Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 5
5 Sunan Ibn M a a a a jah: Compiled by Imam Muhammad bin Yaz i d bin M a jah al-Qazv i n i (A. H. 209 to A. H. 273). This book is placed sixth among the standard S i hah Sittah [the six correct works]. It is a really good book. All these Mu h addith i n (compiler-scholars or editors of Hadith) spent the whole of their lives in search of A ha d i th and compiled their collections out of a vast store of hundreds of thousands of A ha d i th. The entire Muslim world owes these savants a heavy debt of gratitude. May Allah give them the choicest reward. In addition to the aforementioned six books, the two works on A ha d i th listed below are also very well known. Mu’a tt tt tt tt a’: Compiled by Imam M a lik Ibn Anas Al-Madan i (A. H. 95 to A. H. 179) Imam M a lik, in addition to holding a leading position among the scholar-compilers of A ha d i th, is regarded as a leading jurist and is one of the four celebrities of jurisprudence whom the vast majority of Muslims seek to follow in all questions pertaining to Fiqh [jurisprudence]. The followers of Imam M a lik are called M a lik i s. Having been born at a time nearest to the period of the Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and for receiving early training in Medina, Imam M a lik holds a position of great eminence. Hadrat Shah Waliyyull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i , Mujaddid of the 12th century Hijra, regarded his work, on account of his personal predilection, superior to S a hih Bukh a r i. But there is little doubt that the Mu’a tt a’ is a great book indeed.