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The Commentaries of the Six Canonical Books of Ḥadīth

The Commentaries of the Six Canonical Books of Ḥadīth

45 min readJuly 14, 2022
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بسم الله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده

Ālimah Siddiqa al-Fārsiyyah
Student, Takhassus Fi 'l-Hadith
Checked and Approved:
Mufti Ismail Moosa
www.ulumalhadith.com

INTRODUCTION

Allāh Taʿālā blessed the Muhammadan nation with scholars of ḥadīth who spared no effort in travelling for the noble ḥadīths of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), compiling them, and distinguishing the acceptable from the fabricated. Among these noble scholars were the authors of the six canonical books of ḥadīth, known as al-Kutub as-Sittah (the six books) or aṣ-Ṣihāḥ as-Sittah (the six authentic compilations), due to the majority of authentic narrations they comprise of. Imām Bukhārī, Imām Muslim, Imām Nasāʾī, Imām Abū Dāwūd, Imām Tirmidhī, and Imām Ibn Mājah (raḥimahumullāh) exerted their utmost efforts for this cause. They sieved through the ḥadīths they gathered and collated what they deemed sound into compilations. After them, observing the need for elaboration and clarification, many scholars authored commentaries on the six compilations. They clarified the spelling and vowelisation of names, elucidated the details of narrators, explained ambiguous words, discussed the juridical matters pertaining to every chapter, and commented on the implications and context of every ḥadīth.

In this article, I list many commentaries for the six compilations in alphabetical order (Arabic), and I divide the commentaries into two groups: those that are in the Arabic language and those that are in Urdu. I also discuss other works that are related to these books, in the form of abridgments and annotations. Additionally, for many of the commentaries and other works, I have stated which publishers have published the book, and which muḥaqqiq (editor) has conducted taḥqīq (research) on the book.

ṢAḤĪḤ AL-BUKHĀRĪ

Arabic commentaries & annotations (and other works)

(ألف)

  1. Aʿlām al-Ḥadīth fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by ʿAllāmah Khaṭṭābī ( 388 AH) (raḥimahullāh). It is the first commentary to be written on some of the ḥadīths of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and is published and available online. Dr. Muḥammad ibn Saʿd Āl Saʿūd has conducted taḥqīq (research) on it which has been published in four volumes by At-Turāth al-Islāmī. This commentary is also published with the title, Aʿlām as-Sunan fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī by Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah (DKI) in two volumes. In this commentary, Imām Khaṭṭābī (raḥimahullāh) discusses the correct spelling and vowelisation of the words of the ḥadīths at length and supports his discussion with many proofs from the Arabic language. He relied on the transmission of Imām Nasafī from the beginning of the book until the beginning of Kitāb at-Tafsīr. Thereafter, he relied on the transmission of Imām Firabrī until Kitāb al-Fitan. He only commented on some chapters of the Ṣaḥīḥ, and in those chapters, he omitted some ḥadīths and only retained those that mention ambiguities and require clarification. Overall, his commentary is a lughawī (lexical) commentary. Lastly, there is a link between this commentary of his, and his other commentary titled, Maʿālim as-Sunan, as Imām Khaṭṭābī (raḥimahullāh) considers this commentary of his to complete the other.
  2. Ikhtisār Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī wa Bayān Gharībihi, by Imām Abu ‘l-ʿAbbās al-Qurṭubī (d. 656 AH). It is published by Dār an-Nawādir in five volumes, with the taḥqīq (research) of Rifʿat Fawzī ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. This book is an abridgment of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Imām Abu ‘l-ʿAbbās al-Qurṭubī omitted the chains of transmission from all of its ḥadīths as well as the repeated ḥadīths. From the repeated ḥadīths, he only mentioned the ones that are the most comprehensive.
  3. Irshād as-Sārī li Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Imām Abū ‘l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Qasṭallānī (d. 923 AH). It is published by Dār al-Ghawthānī and Al-Maṭbaʿat al-Amīriyyah in ten volumes, by DKI in fifteen volumes, as well as by others. It was recently published by Dār Ibn Ḥazm in twenty volumes with the research of Al-Maktab al-ʿIlmī of Dār al-Kamāl al-Muttaḥidah, and this seems to be the largest print thus far. The Bulāq print of al-Maṭbaʿat al-Amīriyyah is the most accurate print of the book; it has been revised and reprinted seven times, eventually with the addition of Imām Nawawī’s footnotes. Imām Qasṭallānī has relied upon many sources and has quoted from Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar extensively. By simplifying what Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar mentions, this commentary is more recommended for students compared to Fatḥ al-Bārī, since the author has very meticulously chosen the important points from that enormous book.

(ت)

