Article
Which Muslims accept which hadith?
Muslims share the Qur’an. Sunni Muslims add the Six Books. Shia Muslims add the Four Books. A reader who accepts only the Qur’an does not treat hadith as scripture. The sira is history, not a canon.
On this page
Muslims do not all treat the same books as scripture. They share the Qur’an. Sunni Muslims add the Six Books, above all Bukhari and Muslim. Shia Muslims add the Four Books, and many also read Nahj al-Balagha. A reader who accepts only the Qur’an does not treat hadith as scripture. The sira and the histories are sources for the life of Muhammad, not a canon of law.
Key points
- A Qur’an quotation on this site is marked as accepted by Muslims. The book is the shared one.
- Britannica’s hadith article says al-Bukhari and Muslim are the most authoritative Sunni collections, and that the Six Books are generally considered the most reliable hadith for Sunni Muslims.
- The same article names al-Kafi, Man la yahduruhu al-faqih, Tahdhib al-ahkam, and al-Istibsar as the four books Shi‘i Muslims consider most authoritative.
- Pew Research Center (2009) says 87–90 percent of Muslims are Sunni and 10–13 percent are Shia, and it calls those figures approximate ranges.
- Ibn Ishaq and al-Tabari are marked as sira and history. What are hadith and sira?
The Qur’an
The Qur’an is the book Muslims recite as God’s word. Sunni, Shia, and Qur’an-only readers start here. A slate box on this site that quotes it carries the line “Qur’an · accepted by Muslims,” and that line returns to this section.
Sunni collections
Britannica describes Sunni Muslims as the majority branch, also called Ahl al-Sunnah, who recognize the first four caliphs. Their hadith standard, in the hadith article, is the Six Books: al-Bukhari (died 870), Muslim (died 875), Ibn Majah (died 886), Abu Dawud (died 889), al-Tirmidhi (died 892), and al-Nasa’i (died 915). Britannica says these are generally considered the most reliable hadith for Sunni Muslims, and that Bukhari and Muslim are the most authoritative of them.
A quotation from sunnah.com on this site is marked “Sunni hadith.” That includes Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Shia Muslims may cite a report that also sits in a Sunni collection. The label names the collection’s community. It does not say a Shia reader has never heard the report.
What do Sunni Muslims believe?
Shia collections
Britannica describes Shi‘i Muslims as the smaller branch, divided from the others over leadership after Muhammad. For hadith, its hadith article names four books: Kitab al-Kafi of al-Kulayni (died 941), Kitab man la yahduruhu al-faqih of Ibn Babawayh (died 991), and Tahdhib al-ahkam and al-Istibsar, both by al-Tusi (died 1067). It says that for Shi‘is a hadith may report the Prophet or the imams.
Encyclopaedia Iranica calls al-Kafi the oldest of the four canonical books of traditions of the Imami Shi‘a. It says Kulayni worked on it for twenty years and that it contains over 16,000 traditions. It also records that some Imami scholars said the book included forged traditions. This site does not call al-Kafi “all sound.”
Nahj al-Balagha is a selection of Ali’s sermons and letters, compiled by al-Sharif al-Radi (died 1016). Britannica says it is widely acclaimed among Shi‘is. It is not one of the Four Books.
A quotation this site takes from a Shia collection is marked “Shia collection.”
Qur’an only
Some Muslims accept the Qur’an and do not treat hadith collections as scripture. This site uses that description as a label for the reader. It does not put a movement’s manifesto on the page, and it does not invent a doctrine URL. A shelf for that position is later. Until then, a Qur’an box is still marked as the Qur’an, and a hadith box is still marked as hadith, so a reader who stops at the Qur’an can see which sentences are which.
Sira and history
Ibn Ishaq’s life, in A. Guillaume’s translation, and al-Tabari’s history are how both communities tell Muhammad’s life when the Qur’an is brief. They are not the Six Books and they are not the Four Books. A quotation from them is marked “Sira and history · not scripture.”
How the label is used
On a page that rests on Sunni hadith, a short note says what still stands from the Qur’an if the reader is Shia. The note is not a verdict between the branches. Sunni and Shia states the disagreement in their own sources and does not pick a Muslim side.
Frequently asked questions
Do Sunni Muslims accept al-Kafi?
The Four Books are the Shi‘i canon in Britannica’s account. Sunni Muslims order their reports by the Six Books instead.
Do Shia Muslims accept Bukhari?
Bukhari is a Sunni collection. A Shia argument may quote a report that also appears there, as with the household sermon in Sahih Muslim 2408aOne day Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) stood up to deliver sermon at a watering place known as Khumm situated between Mecca and Medina. He praised Allah, extolled Him and delivered the sermon and. exhorted (us) and said: Now to our purpose. O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I, in response to Allah's call, (would bid good-bye to you), but I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said: The second are the members of my household I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family.
Sahih Muslim 2408a · sunnah.com EnglishOpen on sunnah.com ↗ on the Sunni and Shia page. The collection’s authority is still Sunni.
What share of Muslims is each?
Pew’s 2009 report says: “Of the total Muslim population, 10-13% are Shia Muslims and 87-90% are Sunni Muslims.” It treats the ranges as approximate.
References
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, hadith (The Six Books for Sunni Muslims, and the four books Shi‘i Muslims consider most authoritative.)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Sunni (The majority branch, also called Ahl al-Sunnah, recognizing the first four caliphs.)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Shi‘i (Andrew J. Newman. The smaller branch. Leadership after Muhammad is the split.)
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, Kolayni (Etan Kohlberg, 2004.)
- Pew Research Center, Mapping the Global Muslim Population, Sunni and Shia populations (2009. Of the total Muslim population, 10–13 percent Shia and 87–90 percent Sunni. The report calls the figures approximate ranges.)
See also
- How Old Was Aisha When She Married Muhammad? — In Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, Aisha says she was married at six and that the marriage was consummated at nine. Those reports also say she remained with him nine years, until his death at sixty-three.
- What are hadith and sira? — A hadith is a report of what Muhammad said or did. The sira is the biographical tradition of his life. Sunni and Shia Muslims do not treat the same hadith books as their canon.
- How did Muhammad die? — Muslim sources say Muhammad died in Medina in 632, at sixty-three, and that in his last illness he still felt the poison from a sheep he had eaten at Khaybar.
- How many wives did Muhammad have? — The Qur’an permits Muhammad more wives than the four it allows other men. Muslim historians name Khadijah first, and Sunni hadith name Aisha among those who followed.
- Is Muhammad the Paraclete or Ahmad? — Some Muslims hear Muhammad in Jesus' promise of the Comforter, and in the name Ahmad in Qur'an 61:6. John 14–16 says who that person is.