The Ṣaḥīḥ Imām ibn Khuzaymah

The Author:

The Imām's full name is Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Isḥāq b. Khuzaymah an-Naysābūrī. He was born in the month of Ṣafar, in the year 223 AH in Nishāpūr, Khurāsān, a year prior to Imām Ibn Jarīr aṭ-Ṭabarī. At a young age, he began his journey of seeking the knowledge of ḥadīth and fiqh. He heard ḥadīth from Imām Isḥāq b. Rāhūyah (d. 238 AH) and Muḥammad b. Ḥumayd (d. 230 AH), but he did not narrate from them as he was still a young child without adequate comprehension (Siyar Aʿlām, 6:184). He intended to travel to hear ḥadīth from Imām Qutaybah b. Saʿīd but his father put up the condition that he must first memorise the Qurʾān, which he did, and was granted permission (Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāz, 722).

He began his journey of travelling for knowledge at the age of 17 and was able to visit many lands including Marw, Rayy, Shām, Jazīrah, Miṣr, Wāsiṭ, Baghdād, among other places (Al-Muntaẓam, 6:184). He also heard ḥadīth from Imām Bukhārī and Muslim, who also narrated ḥadīth from him outside of their Ṣaḥīḥ collections. Imām Ibn Ḥibbān praised him saying: "I have not seen anyone on the face of the earth better than Muḥammad b. Isḥāq in the field of the [prophetic] traditions, and in memorising its words; the authentic from it and the additions in it, as if the traditions were in front of his eyes." Imām ad-Dārquṭnī said about him: "Ibn Khuzaymah was reliable; absent of a match." (Ṭabaqāt ash-Shāfiʿiyyah 3:118). He passed away in Dhul Qaʿdah in the year 311 AH.

The Ṣaḥīḥ:

Contrary to what is common, the author did not name his compilation "Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah"; rather, he named it: al-Jāmiʿ al-Musnad aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Mukhtaṣar min Umūri Rasūlillāhi ﷺ wa Sunanihi wa Ayyāmihi (Muqaddimah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ 24-25). Others mention that he named it: Mukhtaṣar al-Mukhtaṣar min al-Musnad aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ ʿan an-Nabiyy ﷺ. Hence, many classical scholars referred to it as "Mukhtaṣar al-Mukhtaṣar" (al-Irshād, 172) until later day scholars, such as al-Mundhirī, ad-Dimyātī, and az-Zaylaʿī referred to it as Ibn Khuzaymah's "aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ." The author commences each chapter by mentioning the topic and following it up with: "al-Mukhtaṣar min al-Mukhtaṣar..." which is indicative of this compilation being an abridgement of a larger book of his, which he refers to as "al-Kabīr" in a  number places throughout the book.

Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir says about the book: "The three books: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, Al-Musnad aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ ʿala 't-Taqāsīm wa 'l-Anwāʿ by Ibn Ḥibbān, and al-Mustadrak ʿala 's- Ṣaḥīḥayn by al-Ḥākim are the three most important books on Ṣaḥīḥ (sound) aḥādīth after Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Ḥadīth scholars and critics highlighted the order of accuracy of these three ḥadīth compilations, whose authors cited only authentic aḥādīth, as follows: (1) Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, (2) Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, (3) Al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim. This order reflects the degree of the compiler's adherence to citing only authentic aḥādīth. This order of accuracy happened to coincide with their chronological order, but this was not intended" (Muqaddimah Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, 11). Imām Suyūṭī said, "Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah ranked higher than Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, as Ibn Khuzaymah was more meticulous in verifying the authenticity of ḥadīth, to the extent of refraining from declaring a ḥadīth as authentic on account of the slightest criticism about the chain of narration, by using phrases such as: 'If this report proves to be ṣaḥīḥ', 'If this report proves to be authentic', and the like" (Tadrīb ar-Rāqi, 54).