  1. At-Tanqīḥ li Alfāẓ al-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ, by Imām Badr ad-Dīn az-Zarkashī (d. 794 AH). It is published by Maktabat ar-Rushd in three volumes, with the taḥqīq (research) of Dr. Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad ʿAlī al-Ḥakamī.
  2. At-Tajrīd aṣ-Ṣarīḥ li Aḥkām al-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ, by Imām Zayn ad-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Laṭīf az-Zabīdī. This is an abridgment of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. It is commonly published with the title, Mukhtaṣar Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Many different publishers have published the book and there are several taḥqīqs (revisions) for it, such as the one by Shaykh Ṭāriq ibn ʿIwaḍullāh printed by Dār Ibn al-Jawzī.
  3. Taghlīq at-Taʿlīq ʿalā Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852 AH). Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar discusses the muʿallaq (suspended) and mawqūf (discontinued) reports of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and proves that their chains are in fact connected. He has also discussed their authenticity and closed the path for anyone attempting to cast doubts on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī through its muʿallaq (suspended) and mawqūf (discontinued) reports. It is published by Al-Maktabat al-Islāmī in five volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān Mūsā al-Qazqī.
  4. Taʿlīqāt al-Qārī ʿalā Thulāthiyyāt al-Bukhārī, by Mullā ʿAlī ibn Sulṭān Muḥammad al-Qārī (d. 1014 AH). It is published by Dār al-Bashāʾir al-Islāmiyyah. The book can be purchased here.
  5. Tuḥfat al-Bārī bi Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Shaykh al-Islām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī (d. 926 AH). It is jointly published by DKI and Dār Ibn Ḥazm in seven volumes.
  6. At-Tawḍīḥ li Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ, by Imām Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī al-Anṣārī Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 804 AH). Imām Ibn al-Mulaqqin said regarding the book, ‘[This book] is the finest portrayal of the contributions of former and latter-day scholars until our time [his time]; for indeed, I have looked into most of the books in this subject.’ Thereafter, he lists the books that he relied upon; a lot of them being books that are considered mafqūd (lost) in our era, such as the commentaries of Quṭub al-Ḥalabī, Imām Mughulṭāʾī and Ibn at-Tīn, Tārīkh Nishāpūr, Sunan of Ibn as-Sakan, Aṣ-Ṣaḥābah of Imām ʿAskarī, and the Tafsīr of Ibn Mardawayh, among other books. This makes the work very valuable as, through this work, the author preserved many fragments of books that are no longer at our disposal; creating an avenue through which we can benefit from them. Another feature that adds value to this book is that the author mentions many principles and benefits related to ḥadīth, fiqh, uṣūl, lughah, and the like. He also has a valuable introduction on ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth which his student, Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar, later seems to have relied upon when writing his Fatḥ al-Bārī. This commentary is published by Dār al-Falāḥ in 36 volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Khālid Maḥmūd ar-Rabbāṭ and Dr. Jumʿah Fatḥī ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm.
  7. At-Tawshīḥ Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ, by Imām Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH). It is published by Maktabat ar-Rushd Riyad with the taḥqīq (research) of Riḍwān Jāmiʿ Riḍwān in nine volumes and is available online. This commentary requires no lengthy introduction, as the rank of Imām Suyūṭī (raḥimahullāh) in ḥadīth and its sciences is renowned. He prefaced the book with an invaluable introduction that discusses everything related to Imām Bukhārī, his presumed conditions, the subject matter, and the narrators of the Ṣaḥīḥ. He mentions that he has precisely written and vowelised the words of ḥadīths, explained their ambiguities, indicated to the differences among the narrations, clarified the unknown and unclear terms, related the marfūʿ chains (that reach the Prophet ﷺ) for the ḥadīths that Imām Bukhārī (raḥimahullāh) has indicated to in the chapter headings, and tried reconciling between the apparently contradictory narrations.
  8. At-Talkhīṣ Sharḥ Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ li ’l-Bukhārī, by Imām Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyā ibn Sharaf an-Nawawī (d. 676 AH). This commentary is essential for any individual aspiring to gain a good understanding of Imām Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ. In the introduction, Imām Nawawī discussed the transmission of Imām Firabrī and does not indicate other transmissions. He mentions the biography of Imām Bukhārī (raḥimahullāh), his conditions, and the number of ḥadīths in the Ṣaḥīḥ. Thereafter, he mentions the biographies of narrators who narrated the Ṣaḥīḥ from Imām Bukhārī, including Al-Firabrī, Al-Ḥimawī, Abū ‘l-Waqt, Zubaydī, and Abū Muḥammad ibn Qudāmah. After that, he brings twenty subchapters to discuss the principles of ḥadīth. For his commentary, he relied on the transmission of Imām Abū ‘l-Waqt as-Sijzī, as this was the most common transmission during that time in the eastern lands. Imām Abū ‘l-Waqt’s transmission of the Ṣaḥīḥ is from A-Ḥimawī, from Al-Firabrī, from Imām al-Bukhārī. The commentary was first published by Idārat aṭ-Tabāʿat al-Munīriyyah, Cairo in 280 pages in 1347 AH/1925 CE. Then, after a few other publishers, Dār at-Tayyibah published it in two volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Abū Qutaybah Naḍr al-Fāryābī in 1429 AH/2008 CE. This is available online. It is from among the last books written by Imām Nawawī (raḥimahullāh), as he passed away before he could complete it. The commentary includes Kitāb Badʾ al-Waḥy and Kitāb al-Aymān, until the last ḥadīth. Many scholars after him benefitted from his commentary, including Imām Kirmānī in his Al-Kawākib, Imām Ibn al-Mulaqqin in his at-Tawḍīḥ, Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar in his Al-Fatḥ, Imām al-ʿAynī in his Al-ʿUmdah, and Imām Qasṭallānī in his Al-Irshād.

(ح)

  1. Ḥāshiyat as-Sindī ʿalā Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by ʿAllāmah Abū ‘l-Ḥasan as-Sindī (d. 1139 AH). This is a very brief but beneficial commentary. It is usually printed with the Ṣaḥīḥ itself such as in the Maktabat al-Bushrā print, which is available online.
  2. Ḥāshiyah at-Tāwudī ibn Sawdah ʿalā Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Imām Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad at-Tāwudī ibn Sawdah (d. 1209 AH). It is published by DKI in six volumes.

(ش)

  1. Sharḥ Thulāthiyyāt al-Imām al-Bukhārī, by Imām Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad al-ʿAjamī ash-Shāfiʿī (d. 1086 AH). It is a small book edited by Dr. Mursī Muḥammad Ḥasan and published by Dār aṣ-Ṣāliḥ.
  2. Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by ʿAllāmah Shams ad-Dīn as-Safīrī (d. 956 AH). It is published by Dār an-Nawādir in five volumes. The above link to the book is the DKI print. 
  3. Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Imām Abū ‘l-Ḥusayn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf ibn Baṭṭāl al-Mālikī (d. 449 AH). It is published by Maktabat ar-Rushd in eleven volumes.
  4. Sharḥ Tarājim Abwāb al-Bukhārī, by Imām Waliyyullāh ad-Dihlawī (d. 1176 AH). It has recently been published by Dār at-Taqwā and Dār ad-Daqqāq.

(ض)

Ḍiyāʾ as-Sārī fī Masālik Abwāb al-Bukhārī, by Imām ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām al-Baṣrī (d. 1134 AH). It is published by Dār an-Nawādir in eighteen volumes.

(ع)

  1. ʿUmdat al-Qārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Abū Muḥammad Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad Badr ad-Dīn al-ʿAynī (d. 855 AH). It is published by Dār Iḥyāʾ at-Turāth al-ʿArabī and DKI in 25 volumes. It has also been published by Maktabat Tawfiqiyyah in 20 volumes, Dār al-Fikr in 16 volumes, and Dār al-Ḥadīth Cairo in 22 volumes. A good print is the Dār al-ʿĀlamiyyah print which comes in 20 volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Muḥammad Naṣr Abū Jabal, whilst the best print is the print by Idārat aṭ-Ṭabāʿah al-Munīriyyah which comes in 25 volumes. It is a very comprehensive and beneficial commentary. Imām al-ʿAynī commences the book with a brief introduction that is less than twenty pages, and he relates his chain of transmission to Imām Bukhārī (raḥimahullāh), followed by discussions regarding the title, why it was authored, its rank over other books, its distinguishing features, and the presumed conditions of Imām Bukhārī for narrating ḥadīth. He also discusses the number of musnad (connected to the Prophet ﷺ) ḥadīths present in the Ṣaḥīḥ, he lists its chapters and mentions the number of ḥadīths in them.  He discusses the teachers of Imām Bukhārī, mutakallam fīh (criticised) narrators in the Ṣaḥīḥ, and the difference among the terms iʿtibār (the method of corroborating), mutābaʿah and shāhid (corroborations), among other discussions. Finally, he briefly discusses the subject matter of ʿIlm al-Ḥadīth which he seems to have taken from the commentary of ʿAllāmah Kirmānī (raḥimahullāh).
  2. ʿAwn al-Bārī bi Ḥalli Adillat al-Bukhārī, by Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān al-Bukhārī (d. 1308 AH). It is a commentary on Imām az-Zabīdī’s abridgment, which he based on Fatḥ al-Bārī. It is published by Dār ar-Rashīd Aleppo in five volumes and is available online. Dār an-Nawādir has also published it in ten volumes.

(ف)

  1. Fatḥ al-Bārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Imām Zayn ad-Dīn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Aḥmad in Rajab al-Hanbalī (d. 795 AH). It is published by Maktabat al-Ghurabāʾ al-Athariyyah in ten volumes. It has been researched by eight researchers including Maḥmūd ibn Shaʿbān ibn ʿAbd al-Maqṣūd, Majdī ibn ʿAbd al-Khāliq, Ibrāhīm ibn Ismāʿīl al-Qāḍī, As-Sayyid ʿIzzat al-Mursī, Muḥammad ibn ʿIwaḍ al-Manqūsh, Ṣalāḥ ibn Sālim al-Miṣrātī, ʿAlāʾ ibn Muṣṭafā ibn Humām, and Ṣabrī ibn ʿAbd al-Khāliq. Imām Ibn Rajab was unable to complete this commentary in his lifetime; he only reached Kitāb al-Janāʾiz. Despite this, his commentary is filled with ḥadīths, benefits, and juridical and linguistic subtleties.
  2. Fatḥ al-Bārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī. This is the best and most renowned commentary of Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī. It is published by Ar-Risālah al-ʿĀlamiyyah in twenty-six volumes, as well as by several other publishers.

(ك)

  1. Al-Kawākib ad-Durārī fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Imām Muḥammad ibn Yusuf al-Kirmānī (d. 786 AH). It is published by Dār Iḥyāʾ at-Turāth al-ʿArabī Beirut in 25 volumes. It is a commentary of medium length in which the author elaborates the meanings of unclear words and phrases, and elucidates the grammatical and rhetorical nuances, all of which keep the reader intrigued. Thereafter, he delves into the commentary of the ḥadīths and discusses everything related to its narrators, its fiqh, and other topics such as etiquettes.
  2. Kifāyat al-Qārī bi Sharḥ Thulathiyyāt al-Bukhārī, by ʿAllāmah Ḥamīd ad-Dīn as-Sindī (d. 1009 AH). It has recently been published for the first time by Dār ar-Rayāḥ īn with the taḥqīq (research) of Shaykh Abū ‘l-Barakāt as-Sindī.
  3. Al-Kawthar al-Jārī ilā Riyāḍ Aḥādīth al-Bukhārī, by Imām Aḥmad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Kūrānī (d. 893 AH). It is published by Dār Iḥyāʾ at-Turāth al-ʿArabī in eleven volumes and is available online. Imām Kūrānī (raḥimahullāh) prefaces his commentary by relating his chain of transmission to Imām Bukhārī (raḥimahullāh), and he then commences with the chapter of Badʾ al-Waḥy (beginning of revelation).

(ل)

Al-Lāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣabīḥ bi Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ, by Imām Shams ad-Dīn al-Birmāwī (d. 831 AH) It is published by Dār an-Nawādir in eighteen volumes.

(م)

  1. Maʿūnat al-Qārī li Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Manūfī al-Mālikī (d. 939 AH). It is published by Dār al-ʿĀṣimah with the taḥqīq (research) of Shaykh Sulaymān ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn Ḥamūd.
  2. Maṣābīḥ al-Jāmiʿ, by Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ad-Damāmīnī (d. 827 AH). It is published by Dār an-Nawādir and Wazārat al-Awqāf wa ‘sh-Shuʾūn al-Islāmiyyah, Qatar in ten volumes, with the taḥqīq (research) of Nūr ad-Dīn Ṭālib and his committee of researchers. It is available online. The author wrote this book to one of the kings of Hind, Sulṭān Aḥmad Shāh ibn Muḥammad Shāh, whilst the author was travelling. He described his book by saying:

These are notes shining with radiance, high in value, that wipe out the injustice of beastly problems and guide to the clearest straight path. They are lamps that are envied by chandeliers, their meanings become clear to those who contemplate, and its advantages are brilliant. It contains explanations of rare words, diacritical marks for inimitable words, and illustrative benefits whose sweetness upright senses testify to. Additionally, it includes evidence for the texts of the ḥadīth, rare gems that few scholars have mentioned, continuous reminders for the eyes that are lifeless, and other engrossing discussions and benefits that render its possessor in need of no other.

3. Al-Mutawārī ʿalā Abwāb al-Bukhārī, by ʿAllāmah Nāṣir ad-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Munīr (d. 683 AH). It is published by DKI with the taḥqīq (research) of Ḥāmid ʿAbdullāh al-Maḥallāwī.

(ن)

  1. An-Naṣīḥah fī Sharḥ al-Bukhārī, by Abu Jaʿfar Aḥmad al-Asadī ad-Dawūdī (d. 402 AH) (raḥimahullāh). Based on his year of demise, it seems that he was the second person to write a commentary on the Ṣaḥīḥ. Unfortunately, it is mafqūd (lost) and no manuscript is known today although many scholars of the past did possess a copy.
  2. An-Nīrayn fī Sharḥ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥayn by Abū Bakr ibn Al-ʿArabī (d. 543 AH) (raḥimahullāh). He was the third person to write a commentary on the Ṣaḥīḥ. As evident, it is not just a commentary of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, but of both Al-Bukhārī and Muslim (ṣaḥīḥayn). This work is unpublished.
  3. An-Nāẓir aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ ʿalā ’l-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ, by Imām Sibṭ ibn al-ʿAjmī (d. 884 AH). It is published by DKI in two volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Ḥāmid ʿAbdullāh al-Maḥallāwī.

Urdu commentaries & annotations

(ألف)

  1. Irshād al-Qārī ilā Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Muftī Rashīd Aḥmad Ludhyānwī. It is published by Maktabat al-Khalīj and is available online.
  2. Inʿām al-Bārī Durūs Bukhārī Sharīf, by Muftī Taqī ʿUthmānī. It is published by Maktabat al-Ḥirāʾ in seven volumes and is available online.
  3. Īḍāḥ al-Bukhārī, by Mawlānā Sayyid Fakhr ad-Dīn Aḥmad. It is published by Maktabat Majlis Qāsim al-Maʿārif in six volumes, and by Qadīmī Kutub Khāna Karachi in three volumes. Both are available online.
  4. Ikrām al-Bārī Sharḥ al-Ḥadithayn li ’l-Bukhārī, by ʿAllāmah Ikrām ʿAlī, the previous Shaykh al-Ḥadīth of Jāmiʿah Taʿlīm ad-Dīn Dabhel. It is published by Jāmiʿah Islāmiyyah Dār al-ʿUlūm Hyderabad and is available online.
  5. Anwār al-Bārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Mawlānā Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī. It is published by Idārat Taʾlīfāt Ashfariyyah in nineteen volumes and is available online.

(ت)

  1. Taqrīr Bukhārī Sharīf, by Mawlānā Muḥammad Zakariyyā Kandhlawī. It is printed by Maktabat ash-Shaykh, Karachi in five volumes and is available online.
  2. Tashrīhāt-i-Bukhārī, which includes the benefits of Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad Gangôhī, Mawlānā Husain Aḥmad Madanī, and Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Muḥammad Zakariyyā Kandhlawī. It is published by Kutub Khāna Majīdiyyah in seven volumes and is available online.
  3. Tuḥfat al-Qārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Muftī Saʿīd Aḥmad Pālanpūrī. It is published by Maktabah Ḥijāz, Deoband, in twelve volumes and is available online. A revised edition has recently been published by Zam Zam Publishers, but it only includes the first four volumes.
  4. Taysīr al-Bārī, by Mawlānā Wahīd az-Zamān. It is published by Ḍiyāʾ Iḥsān Publishers in six volumes and is available online.
  5. Tafhīm al-Bukhārī, by Mawlānā Ẓuhūr al-Bārī Aʿẓamī. It is published by Dār al-Ishāʿah in three volumes and is available online.
  6. Tabshīr an-Nās fī Sharḥ Qāla Baʿḍ an-Nās, by Mawlānā Qāḍī Bāqī bi ’llāh Zāhid, the teacher of Madrasah Ashrafiyyah Muslim Town, Lahore. It is published by Muḥammad Yaʿqūb Qaṣūrwī via Nuʿmān Publishing Company in 136 pages and is available online.
  7. At-Tajrīd aṣ-Ṣarīḥ li Aḥadīth al-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ. Imām Zayn ad-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Laṭīf az-Zabīdī (d. 893 AH) summarised Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī by omitting the repeated chains and narrations. The translation and commentary are by Mawlānā Ẓuhūr al-Bārī, and it was arranged by Mawlānā Muḥammad ʿĀbid. It is published by Dār al-Ishāʿah and is available online.

