Hadith 203: Bukhari's Shortest Chains

The Thulāthiyyāt of Imām al-Bukhārīؒ

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Course/Module Type: Hadīth (Recitation & Transmission)

Connect to the Traditions of the Messenger ﷺ through the greatest collection of Hadīth, the Jāmi‘ al-Sahīh of Imām al-Bukhārīؒ.

In this course, Shaykh Muftī Niaz Hannan will narrate the Thulāthiyyāt (Āhādīth with only three narrators in the chain) of Imām al-Bukhārīؒ’s Jāmi‘ al-Sahīh through the multiple chains of transmission he has received from his teachers worldwide. These chains connect one to students and teachers of Hadīth going back fourteen centuries and ultimately back to The Greatest of Creationﷺ. We will go through a study of the narrations and give commentary on the chains of transmission and texts of the Hadīth, In Shā Allāh.

This is an Ijāzah course. Students who attend each session, listen to the full aural transmission, and understand the principles covered in the text, will be presented with a written Ijāzah – permission to narrate the Ḥadīth by Muftī Niaz, In Shā Allāh. This Ijāzah will indicate and certify participation and completion of the text under the tutelage of a teacher.

Students must be able to:

• read Arabic text with vowels
• dedicate 1 hour of class time per week
• access PDF’s, ZOOM, etc.
• attend each live session without missing the transmission of a Hadīth

The Thulāthiyyāt Traditions

Thulāthiyyāt are those specific Hadīth that have only three narrators/links in the Sanad/Isnād (chain of narration) between the compiler and the Messenger ﷺ. These three links would consequently be a Saḥābi (Companion of the Prophet ﷺ), a Tābi‘ī (Successor to the Companions) and a Tābi‘ al-Tābi‘ī (Second Generation Successor to the Companions). Compilers of major and well-known Hadīth collections (in the past) include the likes of Imāms Mālikؒ, Ahmad ibn Hanbalؒ, al-Bukhārīؒ, Muslimؒ, etc.

A Hadīth that belongs to the category of Thulāthiyyāt is unique because most of the major and well-known collections contain Hadīth with at least four or more narrators in the chain. A chain that consists of fewer links is considered more reliable since the possibility of error and doubt increases with every additional link in the chain. Searching for a shorter or higher chain (by students and scholars of Hadīth and Fiqh) in preference to one that is longer or lower is a part of Hadīth Studies.

The Thulāthiyyāt of Imām al-Bukhārīؒ’s Jāmi‘ al-Sahīh are called the ‘Pride of al-Bukhārī’ by some ‘Ulamā’ because of the short linkage between Imām al-Bukhārīؒ and the Messenger ﷺ. Imām al-Bukhārīؒ has more Thulāthiyyāt narrations in his Jāmi‘ al-Sahīh than the other compilers of the Six Canonical Collections.