Recommended Hadith Commentaries for Students of Knowledge

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani has compiled a list of trusted Hadith Commentaries. Share this list with a student of knowledge or anyone who is interested in studying this important science.

Notable Starter Commentaries For Studying the Science of Hadith

1. Dalil al-Falihin fi Sharh Riyad al-Salihin by Imam Ibn ‘Allan al-Bakri
2. Al-Fawa’id al-Mutra‘a al-Hiyad fi Sharh Kitab al-Riyad ascribed to Ibn Kemal Basha
3. Al-Futuhat al-Rabbaniyya Sharh al-Adhkar al-Nawawiyya by Imam Ibn ‘Allan al- Bakri
4. Mishkat al-Masabih by Imam Tabrizi with its commentary Mirqat al-Mafatih by Imam Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari
5. Fayd al-Qadir Sharh al-Jami al-Saghir by Imam ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-Munawi
6. I‘lam Al-Anam Sharh Bulugh al-Maram by Shaykh Nur al-Din ‘Itr
7. Fadl Allah al-Samad fi Tawdih al-Adab al-Mufrad by Imam Fadl Allah Jilani
8. Mukhtasar Sahih al-Bukhari by Ibn Abi Jamra (printed by Dar al-Minhaj) with the compiler’s own commentary Bahjat al-Nufus and Imam Sharqawi’s commentary

Important Works on Hadith according to the Hanafi School

1. The Hanafi Commentaries on Muwatta’ Mālik and Muwatta’ Muhammad
2. The Masanid of Abu Hanifa

Commentaries on the Forty Hadith of Imam Nawawi

1. Sharh al-Arba‘in al-Nawawiyya ascribed to Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id
2. Al-Mu‘in ‘ala Tafahhum al-Arba‘in by Imam Ibn Mulaqqin
3. Jami‘ al-‘Ulum wa al-Hikam by Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (edited by Shaykh Shu‘ayb al-Arna’ut)
4. Al-Fath al-Mubin Sharh al-Arba’in al-Nawawiyya by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami
5. Al-Mubin al-Mu‘in li-Fahm al-Arba‘in by Imam Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari (edited by Shaykh Hamza al-Bakri)
6. Sharh al-Arba‘in al-Nawawiyya by Imam Munawi
7. Al-Futuhat al-Wahbiyya bi-Sharh al-Arba‘in al-Nawawiyya by Imam Shabarkhiti
8. Al-Jawahir al-Lu’lu’iyya fi Sharh al-Arba‘in al-Nawawiyya by Imam Jurdani
9. Al-Majalis al-Saniyya fi al-Kalam ‘ala al-Arba‘in al-Nawawiyya by al-Fashani
10. Al-Wafi fi Sharh Araba’in al-Nawawiya by Dr. Mustafa al-Bugha and Muhyiddin Mistaw

SeekersGuidance offers a course on Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith. This course is important for any Muslim who wants to hear a summary of how the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) taught Islam through his sayings and wishes to connect with the field of hadiths more. Sign up today. Always free.

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Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.