(ث)

Thamīn ad-Darārī Muqaddimah Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Bāqī, the head of Jāmiʿah Islāmiyyah Miftāḥ al-ʿUlūm. It is published by the Jāmiʿah in eighty pages and is available online.

(خ)

  1. Al-Khayr as-Sārī fī Tashriḥāt al-Bukhārī, by Mawlānā Muḥammad Ṣiddīq. It is published by Maktabat Imdādiyyah Multan in five volumes and is available online.
  2. Al-Khayr al-Jārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Mawlānā Idrīs Kandhlawī. It is published by Idārat Taʾlifāt Ashfariyyah in six volumes and is available online.

(د)

Dars-i-Bukhārī, by Mawlānā Niẓām ad-Dīn Shāmzai Shahīd. It is published by Idārat al-Anwar and is available online.

(ع)

  1. ʿInāyat al-Bārī li Ṭalabat al-Bukhārī, by Mawlānā Muḥammad Idrīs Hūshyārpūrī. It combines different sections of five commentaries of al-Bukhārī: Kashf al-Bārī, Inʿām al-Bārī, Al-Khayr as-Sārī, Naṣr al-Bārī, and Dalīl al-Qārī. It is published by Idārat Taʾlifāt Ashrafiyyah and is available online.
  2. ʿAtāʾ al-Bārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, by Mawlānā Muḥammad ʿAtāʾ al-Munʿim. It is published by Idārah Taʾlifāt Ashrafiyyah in two volumes.

(ف)

Fayḍ al-Bārī, by ʿAllāmah Abū ’l-Ḥasan Siyalkūtī. It is an Urdu translation of Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar’s Fatḥ al-Bārī. It is published by Matabah Aṣḥāb al-Ḥadīth in 30 volumes and is available online.

(ك)

Kashf al-Bārī ʿammā fī Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Mawlānā Salīmullāh Khān Ṣāhib. It is published by Maktabah Fārūqiyyah in approximately twenty-one volumes.

(ن)

Naṣr al-Bārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, by Mawlānā ʿUthmān Ghanī. It is published by Maktabat ash-Shaykh in thirteen volumes and is available online.

ṢAḤĪḤ MUSLIM

Arabic commentaries & annotations

(ألف) 

  1. Ikmāl al-Muʿlim bi Fawāʾid Muslim, by Qāḍī Abu ’l-Fadhl ʿIyād al-Yaḥṣubī (d. 544 AH). It is the completion of Imām Māzirī’s commentary by Qāḍī ʿIyād and is considered to be the first commentary of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that was properly revised and organised. It was the primary source for Imām Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ (raḥimahullāh), followed by Imām Nawawī (raḥimahullāh), and many scholars after that.  It is published by Dār al-Wafāʾ in nine volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Dr. Yaḥyā Ismāʿīl.
  2. Ikmāl Ikmāl al-Muʿlim bi Fawāʾid Kitāb Muslim, by Imām Muḥammad ibn Khalīfah Ubayy al-Mālikī (d. 827-8 AH). The author combined four commentaries of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: Al-Muʿlim of Imām Māzirī, Ikmāl al-Muʿlim of Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ, al-Mufhim of Imām Qurṭubī, and Al-Minhāj of Imām Nawawī, and made some additions. It is published by DKI in seven volumes with the commentary of Imām Sanūsī (d. 892-5 AH).

(ت)

  1. Tuḥfat al-Munjid wa ’l-Muthim fī Gharīb Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, by Imām Sibṭ ibn al-ʿAjamī (d. 841 AH). It is published by Muʾassasat ʿIlm li Iḥyāʾ at-Turāth in two volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of the ʿIlm li Iḥyāʾ at-Turāth board under the guidance of ʿAbd al-ʿĀṭī Muḥyī ash-Sharqāwī.
  2. Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim bi Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Imām Muslim, by Muftī Taqī al-ʿUthmānī (b. 1943 CE). It is published by Dār al-Qalam in six volumes. This commentary is the completion of Fatḥ al-Mulhim, by Mawlānā Shabbīr Aḥmad al-ʿUthmānī.

(خ)

Khulāṣah al-Qawl al-Mufhim ʿalā Tarājim Rijāl Jāmiʿ al-Imām Muslim, by Imām Muḥammad Al-Amīn ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Buwayṭī (d. 1441 AH). It is published by Dār Al-Minhāj and Dār Ṭawq an-Najāh in two volumes.

(د)

Ad-Dībāj ʿalā Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim ibn al-Ḥajāj, by Al-Ḥāfiẓ Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH). This work is an annotation of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Imām Suyūṭī very seldom discusses juridical rulings and does not respond to seemingly contradictory narrations, except minimally. It is published by Dār Ibn ʿAffān and Dār al-Arqam in six volumes and is available online.

(س)

As-Sirāj al-Wahhāj fī Kashf Maṭālib Mukhtaṣar Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj, by Shaykh Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān al-Qannūjī (d. 1307 AH). The author comments on Mukhtaṣar Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by Imām al-Mundhirī (d. 656 AH). It is a medium-sized commentary; Imām Qannūjī does not discuss anything regarding the chains of transmission because he has commented on the abridged version by Imām Mundhirī which does not include the chains.[1]

(ص)

Ṣiyānah Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim min al-Ikhlāl wa ’l-Ghalaṭ wa Ḥimāyatihi min al-Isqāṭ wa ’s-Saqaṭ, by Imām Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ ash-Shahrazūrī (d. 643 AH). This is not a commentary on the Ṣaḥīḥ per se; rather the author mainly seeks to correct errors, omissions, inaccuracies, and the likes that have occurred in the Ṣaḥīḥ from different scribes and in different copies of the Ṣaḥīḥ. It is published by Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī with the taḥqīq (research) of Muwaffaq ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn ʿAbd al-Qādir, by Dār al-Ḥadīth wa ’s-Sunnah, Mogadishu, and by DKI with the taḥqīq (research) of Farīd ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Jundī.

(ف)

  1. Faḍl al-Munʿim fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, by Imām Shams ad-dīn al-Harawī (d. 829 AH). It is published by Dār an-Nawādir in six volumes, with the taḥqīq (research) of Nūr ad-Dīn Ṭālib and his committee of researchers.
  2. Fatḥ al-Mulhim bi Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Imām Muslim, by ʿAllāmah Shabbīr Aḥmad ʿUthmānī (d.  1369 AH). The introduction to the commentary is beneficial in aiding one’s acquaintance with the sciences of ḥadīth. However, the actual commentary of the muqaddimah (introduction) is predominantly based on the earlier commentaries, thus, there are few places containing new information. Shaykh Ithyūbī’s commentary and Shaykh Jonwpūrī’s notes have incorporated the muqaddimah. It is published by Dār al-Qalam Damascus in six volumes.

(ق)

Qurrat ʿAyn al-Muḥtāj fī Sharḥ Muqaddimat Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj, by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Ādam al-Ithyūbī (d. 1442 AH/2020 CE). This two-volume book is the most comprehensive commentary on the muqaddimah (introduction) with commentary on each word. It incorporates all the main commentaries on the muqaddimah (introduction), including Fatḥ al-Mulhim and Al-Ḥall al-Mufhim by Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad Gangohī (raḥimahullāh) (d. 1323 AH). It also incorporates some useful discussions on Uṣūl al-Ḥadīth, and includes detailed profiles of every narrator in the Muqaddimah (introduction) which is useful to obtain acquaintance with the science of Asmāʾ al-Rijāl and character discernment.

