepared my commentary on Sahih Muslim, I used the book titles established by earlier scholars, such as “The Book of Faith”, “The Book of Purification”, and “The Book of Prayer”, among others. I also added new books when necessary. For example, “The Book of Mosques” and “The Book of the Prayer of Travelers” contained chapters that were not directly related to mosques or travel, so I reclassified those chapters into books that better suited their topics.

📖 Rearranging the Books in Sahih Muslim:

In Imam al-Nawawi’s commentary and other editions of Sahih Muslim, the Book of the Prayer of Travelers and its Shortening extends to the Book of Friday Prayer without any intermediate book. However, many hadiths within the Book of the Prayer of Travelers do not directly relate to travel or shortening the prayer, which led me to modify this classification.

In my commentary, I rearranged the classification as follows:

The Book of the Prayer of Travelers and its Shortening

The Book of Voluntary Prayers

The Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an

The Book of Prohibited Times for Prayer

The Book of Friday Prayer

I included the Hadith of the Seven Ahruf in the chapter titled “The Qur’an was Revealed in Seven Ahruf,” which falls under “The Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an.” This resolves the confusion, and all praise is due to Allah.

📌 Conclusion:

The issues arising from the classification of books and chapters are due to the interpretations of later scholars and commentators. Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) is not responsible for these inconsistencies.

🤲 May Allah guide us to the right understanding and bless our efforts in seeking knowledge. Ameen.