Sahih of Imam Muslim
The Motive for Its Compilation
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The Motive for Its Compilation:
In the introduction to his Sahih, Imam Muslim—may Allah have mercy on him—explains why he composed this blessed work. In summary, a certain man wished to become acquainted with the entire collection of reports transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ regarding the norms and legal rulings of the religion—those dealing with reward and punishment, encouragement and deterrence, and other related matters—together with the isnads (chains of transmission) by which they were conveyed and circulated among the scholars. He asked Imam Muslim to gather and summarize them for him in a single book, free from excessive repetition, so that he might study them with ease and derive rulings from them.

Because of the importance of this request and the considerable benefit it promised—both immediate and long-term—for the petitioner in particular and for Muslims in general, the Imam set out to collect these pearls, pure and undefiled by any blemish. His eagerness to undertake this noble task was further strengthened by what he witnessed of some