(م)

  1. Al-Mufhim li mā Ashkala min Talkhīṣ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, by Imām Ibn al-Muzayyin al-Mālikī al-Qurṭubī (d. 656 AH). The author benefitted from the two previous works of Imām Māzirī and Qāḍī ʿIyād, and produced a more excellent commentary after supplementing his additional benefits. It was published by Dār Ibn Kathīr, Damascus, for the first time in 1996 with the taḥqīq (research) of four researchers. Recently, in 2017, it was revised and published for the seventh time with the same taḥqīq (research), and so this seems to be the most promising print. This print is available online.
  2. Al-Muʿlim bi Fawāʾid Muslim, by Imām Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Māzirī (d. 536 AH). These are lessons that the author dictated to his students during his lessons on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. This commentary is considered one of the first commentaries, if not the first commentary written on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, as no earlier commentary is known from the author’s era. It is published by Bayt al-Ḥikmah, Tunisia, in three volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Muḥammad ash-Shādhilī and is available online.
  3. Al-Minhāj fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj, by Imām Yaḥyā ibn Sharaf an-Nawawī (d. 676 AH). The author has incorporated most of Qāḍī ʿIyād’s commentary. It is one of the most comprehensive, precise, and excellent commentaries of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. The author has not left any question that comes to the reader’s mind, except that he has answered it. He discusses the chains of transmission, grammatical points, the ambiguous or unknown names of narrators, the issues and verdicts that can be extracted from the ḥadīth, those who have taken the ḥadīth as their evidence and those who have opposed it, among many more benefits that cannot be listed in their entirety. Imām Nawawī (raḥimahullāh) read the previous commentaries, provided their summary in his work, and added additional points. It has been published by several publishing houses. Dār ibn Ḥazm published it in seven volumes. Dār Ibn Rajab and Dār al-Fawāʾid published it in nine volumes. They compared the text of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim with fourteen manuscripts and three prints and the commentary of Imām Nawawī with eight manuscripts and four prints. Muʾassasat ar-Risālah Nāshirūn published it in eight volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of the committee of Markaz ar-Risālah. They compared the commentary to two manuscripts and two previous prints. Dār al-Fayḥā and Dār al-Manhal published it in six volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Muwaffaq Marʿī. Finally, in 2020, Dār al-Minhāj al-Qawīm published the book in fifteen volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Māzin ibn Muḥammad as-Sirsāwī. They compared it to thirty previous manuscripts, and Dr. Bashshār ʿAwwād Maʿrūf and Dr. Ibrāhīm al-Lāḥim both praised the book in its introduction.
  4. Mukammal Ikmāl al-Ikmāl, by ʿAllāmah Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad as-Sanūsī (d. 892-5 AH). The author wrote an introduction for the work of Imām Ubayy, thus, both of their works combined are the finest and one of the most comprehensive commentaries of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. They are both published by DKI with the title, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim bi Sharḥ al-Ubayy wa ’s-Sanūsī, in nine volumes.
  5. Al-Mufḥim li Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, by Imām Abū ’l-Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Ghāfir ibn Ismāʿīl al-Fārisī (d. 529 AH). It is published by Asfār in three volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Dr. Mashhūr ibn Marzūq al-Ḥarāzī.
  6. Minhāj al-Muḥaddithīn wa Sabīl Ṭālibīh al-Muḥaqqiqīn fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Abī al-Ḥusain Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Qushayrī, by Imām Muḥy ad-Dīn Yaḥyā ibn Sharaf an-Nawawī (d. 676 AH). It is published by Dār al-Minhāj al-Qawīm with the taḥqīq (research) of Māzin ibn Muḥammad as-Sirsāwī in fifteen volumes. It has been compared with thirty manuscripts and includes the marginalia of Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar titled, Iltiqāṭ Iʿtirāḍ al- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī ʿalā Sharḥ an-Nawawī.
  7. The Introduction to Imām Muslim and his Ṣaḥīḥ, as well as notes on the Muqaddimah by Muḥaddith al-ʿAṣr Mawlānā Muḥammad Yūnus Jawnpūrī (d. 1438 AH), published in the third volume of al-Yawāqīt al-Gāliyah.

Urdu commentaries & annotations

(ألف)

Inʿāmāt al-Munʿim li Ṭālibāt al-Muslim, by Mawlānā Maḥbūb Aḥmad. It is published by Maktabah Raḥmāniyyah and is available online.

(ت)

  1. Tuḥfat al-Munʿim Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, by Mawlānā Faḍl Muḥammad Yūsufzai. It is published by Maktabah Uways al-Qarnī, Karachi, in three volumes.
  2. Tafhīm al-Muslim Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, by Mawlānā Muḥammad Zakariyyā Iqbāl. It is published by Dār al-Ishāʿah in three volumes.

(د)

Dars-i-Muslim, by Muftī Muḥammad Rafīʿ ʿUthmānī, the head of Dār al-ʿUlūm Karachi. It is published by Idārat al-Maʿārif Karachi in two volumes.

(ر)

Rawḍat al-Muslim Sharḥ Muqaddimat al-Muslim, by Shaykh Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṣiddīqī, a teacher of ḥadīth at Jāmiʿah Binnoriyyah. It is published by Zam Zam Publishers, Karachi, in 330 pages.

(ن)

  1. Niʿmat al-Munʿim Sharḥ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ li Muslim, by Mawlānā Niʿmatullāh Aʿẓamī, a teacher of ḥadīth at Dār al-ʿUlūm Deoband. It is published by Maktabat al-Badr, Deoband, in two volumes.
  2. Nafʿ al-Muslim Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, by Mawlānā Ikrām ʿAlī Bhāghalpūrī, the Shaykh al-Ḥadīth of Jāmiʿah Taʿlīm ad-Dīn, Dabhel. It is published by Zam Zam Publishers Karachi.

SUNAN NASAʿĪ

Arabic commentaries & annotations

(ألف)

Al-Imʿān fī Sharḥ an-Nasāʾī Abī ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān, by ʿAlī ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn Khalaf ibn Muḥammad ibn an-Niʿmah. Imām Dhahabī remarked, ‘He expanded it to the furthest extent.’[2]

(ت)

  1. At-Taʿlīqāt as-Salafiyyah ʿalā Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Shaykh Muḥammad ʿAṭāʾ Allah Ḥanīf al-Fūjyānī (d. 1407 AH). The author used four ḥawāshī (commentaries) on the Sunan: the ḥāshiyah (commentary) of Imām Suyūṭī and Imām Sindī,  and the two newer ḥawāshī of Shaykh Finjābī and Shaykh Shāhjahānpūrī. It also includes the footnotes of Shaykh Ḥusayn al-Anṣārī. It was first published in Pakistan in one big volume, and later it was published in five volumes in 1418 AH/1997 CE. It is available online.
  2. Taysīr al-Yusrā bi Sharḥ al-Mujtabā min as-Sunan al-Kubrā, by ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Aḥmad al-Bahkalī al-Yamānī (d. 1248 AH). One manuscript of this work is available in the library of al-Jāmiʿ al-Kabīr in Ṣanʿā, Yemen. It contains four volumes starting from the Bāb Kayfa Furiḍat aṣ-Ṣalāh, until Bāb aṣ-Ṣawm. The numbers of the manuscripts of the four volumes are 287, 404, 280, and 243 qāf, respectively.
  3. At-Taqrīrāt ar-Rāʾiʿah ʿalā Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Mawlānā Muḥammad Ḥamd Allāh at-Thanwī. It was published in India in 1319 AH in one huge volume.
  4. The taqrīrāt (oral commentary) of Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar al-Kattāni (d. 1345 AH). He has commented on most of the Six Books, and it includes Sunan an-Nasāʾī.[3]
  5. The taʿlīqāt (footnotes) of Shaykh Ḥusayn ibn Muḥsin al-Anṣārī al-Yamānī (d. 1327 AH).

