What is the difference between the Sahih, Sunan, Musnad, Mu'jam and Musannaf books?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Oct 24, 2026
The collections are distinguished by gathering only authentic hadiths and arranging them by topic, unlike the Sunan books which arranged hadiths thematically but did not restrict themselves to the authentic. As for the Musnads, they collected the hadiths of each Companion separately, without thematic arrangement or consideration for authenticity or weakness. The Mu'jams, on the other hand, collected hadiths according to the arrangement of the Companions or their teachers. Meanwhile, the Musannafat collected hadiths and narrations from the Salaf according to topics without strict adherence to authenticity.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/66804
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 66804
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy