The Four Books

The Four Books (Arabic: ٱلْكُتُب ٱلْأَرْبَعَة‎, al-Kutub al-ʾArbaʿah), or The Four Principles (al-Uṣūl al-Arbaʿah), is a Twelver Shia term referring to their four best-known hadith collections:

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Hadith studies Terminology Types (categories) Biographical evaluation Musannaf Isra'iliyyat
Collections Sunni1 Kutub Al-Sittah ("The Six Books") Sahih Bukhari صحيح البخاري‎ Sahih Muslim صحيح مسلم‎ Al-Sunan Al-Sughra السنن الصغرى‎ Sunan Abu Dawood سنن أبي داود‎ Sunan al-Tirmidhi جامع الترمذي‎ Sunan ibn Maja سُنن ابن ماجه‎ Others Muwatta Imam Malik Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal Sunan al-Darimi Sunan al-Kubra lil Nasa'i Sunan al-Kubra lil Behaqi (Al-Sunan al-Kabir) Shuab ul Iman Sunan al-Daraqutni Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq Musannaf ibn Jurayj Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah Saheeh ibn Kuzaima Sahih Ibn Hibban Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain Sahifah Hammam ibn Munabbih Al-Mu'jam al-Kabeer Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat Al-Mu'jam as-Saghir Talkhis al-Mustadrak Tahdhib al-Athar Al-Adab al-Mufrad Kitaab-ul-Aathaar Musnad Imam ul A’zam Musnad al-Shafi'i Musnad al-Siraj Musnad al-Firdous Shama'il Muhammadiyah (Shamaail Tirmidhi) Musnad Abu Ya'la Musnad al Tayalisi Musnad Abu Awaanah Sunan Sa'id ibn Mansur Shi'ah Al-Kutub Al-Arb'ah ("The Four Books") Kitab Al-Kafi الكتاب الكافي‎ Man La Yahduruhu Al-Faqih من لا يحضره الفقيه‎ Tahdhib Al-Ahkam تهذیب الاحکام‎ Al-Istibsar الاستبصار‎ Others Nahj Al-Balagha Book of Sulaym Ibn Qays Al-Sahifa Al-Sajjadiyya Al-Risalah al-Huquq Sahifah of al-Ridha Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiah Daim al-Islam Uyun al Akhbar ar Reda Bihar Al-Anwar Wasā'il Al-Shīʿah Haqq al-Yaqeen Ain Al-Hayat Al-Ghadir Ibadi Jami Sahih Tartib al-Musnad 1 - Books also revered by Ahmadis
Related topics Ahl al-Hadith Criticism
Category Book

Shi'a Muslims use different books of hadith from those used by other Muslims, who prize the six major hadith collections. The Shi'a countries consider many Sunni transmitters of hadith to be unreliable because many of them took the side of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali instead of only Ali (and the rest of Muhammad's family) and the majority of them were narrated through certain personalities that waged war against Ahlul Bayt or sided with their enemies such as Aisha that fought Ali at Jamal, or Muawiya who did so at Siffin. Hussain (grandson of Muhammad and son of Ali ibn Abi Talib) was killed at the Battle of Karbala.[1] Shia trust traditions transmitted through the Imams, Muhammad's descendants through Fatima Zahra.[2]

The Four Books have been praised by many, but not all, notable Shia scholars. This is what some have said:

• Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi said: "Al-Kafi, Al-Istibsaar, Al-Tahzeeb and Mun La Yahduruhu Al-faqeeh are Mutawatirah and agreed on the accuracy of its contents (the Hadiths), and Al-Kafi is the oldest, greatest, best and the most accurate one of them.“ [The book of Al-Muraja'aat (A Shi'i-Sunni dialogue), Muraj'ah No. 110]
• Al-Tabarsi said: "Al-Kafi among the 4 shia books is like the sun among the stars, and who looked fairly would not need to notice the position of the men in the chain of hadiths in this Book, and if you looked fairly you would feel satisfied and sure that the hadiths are firm and accurate."[Mustadrak al-Wasail, vol. 3, p. 532]