INTRODUCTION
SUNAN AN-NASĀ'Ī AS-ṢUGHRA[1]
By Abu Khaliyl
About the Author
He is Abū 'Abdur-Raḥmān Aḥmad bin Shu'aīb bin 'Alī bin Sinān bin Baḥr An-Nasā'ī. The name "An-Nasā'ī" is an ascription to Nasa' of Khurāsān.[2]
His Birth, Studies and Travels
Imām An-Nasā'ī was born in the year 214 or 215 after Hijrah in Nasa' and he traveled to Naysābūr and other cities in Khurāsān, Baghdād, and other cities in Al-'Irāq, Ash-Shām, Egypt, Makkah, Al-Madīnah, and areas of 'Arabia to seek knowledge.
His Teachers and Students
He learned from many important scholars of his time, including Abū Dāwūd, Al-Bukhārī, Aḥmad, as well as his son 'Abdullāh, Al-Bazzār, Ishāq bin Ibrāhīm Ar-Rahuwyah, Aḥmad bin Manī', Ishāq bin Shāhīn, Muḥammad bin Naṣr Al-Marwazī, and many others. He had many
[1] References for this introduction include: Siyar A'lām An-Nubalā'; Al-Qawlul-Mu'tabar; Bughyat Ar-Rāghīb; Al-Ansāb; Mu'jam Al-Buldān; Dhakhīrat Al-'Uqba, and others noted in the text. As for controversial statements about Imām An-Nasā'ī, they have not been discussed here, because it is not appropriate to mention this here, whereas famous biographers have already discussed these topics, with sufficient defense and refutation of them all.
[2] Modern spelling is Khorasan. Perhaps Nasa' is Nisa, which is located about 18km southwest of Ashgabat (also spelled Ashkhabad; Ashkabat; Ashgabad) in Turkmenistan. Previously, it was part of the Khorasan area. Scholars disagree over whether this name is a foreign name; (Mu'jam Al-Buldān) or is derived from the Arabic word nisā' (women), as stated by As-Sam'ānī in Al-Ansāb – that the Arabs named it like this because when they conquered the village, the men had fled, and only the women fought. And Allāh knows best.
students, famous among them being Aṭ-Ṭabarānī, Abū ‘Awānah, Aṭ-Ṭahāwī, Ibn As-Sunnī, and many others. As is widely known, some of his teachers also heard narrations from him.
His Books
He authored many books, most important of which is Sunan Al-Kubra or the Grand Sunan which has been published during our time.[1] Among his works also published are Aḏ-Ḍu’afā’ wal-Matrūkik, listing the names of weak and abandoned Ḥadīth narrators; Tasmīyat Fuqaha’il-Amšār, Min Aṣ-Ṣaḥābah, Fa Man Ba’dahum listing the names of famous scholars of Fiqh among the Companions from different lands, along with their students; Tasmīyat Man Lam Yarwi ‘Anhu Ghairu Rajulin Wāhid, listing the names of narrators that only one narrator reported from, as well as others. Besides, his ‘Amalul-Yawmi wal-Lailah, Tafsīr, and other books have been published separately as well as along with his Sunan Al-Kubra.
His Death
It is reported that he died in the year 303 after Hijrah at the age of 88. He first settled in Egypt for some time, then he went to Damascus. Scholars differ over place of his death and burial. Some of them say it was in Makkah, and others in Ramallah in Palestine.
As against presumed before, today, whenever the “Six Books” or the “Four Sunan” are mentioned or referred today it is the smaller Sunan, Sunan Aṣ-Ṣughra or Al-Mujtaba that is meant, not Sunan Al-Kubra.
What is more important to note is that Imām An-Nasā’ī compiled his Sunan Al-Kubra first, then sometime later, smaller Sunan, which later was referred to as Al-Mujtaba and is also called Mujtana. Both the books have a same meaning: “the selected,” and it is not clear who first referred to the smaller Sunan with either of these names. In fact, some of them also called it the Ṣaḥīh.
Scholars differ over whether Imām An-Nasā’ī himself compiled Sunan Aṣ-Ṣughra or Al-Mujtaba - or it was a compilation of his student Ibn As-Sunnī. The fact that since the smaller Sunan or Al-Mujtaba is generally known to be reported from An-Nasā’ī by Ibn As-Sunnī, it
[1] It was thought to be lost until the manuscripts were rediscovered during our time.
has led some to believe that it is, in reality, the work of Ibn As-Sunnî. Imâm Adh-Dhahabî (Siyar Al'lâm An-Nubalâ') and whoever followed him held this view, saying that we only know of his Sunan through the narration of Ibn As-Sunnî. While the fact is that Sunan Al-Kubra is known through the reporting other than Ibn As-Sunnî.
