Jami` at-Tirmidhi

Jami’ at-Tirmidhi is a collection of Hadith from Kutub as-Sittah compiled by Imam Tirmidhi, who compiled the strong and weak Hadith together. Many scholars consider this book as the most authentic Hadith book after Bukhari and Muslim. You will explore a great number of Hadiths that were not only valuable for the days of the Prophet (ﷺ) but also hold value in today’s world. These Hadiths teach us about this worldly life and the life hereafter. We not only become better Muslims but better humans as the Hadiths guide us to becoming better people.

Explore Jami at-Tirmidhi, and you will see a great number of Hadiths that are not present in Sahih books due to their terms and conditions. Some Hadiths in Tirmidhi might be weak, but they have been recorded with clear identification and reasonable explaination. These ahadith have been included becuase the Imam felt they teach Muslims essential lessons. Let’s learn about the book and its author and read authentic ahadith from Jami at-Tirmidhi.

Jami` at-Tirmidhi

جامع الترمذي

Jami` at-Tirmidhi is a collection of hadith compiled by at-Tirmidhi. It is unanimously considered to be one of the six canonical collections of hadith (Kutub as-Sittah) of the Sunnah of the Prophet (ﷺ). It contains roughly 4400 hadith (with repetitions) in 46 books.

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About Jami` at-Tirmidhi

Jami, in the name Jami` at-Tirmidhi, reflects the collection of all eight Risalah subjects (message of Allah), and the term Sunan refers to the arrangement of chapters based on the specific Risalah subjects. The Jami of At-Tirmidhi is also called the Sunan and Al-Jami Al-Kabir. Among all the Sunnah books, Tirmidhi has the least repetitions of Hadiths. One of the most notable values of this hadith collection is that it incorporates different views and looks at a hadith from multiple viewpoints and arguments to explain the circumstances of the Hadith as being sahih, da’if, or gharib.

About Imam Tirmidhi

Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Sawrah ibn Musa ibn Al Dahhak Al Sulami At-Tirmidhi was born in 209 A.H. during the time of Abbasid Caliph Ma’mun Al-Rashid. He was born in Tirmidhi, which is present-day Uzbekistan. He had a good command over the Arabic language, especially its grammar, as his major learning centers were in Kufa and Basra. He was a student of Al-Bukhari and had mentioned Bukhari’s name 114 times in his Jami. Al-Bukhari respected Tirmidhi equally, and in an instance, he told At-Tirmidhi, “I have profited more from you than you have from me.”

At-Tirmidhi is said to have an exceptional memory. Listening to something once is enough for him to remember it forever. Once he met an Imam from whom he learned Hadith previously. The Imam, after some discussion, recited 40 Hadiths to At-Tirmidhi, which Tirmidhi repeated without making any single mistake. 

At-Tirmidhi lost his sight in the last two years before his death, according to Adh-Dhahabi. Historians report that his blindness may have been caused by excessive weeping, either due to the fear of Allah or over the death of his teacher, Al-Bukhari. He died on 13th Rajab 279 A.H or 892 AD in Bugh and was buried in the suburbs of Sherobad, north of Uzbekistan.

Structure of Jami` at-Tirmidhi

Jami At-Tirmidhi is a Sunan and a Jami and has over 4400 Hadith with only 83 repeated hadiths. The book has been divided into 50 chapters, and according to Ibn Al-Athir: “It is the best of books, having the most benefit, the best organization, with the least repetition. It contains what others do not, like mention of the different views, angles of arguments, and clarifying the circumstances of the Hadith as being sahih, da’if or gharib, as well as disparaging and endorsing remarks.”

Tirmidhi has Sahih and Da’if hadiths in it, and according to Ibn al-Jawzi, it has only 23 or 30 false Hadiths. Explanations for all the difficult Hadith are provided, and it’s easy to look up a Hadith due to its organized sequence.

Methods of Classification and Annotation

At-Tirmidhi, like Imam Bukhari and Muslim, never narrated Hadith from fabricated narrations. He set few conditions for the Hadith to be part of his book, whether da’if or sahih. Here are the terms that were followed:

  • A Hadith was accepted, which was narrated with the word ‘an ‘provided both the narrators are peers or belong to the same time.
  • Weak Hadiths were also stated in the book but with an explanation that defines the state of their weakness.
  • A mursal Hadith was accepted when the chain of narrators was continuous without any gap. 

According to Tahir Muqaddisi, Jami At-Tirmidhi contains four types of Hadiths:

  1. Hadiths that match the terms and conditions of Sahih Hadiths of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim.
  2. Hadiths that match the terms and conditions of Sunan Abu Dawud and Nasa’i.
  3. Hadiths that have any variations in sanad or matan.
  4. The weak Hadiths that some fuqaha have relied upon.

At-Tirmidhi has attained the position of being among the six books from Sahih Sittah. Al-Dhahabi considered At-Tirmidhi, in actuality, should be holding the third position, but as he included weak narrators like Kalbi and Masloob, its status dropped. Haji Khalifa in Al-Kashf al-Dhunoon has categorized Tirmidhi in the third position.

Explanation of Terms

When studying Hadiths, there are a few terms that need explanation for the reader to understand the Hadith better. A few terminologies from At-Tirmidhi are:

  • Sanad: Sanad or Isnad is the chain of narrators who transmit the Hadiths.
  • Matan: The content of the Hadith, which includes the statements of the Prophet or his attributes discussed in the Hadith, is called matan.
  • Fuqaha: Fuqaha is the plural of ‘faqih,’ which interprets Islamic legal principles that are derived from the Quran and Sunnah to provide Fatwas on various matters within an Islamic framework.
  • Dai’f: The Hadiths that are weak in nature or have unreliable sources of narrators or any shortcomings in the narrations are called Dai’f Hadiths.
  • Gharib: Hadiths that have certain text that cannot be related to other Hadiths and its very uncommon are referred to as Gharib Hadith.
  • Mursal: Hadiths that lack continuity in the narrator’s chain are called mursal.

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Each chapter acts more like a book and has Hadiths on specific topics like Manners, Virtues of the Quran, Recitation, and Supplication. There are a total of 49 books in At-Tirmidhi guiding you with the Hadiths that were taught by our beloved Prophet.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

At-Tirmidhi is among the 6 most authentic books of Hadith. It can be utilized for guidance and studies by anyone, be it Muslim or non-Muslim. The real purpose of the book is to convey the statements and attributes of the Prophet (ﷺ) to the ummah so they can act according to His teachings. While referring to any Hadith from the book, quote the Hadith completely with the proper name of the book, its volume, and chapter number.