(ح)

  1. Al-Ḥāshiyah al-Muḥammadiyyah ʿalā ’l-Akhbār an-Nasāʾiyyah, by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ḥamd Allāh at-Thānwī (d. 1296 AH). It has been published twice.
  2. The Ḥāshiyah of ʿAllāmah Sindī (d. 1138 AH).
  3. The Ḥāshiyah of ʿAllāmah Sindī published with the title, Ḥāshiyat as-Sindī ʿalā ’n-Nasāʾī, by Maktabah Maṭbūʿāt al-Islāmiyyah in Aleppo, Syria, in 1986 CE.
  4. The Ḥāshiyah of Imām Suyūṭī and Imām Sindī have also been compiled together by Abū ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān Muḥammad Panjābī and Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Laṭīf. It was published in Delhi in 1898 CE.
  5. Al-Ḥawāshī al-Jadīdah ʿalā Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Shaykh Muḥammad al-Fanjābī ad-Dihlawī (d. 1315 AH) and Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Kifāyatullāh ash-Shāhjahānpūrī (d. 1338 AH).

(د)

Dhakhīrat al-ʿUqbā fī Sharḥ al-Mujtabā, by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Ādam al-Ithyūbī (d. 1442 AH/2020 CE). This 42-volume collection is the most comprehensive commentary on the Sunan. It is useful from an ʿilal, ḥadīth, and lughah perspective. The profiles of narrators, which have lengthened the volume of the book, serve as a useful reference, generally removing the need to consult Tahdhīb al-Kamāl, Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, or Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb. The author quotes extensively from earlier sources which is useful, but this makes it a long read. This book is available online.

(ز)

Zahr ar-Rubāʾ ʿalā ’l-Mujtabā, by Imām Abū Bakr Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH). It is published with the title, Sharḥ as-Suyūṭī ʿalā Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Maktabah Maṭbūʿāt al-Islāmiyyah in Aleppo, Syria in 1986 CE. It is usually found published as marginal notes in the Sunan.

(ر)

Rawḍ ar-Rubā ʿan Tarjamat al-Mujtabā, by Mawlānā Wahīd ad-Dīn al-Lacknawī. It was published in Lahore in 1886 CE with his translation in Hindi-Urdu.

(ش)

  1. Sharḥ Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Abū ’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Walīd ibn Rushd (d. 563 AH).
  2. Sharḥ an-Nasāʾī, by Abū ’l-Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥusaynī. Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar remarked, “I read with the writing of our Shaykh al-ʿIrāqī that he — al-Ḥusaynī — commenced in the writing of a commentary on Sunan an-Nasāʾī.’[4] I am unaware whether the author completed this work or not, and I have not come across its published version.”
  3. Sharḥ Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ayyūb al-Ḥimṣī al-ʿIṣyātī ash-Shāfiʿī (d. 834 AH).[5]
  4. Sharḥ Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Yaḥyā ibn al-Muṭahhir ibn Ismāʿīl al-Yamānī (d. 1268 AH). The author is from among the students of Imām Shawkānī.
  5. Sharḥ Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Aḥmad ibn Zayd ibn ʿAbdillāh al-Kibsī al-Yamānī (d. 1271 AH).[6]
  6. Sharḥ Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Ḥasan al-Ahdal (d. 1352 AH).
  7. Sharḥ Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Shaykh Muḥammad al-Mukhtār ibn Sīdī al-Jaknī ash-Shanqīṭī (d. 1405 AH). It was not completed so only five volumes of this work have been published.
  8. Sharḥ Zawāʾid Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Imām Abū Ḥafṣ Sirāj ad-Dīn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī, famously known as Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 804 AH). It is a commentary on the additional ḥadīths of Sunan an-Nasāʾī that are not present in the ṣaḥīḥayn. The author has also written commentaries on the rest of the Sunan compilations, and all of them are compiled in one volume.[7] Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar mentioned this in al-Majmaʿ al-Muʾassas Inbāʾ al-Ghumar and Dhayl ad-Durar al-Kāminah.[8]

(ع)

ʿArf Zahr ar-Rubāʾ ʿalā ’l-Mujtabā, by ʿAlī ibn Sulayman ad-Dimantī al-Bujumʿawī al-Maghribī (d. 1306 AH). It is an abridgment of Imām Suyūṭī’s Zahr ar-Rubāʾ and it was published in Cairo, Egypt in 1299 AH.[9]

(ف)

Al-Fayḍ as-Samāʾī ʿalā Sunan al-Nasāʾī, by Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad Gangôhī (d. 1323 AH), with additions from Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mawlānā Muḥammad Zakariyyā Kāndhelwī (d. 1402 AH). It is published by Maktabah Khalīliyyah Saharanpur in three volumes with some footnotes by Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mawlāna Muḥammad ʿĀqil (b. 1356 AH).

(ك)

Kitābāt ʿalā Kutub as-Sittah, by Aḥmad ibn Zīnī Daḥlān al-Makkī (d. 1304 AH).[10]

(م)

  1. Al-Mujtabā min al-Mujtanā fī Rijāl Kitāb Abī ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān an-Nasāʾī fī Sunan al-Maʾthūrah wa Sharḥ Gharībih, by Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Abū al-Muẓaffar al-Abyūrdī (d. 507 AH).
  2. Al-Muktafā bi Ḥal al-Mujtabā, by Shaykh Abū Muḥammad Aḥmad Ḥusain al-Maẓāhirī al-Hindī. Only one volume of this commentary has been published on Kitāb Ṭahārah (purity).
  3. The incomplete Sharḥ by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Badrān ad-Dūmī al-Hanbalī (d. 1342 AH).

Urdu commentaries & annotations

  1. Sharḥ Sunan Nasāʾī Sharīf, by ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Liyāqat ʿAlī Riḍwī. It is published by Shabbir Brothers in six volumes and is available online.
  2. Al-Fuyūḍ az-Zāhī fī Sharḥ Sunan an-Nasāʾī, by Dr. Muftī Muḥammad Karīm Khān. It is published by Progress Books in ten volumes.
  3. Sunan an-Nasāʾī Sharḥ, by Hāfiẓ Muḥammad Amīn. Although this is mainly a translation, it nevertheless contains quite a lot of commentary and benefits. It is published by Dār al-ʿIlm, Mumbai, in seven volumes with the taḥqīq (research) and takhrīj (citation of ḥadīth) of Hāfiẓ Abū Ṭāhir Zubayr ʿAlīzai.

JĀMIʿ TIRMIDHĪ

Arabic commentaries & annotations

(ت)

  • Tuhfat al-Ahwadhī bi Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Shaykh Muhammad ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī (d. 1353 AH). It is published by Dār Ibn al-Jawzī in ten volumes, by Muʾsassat ar-Risālah Nāshirūn in sixteen volumes, and by Dār al-Fayḥāʾ and Dār al-Manhal in eleven, The Dār al-Fikr edition in twelve volumes is available online.
  • Takmilat an-Nafḥ ash-Shadhī, by Ḥāfiẓ Zayn ad-Dīn ʿAbd ar-Rahīm ibn al-Ḥusayn al-ʿIrāqī al-Miṣrī ash-Shāfiʿī (d. 806 AH).

