Question:
I wanted to confirm if Aaisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was 3rd or 4th in rank in narration of hadiths. I believe the order was Abu-Hurayra (transmits over 5000 hadiths), Abdullah Ibn-Omar (transmits over 2600 hadiths), and Aaisha (transmits over 2000 hadiths). However, did Anas ibn Malik narrate more hadith than Aaisha (may Allah be pleased with all of them)?
Answer:
`Alaykum as-Salam,
Seven Companion-narrators narrated in the 1,000s. Ibn Zahira said:
سبع من الصحب فوق الألف قد نقلوا * من الحديث عن المختار خير مضر أبو هريرة ، سعد، جابر، أنس ، * صديقة ، وابن عباس ، كذا ابن عمر
which means:
“Seven of the Companions have definitely transmitted over a thousand of the hadiths from the Elect, the best of the Mudar tribe:
“Abu Hurayra, Sa`d, Jabir, Anas, Siddiqa, Ibn `Abbas, and also Ibn `Umar.”
They are ranked thus in descending order of volume:
- Abu Hurayra – narrated 5,374 hadiths
- Ibn `Umar – narrated 2,600 hadiths
- Anas b. Malik – narrated 2,286 hadiths
- `A’isha – narrated 2,210 hadiths
- Ibn `Abbas – narrated 1,660 hadiths
- Jabir b. `Abd Allah – narrated 1,540 hadiths
- Abu Sa`id al-Khudri – narrated 1,170 hadiths
After that come:
- Ibn Mas`ud – narrated 848 hadiths
- `Abd Allah b. `Amr b. al-`As – narrated 700 hadiths
Allah be well-pleased with all of them.
Sources:
– al-`Iraqi, Sharh al-Tabsira wal-Tadhkira (chapter on Defining the
Companions, section on the High-Frequency Narrators among the
Companions);
– al-Sakhawi, Fath al-Mughith (chapter on Defining the Companions,
section on the High-Frequency Narrators among the Companions).
Hajj Gibril Haddad
