Sahih Muslim (Muslim's Authentic Collection)
The second most authoritative hadith collection in Sunni Islam, compiled by Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj.
Sahih Muslim is the second most authoritative hadith collection in Sunni Islam after Sahih al-Bukhari. It was compiled by Imam Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi (815-875 CE). The work contains approximately 7,500 hadith (with repetitions) or around 3,033 unique narrations, selected from 300,000 narrations.
Imam Muslim organized his work thematically and gathered all narrations on a given topic in one place, making it easier to study than Sahih al-Bukhari, which distributes related hadith across multiple chapters. Imam Muslim's methodology was equally strict, and he required a continuous chain of trustworthy narrators.
In "Kitab al-Salah" (The Book of Prayer) in Sahih Muslim, one finds fundamental narrations about the five pillars of prayer, including the famous hadith: "Islam is built upon five pillars: The testimony that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing the prayer, paying zakat, fasting in Ramadan, and pilgrimage to the House." Imam al-Nawawi wrote his famous commentary "al-Minhaj" on this work.
Related terms
Salat al-Musafir (Traveler's Prayer)
The shortened prayers that travelers perform while traveling.
Khushu (Humility in Prayer)
Inner humility, focus and devotion during prayer.
Qalb Salim (The Pure Heart)
The pure, sincere heart — the ultimate goal of prayer and worship.
Salat al-Wahsha (The Prayer of Loneliness)
A prayer performed on the first night after burial for the soul of the deceased.
Qiyam (Standing Position)
The standing position in prayer, during which the Quran is recited.
Janamaz (Prayer Rug)
The prayer rug that the worshipper uses to mark a clean prayer area.