(ح)

(ش)

  • Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Imām Ḥusayn ibn Masʿūd ibn Mawdūd al-Baghawī (d. 516 AH).
  • Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Ḥāfiẓ Zayn ad-Dīn Abū ’l-Faraj, ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Aḥmad, famously known as Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī (d. 795 AH). Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar stated in his Inbāʾ al-Ghumar that Imām Ibn Rajab authored a commentary on Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī in twenty However, the author of Kashf aẓ-Ẓunūn says that the commentary was burned during a conflict.[11] What remains is his Sharḥ ʿIlal at-Tirmidhī which was meant to be a part of his commentary. It is published by Dār al-Minhāj al-Qawīm in two volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Dr. Nūr ad-Dīn ʿItr. The Dār al-Malāḥ print is available online.
  • Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Sirāj ad-Dīn ʿUmar ibn Raslān ibn Nuṣayr al-Miṣrī al-Kinānī al-ʿAsqalānī, famously known as Abū Ḥafs al-Bulqīnī (d. 805 AH).
  • Sharḥ Zawāʾid at-Tirmidhī ʿalā Thalāthah, by Sirāj ad-Dīn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Anṣārī, famously known as Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 804 AH).
  • Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā Sirāj Aḥmad as-Sirhindī (d. 1230 AH).
  • Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Imām Muḥammad ibn at-Ṭayyib as-Sindī al-Madanī (d. 1363 AH).
  • Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Shaykh Aḥmad Muḥammad Shākir (d. 1377 AH).

(ط)

  • Aṭ-Ṭayyib ash-Shadhī fī Sharḥ at-Tirmidhī, by Shaykh Ishfāq ar-Raḥmān al-Khāndlawī (d. 1377 AH).

(ع)

  • Al-ʿArf ash-Shadhī ʿalā Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā Muḥammad Anwar Shāh al-Kashmīrī (d. 1244 AH). It is published by DKI in four Dār Iḥyāʾ at-Turāth has also published it in five volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Shaykh Maḥmūd Shākir, and it is available online.

(ق)

  • Qūt al-Mughtadhī ʿalā Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Jalāl ad-Dīn ibn Abū Bakr as-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH). It is published by DKI in five volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Muḥammad Ibn Riyāḍ al-Aḥmad. Dār an-Nawādir published it in three volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Tawfīq Maḥmūd. The Jāmiʿah Umm al-Qurā print is available online.

(ك)

  • Al-Kawkab ad-Durrī Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad al-Gangohī (d. 1323 AH). It is published by Lajnat al-ʿUlamāʾ, Lucknow, in four volumes with the taḥqīq (research) and footnotes of Mawlānā Zakariyyā Kāndhlawī and is available online. Arwiqah publishers have also published it with the Jāmiʿ in nine volumes.

(م)

  • Maʿārif as-Sunan, by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-Binnūrī (d. 1397 AH). This is one of the best commentaries of the Jāmiʿ as it includes the proofs of the Ḥanafī madhhab for all the issues in which there is a difference of opinion among the schools of thought. The author reached the end of Chapter of Ḥajj and passed away before completing it. It is published by HM Saʿīd, Karachi, in six volumes and is available online.

(ن)

  • An-Nafḥ ash-Shadhī Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Abū al-Fatḥ Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Yaʿmurī ash-Shāfiʿī, famously known as Ibn Sayyid an-Nās (d. 734 AH). It is published by Dār al-ʿĀṣimah in two volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Aḥmad Maʿbad ʿAbd al-Karīm, and by Dār aṣ-Ṣamīʿī in four volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Abū Jābir al-Anṣārī, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Abū Riḥlah, and Ṣāliḥ al-Laḥḥām. Both prints are available online.

Urdu commentaries & annotations

(ألف)

Inʿāmāt Rabbānī Sharḥ Tirmidhī Thānī, by Mawlānā Muḥammad Ḥudhayfah Naʿīm. It is published by Maktabat al-ʿIlm and is available online.

(ت)

  1. Tuḥfat al-Almaʿī Sharḥ Sunan at-Tirmidhī, by Muftī Saʿīd Aḥmad Pālanpūrī. It is published by Zam Zam Publishers in eight volumes and is available online.
  2. Tashrīhāt-i-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā Kamāl ad-Dīn al-Mustarshid. It is published by Qadīmī Kutub Khānah in seven volumes and is available online.
  3. Tuḥfat al-ʿAbqarī Sharḥ Sunan at-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā Ikrām ʿAlī. It is published by Jāmiʿah Rashīd al-ʿUlūm. The first volume is available online.
  4. Taqrīr-i-Tirmidhī, by Ḥakīm al-Ummah Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī Thānwī. It is published by Idārat Taʾlifāt al-Ashrafiyyah and is available online.
  5. Taqrīr-i-Tirmidhī Ḥiṣṣa-i-Muʿāmalāt, by Muftī Taqī ʿUthmānī. It is published by Memon Islamic Books in two volumes and is available online.

(ح)

Ḥaqāʾiq as-Sunan, by Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq, the dean of Dār al-ʿUlūm Ḥaqqāniyyah. It is published by Muʾtamar al-Muṣannifīn and is available online.

(خ)

  1. Khazāʾin as-Sunan, by Mawlānā Sarfarāz Khān Ṣafdar. It is published by Maktabah Ṣafdariyyah in two volumes and is available online.
  2. Khaṣāʾil-i-Nabawī Tarjuma wa Sharḥ Shamāʾil-i-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā Zakariyyā Kandhlawī. It is published by Maktabat al-Bushrā and is available online.

(د)

  1. Dars-i-Tirmidhī, by Muftī Taqī ʿUthmānī. It is published by Maktabah Dār al-ʿUlūm Karachi in three volumes and is available online.
  2. Durūs-i-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā Raʾīs ad-Dīn, the Shaykh al-Ḥadīth of Maẓāhir al-ʿUlūm Sahāranpūr. It is published by Maktabat al-ʿIlm in one volume that includes four parts and is available online.
  3. Ad-Dars ash-Shadhī fī Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī,by Mawlānā Ṣūfī Muḥammad Sarwar. It is published by Idārah Taʾlifāt Ashrafiyyah and is available online.
  4. Daqāʾiq as-Sunan, by Dr. ʿAbd as-Sattār Mirwat. It is published Qārī Taskīn Allāh Mirwat and is available online.

(ش)

Sharḥ Shamāʾil-i-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Qayyūm Ḥaqqānī. It is published by al-Qāsim Academy in three volumes and is available online.

(ك)

Al-Kawkab ad-Durrī Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad al-Gangohī (d. 1323 AH). It is published by Maktabat ash-Shaykh with footnotes of Mawlānā Zakariyyā Kāndhlawī in two volumes and is available online.

(م)

  1. Maʿārif-i-Tirmidhī Sharḥ Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Muftī Muḥammad Ṭāriq. It is published by Maktabah Shaykh al-Hind in two volumes and is available online.
  2. Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn fī Jamʿ al-Ifādāt ʿan al-Ustādhayn, which includes the commentary of Muftī Niẓām ad-Dīn Shāmzai and Mawlānā Muḥammad Zeb. It has been organised by Muḥammad Faiṣal of Jāmiʿah Binnorī Town, Karachi, and published by Maktabat al-Ḥabīb. It is available online.

