Sahih Muslim in the context of "Sahih al-Bukhari"

Kutub al-Sittah (Arabic: ٱلْكُتُب ٱلسِّتَّة, romanized: al-Kutub al-Sitta, lit. 'the Six Books'), also known as al-Sihah al-Sitta (Arabic: الصحاح الستة, romanized: al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sitta, lit. 'the Authentic Six') are the six canonical hadith collections of Sunni Islam. They were all compiled in the 9th and early 10th centuries, roughly from 840 to 912 CE and are thought to embody the Sunnah of Muhammad.

The books are the Sahih of al-Bukhari (d. 870), the Sahih of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 875), the Sunan of Abu Dawud (d. 889), the Sunan of al-Tirmidhi (d. 892), the Sunan of al-Nasa'i (d. 915), and the Sunan of Ibn Majah (d. 887 or 889) as the sixth book, though some (particularly the Malikis and Ibn al-Athir) instead listed the Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas (d. 795) as the sixth book, and other scholars list Sunan of al-Daraqutni (d. 995) as the sixth book. Sunan ibn Majah largely won out as the sixth canonical book because its content has less overlap with the other five compared with its two contenders.

The Mahdi (Arabic: ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, romanized: al-Mahdī, lit. 'the Guided'), also Masih al-Mahdi (Arabic: المسيح المهدي, romanized: al-Masīḥ al-Mahdī, lit. 'the Guided Redeemer'), is a messianic figure in Islamic belief. He is comparable to the Christian idea of the return of Jesus and the Mashiach ben David in Judaism. He is believed to appear at the End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad and will appear shortly before Jesus.

The Mahdi is mentioned in several compilations of hadith, but absent from the Quran and the two most-revered Sunni hadith collections (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). As such, he plays only a marginal role in Sunni Islam and some Sunni theologians have rejected the concept of the Mahdi altogether. However, the Mahdi plays a significant role among Twelver Shias, who believe that the Mahdi is Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Imam, son of the eleventh Imam Hasan al-Askari (d. 874), who is said to be in occultation (ghayba) by divine will.

Abū al-Ḥusayn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Ward al-Qushayrī an-Naysābūrī (Arabic: أبو الحسين مسلم بن الحجاج بن مسلم بن وَرْد القشيري النيسابوري; after 815 – May 875 CE / 206 – 261 AH), commonly known as Imam Muslim, was an Islamic scholar from the city of Nishapur, particularly known as a muhaddith (scholar of hadith). His hadith collection, known as Sahih Muslim, is one of the six major hadith collections in Sunni Islam and is regarded as one of the two most authentic (sahih) collections, alongside Sahih al-Bukhari.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Arabic: أحمد ابن حنبل, romanized: Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab jurist and founder of the Hanbali school who is widely recognized as the scholar who memorized the most Hadiths in Islamic history. One of the most venerated Islamic intellectual figures, ibn Hanbal is notable for his unmatched memorization of over one million prophetic narrations, an unprecedented number that has never been claimed by any other muhaddith. Ibn Hanbal also compiled the largest hadith collection, al-Musnad, which has continued to exercise considerable influence on the field of hadith studies up to the present time, shaping the methodological framework later employed in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Imam al-Dhahabi described him as “the true Imam, the proof of the religion, the master of hadith, and the leader of the Sunnah”. Imam Ali ibn al-Madini said: “Truly, Allah supported this religion through two men, to whom there is no third: Abu Bakr during the Ridda Wars, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal during the Mihna”.

Having studied jurisprudence and hadith under many teachers during his youth, Ibn Hanbal became famous in his later life for the crucial role he played in the Mihna instituted by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun toward the end of his reign, in which the ruler gave official state support to the Mu'tazili doctrine of the Quran being created, a view that contradicted the orthodox position of the Quran being the eternal, uncreated word of God. Living in poverty throughout his lifetime working as a baker, and suffering physical persecution under the caliphs for his unflinching adherence to the traditional doctrine, Ibn Hanbal's fortitude in this particular event only bolstered his "resounding reputation" in the annals of Sunni history.

Canonized Islamic scripture are texts which Muslims believe were revealed by God through various prophets throughout humanity's history—specifically the Quran and Hadith. Muslims believe the Quran to be the final revelation of God to mankind, and a completion and confirmation of previous scriptures, revealed to Muhammad between 610 and 632 CE, and canonized around 650 by the Rashidun leader Uthman.

Hadith (the record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of Muhammad) are also considered by many to be divine revelation, directing Muslims on a broader number of rules than the Quran, including the rules of Sharia (Islamic law). The major compilations, especially that of the Six Books, primarily took place in the ninth century, with their canonization occurring later. The two most important compilations, (the Sahihayn), are Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. These were canonized by Shafi'i's in the 10th century CE, by the Malikis and Hanbali school of fiqh in the 12th CE century, and by Hanafi's in the 14th century. Different collections of hadith would come to differentiate the different branches of the Islamic faith.

In Sunni Islam, the Hadith of Gabriel (also known as, Ḥadīth Jibrīl) is a hadith of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (the last prophet of Islam) which expresses the religion of Islam in a concise manner. It is believed to contain a summary of the core of the religion of Islam, which are:

1. Islām (إسلام), which is described with the "Five Pillars of Islam,"
2. Īmān (إيمان), which is described with the "Six Articles of Faith,"
3. Iḥsān (إحسان), or "doing what is beautiful," and
4. al-Sā’ah (الساعة), or The Hour, which is not described, but its signs are given.

This hadith is found in both the Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and the Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim collections. It has been named "Ḥadīth Jibrīl" (Hadith of Gabriel) by Islamic scholars because the archangel Gabriel appears to Muhammad and those around him in a human form.