Summarized Sahih Muslim 2 Volume Set

Summarized Sahih Muslim (مختصر صحيح مسلم) is the classic abridgement of Sahih Muslim by the Egyptian hadith scholar al-Mundhiri. It gives 2,179 hadith in 70 books, with the Arabic text and an English translation, in two hardcover volumes from Darussalam. For most readers who want Sahih Muslim on their shelf and will actually read it, this is the better choice than the full multi-volume collection.

Why Sahih Muslim matters

Sahih Muslim was compiled in the 9th century by Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj of Nishapur. Along with Sahih al-Bukhari, it is one of the two collections Sunni scholars rank highest. The 19th-century scholar Siddiq Hasan Khan summed up the consensus: the most authentic book after the Book of Allah is Sahih al-Bukhari, and then Sahih Muslim. Imam Muslim was known for strict conditions on who he would accept as a narrator. According to one report cited on Wikipedia, he gathered about 12,000 narrations and chose around 4,000 of them for the book.

The full work is large. Modern counts give about 7,400 narrations once every separate chain is counted, many of them the same saying of the Prophet reported through different routes. That is valuable for scholars, but heavy going for everyday reading.

What al-Mundhiri's summary does

Al-Mundhiri set out to make Sahih Muslim easier to read, memorise, and search. He removed the repeated versions of each report, so a hadith appears once rather than several times, and kept the text the reader actually needs. The result is 2,179 hadith organised into 70 books by subject. Nothing outside Sahih Muslim has been added, so everything in the book carries the authority of the original.

The layout helps too. Because each subject is gathered in one place, you can look up what the Prophet said about a topic, such as prayer, fasting, marriage or trade, without working through long runs of near-identical chains.

What the two volumes cover

According to Darussalam, Volume 1 deals with the foundations of faith and the acts of worship. Volume 2 covers ethics and conduct, family and social life, business dealings, and the Hereafter. Between them they cover most areas of daily Islamic practice.

About this Darussalam edition

This edition prints each hadith in Arabic with its English translation. Darussalam's listing notes that care was taken to put the hadith into clear, simple modern English, and the set includes an index so you can find subjects quickly.

About Imam Muslim and al-Mundhiri

Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri lived in Nishapur, in today's Iran, and died there in 261 AH (875 CE). He travelled widely to hear hadith and was a student of Imam al-Bukhari.

Zaki al-Din Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri was born in Fustat, Egypt, in 581 AH (1185 CE) and died in Cairo in 656 AH (1258 CE). He was a Shafi'i jurist and one of the leading hadith scholars of his time. Besides this abridgement he wrote al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, a well-known collection of hadith on good deeds and warnings, and an abridgement of Sunan Abi Dawud.

Who this set suits

It suits English-speaking readers in the UAE who want one of the two most authentic Hadith collections in a form they can read cover to cover. It works for family reading, study circles, teachers, and students who have finished Riyad-us-Saliheen and want to read further in the main sources. Scholars and researchers who need every chain of narration should buy the full Sahih Muslim instead.

Related books

The natural companion is Summarized Sahih al-Bukhari, which does the same for the other Sahih. For a topic-based collection drawn from both, see Riyad-us-Saliheen. To understand how scholars grade hadith and narrators, read An Introduction to the Science of Hadith. For shorter everyday reading, try 200 Golden Hadith from the Messenger of Allah or the du'a book Fortress of the Muslim, and for a practical guide to worship and manners, Minhaj al Muslim. Browse the full Hadith collection for more.

Frequently asked questions

What is Summarized Sahih Muslim?

It is al-Mundhiri's abridgement of Sahih Muslim, known in Arabic as مختصر صحيح مسلم (Mukhtasar Sahih Muslim). He kept the substance of Imam Muslim's collection and removed the repeated versions of each report, so the reader gets 2,179 hadith in 70 books instead of several thousand narrations. This Darussalam set gives the Arabic text with an English translation.

How many hadith are in this edition?

2,179 hadith arranged in 70 books, according to Darussalam's listing. The full Sahih Muslim has about 7,400 narrations when every repeated chain is counted, but only around 3,000 once repetitions are removed, which is why an abridgement can keep so much while being far shorter.

Is this the complete Sahih Muslim?

No. It is the summarized version. If you need every chain of narration for study or research, you need the full Sahih Muslim. For reading, teaching and daily reference, the summarized edition is easier to use.

Does it include the Arabic text?

Yes. Each hadith appears in Arabic with the English translation.

Who was al-Mundhiri?

Zaki al-Din Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri was an Egyptian Shafi'i scholar, born in Fustat in 581 AH (1185 CE) and died in Cairo in 656 AH (1258 CE). He also wrote al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib and an abridgement of Sunan Abi Dawud.

What is in each volume?

Volume 1 covers faith and the acts of worship. Volume 2 covers ethics, social conduct, business dealings, and the Hereafter.

How many pages is the set and what is the ISBN?

About 1,208 pages across two hardcover volumes. The ISBN of the set is 9789960899619.

How long does delivery take in the UAE?

Orders dispatch from Sharjah. Standard delivery takes 2 to 4 working days, and delivery is free on orders over AED 300.