(و)

Al-Ward aṭ-Ṭarī ʿalā Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, by Mawlānā Muḥammad Yāsīn Ṣābir. It is published by Maktabah ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and is available online.

SUNAN ABĪ DĀWŪD

Arabic commentaries & annotations

(ب)

  • Badhl al-Majhūd fī Ḥalli Sunan Abī Dāwūd, by Shaykh Khalīl Aḥmad Sahāranpūrī (d. 1346 AH). It is published by Dār al-Bashāʾir al-Islāmiyyah in fourteen volumes, with the annotations of Mawlānā Zakariyyā Kandhlawī and the taḥqīq (research) of Dr. Taqi ad-Dīn an-Nadwī. It is simply a work of sheer genius and is the most recommended commentary of the Sunan.

(ت)

(ش)

  • Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd, by Imām Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad Badr ad-Dīn al-ʿAynī (d. 855 AH). It is published by Maktabat ar-Rushd in four volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Abū ’l-Mundhir Khālid ibn Ibrāhīm al-Misrī.
  • Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd li ’bn Raslān, by Imām Shihāb ad-Dīn Abū ’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Ḥusayn ibn Raslān (d. 844 AH). It is published by Dār al-Falāḥ in twenty

(ف)

  • Fatḥ al-Wadūd bi Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd, by Imām Abū ’l-Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī as-Sindī (d. 1138 AH). It is published by Jāʾizah Dubai ad-Dawliyyah li ’l-Qurʾān al-Karīm in eight volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Aḥmad Jāsim al-Muḥammad.

(م)

Urdu commentaries & annotations

  1. Inʿām al-Maʿbūd li Ṭālibāt Sunan Abī Dāwūd, by Mawlānā Maḥbūb Aḥmad. It is published by Maktabat al-ʿIlm and is available online.
  2. Khayr al-Maʿbūd Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd, by Mawlānā Ṣūfī Muhammad Sarwar. It is published by Idārah Taʾlifāt Ashrafiyyah and is available online.
  3. Ad-Durr al-Manḍūd ʿalā Sunan Abī Dāwūd, by Mawlānā Muḥammad ʿĀqil. It is published by Maktabat ash-Shaykh in six volumes and is available online.
  4. As-Samḥ al-Maḥmūd fī Ḥal Sunan Abī Dāwūd, by Muftī Muḥammad ʿAbd ar-Razzāq Qāsmī. It is published by Zakariyyā Book Depot and is available online.
  5. Falāḥ wa Behbūd Sharḥ Abū Dāwūd, by Mawlānā Muḥammad Ḥanīf Gangohī. It is published by Maktabah Imdādiyyah, Multan, in two volumes and is available online.

SUNAN IBN MĀJAH

Arabic commentaries & annotations

  • Al-Imām Ibn Mājah wa Kitābuhu as-Sunan, by Shaykh Muḥammad ʿAbd ar-Rashīd an-Nuʿamānī  (d. 1420 AH). It was recently published by Dār as-Salām with the taḥqīq (Research) of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghuddah (raḥimahullāh).
  • Al-Iʿlām bi Sunnatih ʿalayh as-Ṣalātu wa ’s-Salām Sharḥ Sunan Ibn Mājah, by al-Ḥāfiẓ ʿAlāʾ ad-Dīn Mughulṭāʾī Ibn Qalīj (d. 762 AH). It is published by Dār Ibn ʿAbbās in five volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Abī ’l-ʿAynayn.
  • Al-Ḥawāshī ʿalā Sunan Ibn Mājah, by Imām Sibṭ Ibn al-ʿAjamī  (d. 841 AH). It is published by Dār Aṭlas al-Khaḍraʾ in five volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Fāḍil ibn Khalaf al-Ḥammādah.
  • Murshid Dhawi ‘l-Ḥijāʾ wa ‘l-Ḥājah ilā Sunan Ibn Mājah, by Shaykh Muḥummad al-Amīn ibn ʿAbdillāh al-Ithyūbī al-Hararī. It is published by Dār al-Manhāj in twenty-six volumes, making it the most comprehensive commentary on Sunan Ibn Mājah.
  • Mā Tamassu ilayhi al-Ḥājat ʿalā Sharḥ Ibn Mājah, by Imām Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī al-Anṣarī Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 804 AH). It is published by Dār al-Muqtabis.
  • Misbāḥ az-Zujājat ʿalā Sunan Ibn Mājah, by Ḥāfiẓ Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH). It is published by Dār Ibn Ḥazim with the taḥqīq (research) of Muḥammad Shāʾib Sharīf.
  • Miftāḥ al-Ḥājah bi Sharḥ Sunan Ibn Mājah, by Imā m Muḥummad ibn ʿAbdillāh al-ʿAlawī al-Funjānī (d. 1382 AH). It is published by DKI in four volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Abū ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ʿĀdil ibn Saʿd.

Urdu commentaries & annotations

  1. Sunan Ibn Mājah Sharīf, by Mawlānā Qāsim Amīn. It is published by Maktabat al-ʿIlm and is available online. Although this work is mainly a translation, it still includes concise commentary.
  2. Sunan Ibn Mājah, by Mawlānā ʿAṭāʾ Allāh Sājid. It is published by Iʿtiqād Publishing House in five volumes with the taḥqīq (research) of Hāfiẓ Abū Ṭāhir Zubair ʿAlīzai.
  3. Sharḥ Sunan Ibn Mājah, by ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Liyāqat ʿAlī Riḍwī. The translation is by Mawlānā Muḥy ad-Dīn Jahāngīr. It is published by Shabbir Brothers in six volumes and is available online.
  4. Miṣbāḥ az-Zujājah Sharḥ Mushkilāt Ibn Mājah, by Mawlānā Asʿad Qāsim Sumbhulī. It is published by Maktabah Nuʿmāniyyah and is available online.

CONCLUSION

I have listed some of the commentaries of the six canonical books of ḥadīth in this article. The list is not meant to be exhaustive, and specifically, I have not mentioned those commentaries that are currently in manuscript form or are lost, although I have indicated to some of them in certain places. I commented on most of the main commentaries of each book and tried to indicate to their best prints. The scholars, from the time of the authors until now, have produced invaluable commentaries on the compilations of the Six Books of ḥadīth. Whether an abridgment, or a lengthy commentary, all the authors’ commentaries possess unique merits to them, and we continue to benefit from them. May Allāh Taʿālā reward all the authors and make their works a means of their entry into Paradise. Āmīn yā Rabb.

[1] Dr. Syed ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Ghouri, Fatḥ al-Mulhim bi Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim li Shaykh Shabbīr Aḥmad ʿUthmānī: Dirāsah Ḥadīthiyyah, 146-149. (INHAD, 2017).

[2] Siyar Aʿlām an-Nubalāʾ  (20:585).

[3] Fihris al-Fahāris (1:517).

[4] Ad-Durar al-Kāminah (4:62).

[5] Aḍ-Ḍawʾ al-Lāmiʿ (6:250).

[6] Nīl al-Waṭr (1:104), Maṣādir al-Fikr (79).

[7] Aḍ-Ḍawʾ al-Lāmiʿ (6:102), Kashf aẓ-Ẓunūn (1006).

[8] Ibn al-Mulaqqin, Kitāb at-Tawḍīḥ li Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ (1:316), (Dār an-Nawādir, 2008)

[9] Fihris al-Fahāris (1:176).

[10] Fihris al-Fahāris (1:391).

[11] Sharḥ ʿIlal at-Tirmidhī (1:279), (Maktabat al-Manār Zarqāʾ, 1987)

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