the Qur’an, together with everything that issued from him ﷺ—whether word, deed, or tacit approval—and they conveyed it to those after them in its entirety and with perfect precision. By that they became the foremost of all people in every good and the best part of this community, which itself is the best of nations.

When the age of the Companions came to an end, scholars began to commit the hadith to writing, gathering them with their chains of transmission back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This authoring activity continued until it reached full bloom in the third century, a period distinguished by a remarkable outpouring of works. Foremost among the definitive compositions on the Sunnah are:

• the Sahih of Imam Abu ʿAbd Allah Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil al-Bukhari, born in 194 AH and d. 256 AH;
• the Sahih of Imam Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi, born in 204 AH—the very year Imam al-Shafiʿi passed away—and d. 261 AH; and
• the four Sunan collections of the imams, beginning with Abu Dawud Sulayman ibn al-Ashʿath al-Sijistani, d. 275 AH,