Upon careful review and comparison between Al-Mujtaba and Sunan Al-Kubra, it is clear that each of them contain narrations of Imâm An-Nasâ'î which are not included in the other. This is why most scholars say that since Ibn As-Sunnî did not narrate Al-Kubra, while others did, and others did not narrate Al-Mujtaba, while Ibn As-Sunnî did, it is clear that this is what he heard from Imâm An-Nasâ'î, and there are no means to prove other than this, because whenever Ibn As-Sunnî's name appears in a narration, he said that he heard this from Imâm An-Nasâ'î, and this is mentioned at the beginning of the text as well. This indicates that he heard the entire book from Imâm An-Nasâ'î, and since there are narrations in Al-Mujtaba – as well as chapter headings – which are not contained in his Sunan Al-Kubra, if it was correct that Ibn As-Sunnî was the compiler of the smaller Sunan, then they would not be considered Hadîths of An-Nasâ'î, but Zawâ'id, or additions of Ibn As-Sunnî, and none of the earlier scholars has stated this. Instead, they list Ibn As-Sunnî among those who reported the Sunan from Imâm An-Nasâ'î, and refer to these narrations as narrations recorded by An-Nasâ'î, as is well-known.[1]
As for the reason for the compilation of the smaller Sunan, a story is popularly reported that an Amîr asked An-Nasâ'î if all of the narrations in his book (Al-Kubra) were Şaḥîḥ (correct), to which he replied that they were not, so he was told to compile a book in which only Şaḥîḥ narrations were included. So he compiled Al-Mujtaba. But
[1] In any case, the facts are that Ibn As-Sunnî reported Sunan Aş-Şughra or Al-Mujtaba, and it is not known that he reported Sunan Al-Kubra, while others reported Sunan Al-Kubra and it is not known that they reported Sunan Aş-Şughra or Al-Mujtaba, and each of these books contains narrations which the other does not, while Sunan Al-Kubra contains many more narrations. Some scholars consider it possible that Imâm An-Nasâ'î gave the task of summarizing to Ibn As-Sunnî, and that Imâm An-Nasâ'î added additional narrations, and chapter headings when Ibn As-Sunnî read it with him.
most of the scholars do not consider the narration of this event to be authentic for various reasons.
The scholars have written a great deal about this topic, and these points represent only a small portion of the details related.[1]
Those Who Narrated the Sunan From Imâm An-Nasâ'î
It was mentioned above that Ibn As-Sunnî narrated the smaller Sunan; Sunan Aş-Şughra or, Al-Mujtaba from Imâm An-Nasâ'î. He is Abû Bakr Ahmad bin Muḥammad bin Ishâq Ad-Dînawarî, who died in 364 after Hijrah.
The most popular narrators of Sunan Al-Kubra from Imâm An-Nasâ'î are Al-Ḥasan bin Rashîq Al-'Askarî (d. 370), Ḥamzah bin Muḥammad Al-Kinânî (d. 357), Abû Al-Ḥasan Ibn Ḥayyuwyah (d. 366), Ibn Al-Aḥmar of Al-Andalus (d. 358), and some others.
Important Traits of Sunan Aş-Şughra
Scholars have highly commended Imâm An-Nasâ'î and his work. Imâm Ad-Dâraqutnî said about him: "He is given preference over all others who are mentioned with this knowledge from the people of his time." (Suw'âlât As-Sulamî lid-Dâraqutnî) Imâm An-Nasâ'î was well-known for his knowledge in the various fields of Ḥadîth and its narrators. Some scholars consider his compilation to have the least number of defective or weak narrations among the Four Sunan.
Sunan Aş-Şughra contains a number of repetitive narrations, more similar to the Sahîh of Al-Bukhârî than the remainder of the Six in that regard. Imâm An-Nasâ'î often cites the same narration in various chapters to show what is narrated as proof for different topics. In some cases he uses the same Ḥadîth under chapter headings that mention opposite points. For example, in chapter 45 of the Book of Purification, entitled: "Leaving Any Restriction on the Amount of Water," he narrated the story of a Bedouin who urinated in the Masjid, and the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ called for a bucket of water to pour over the area. By the chapter heading, it is clear that the
[1] This is a topic that many scholars have commented upon and differed over, As-Sakhawî in an earlier work (Al-Qawlu-Mu'tabar) supported the first view - that it is Ibn As-Sunnî's compilation - and in a later work (Bughyat Ar-Râghib) he supported the second view, that it was compiled by An-Nasâ'î.
meaning is that the amount of water to clean the area was not restricted to a minimum quantity. Later, in the Book of Water, chapter 2, entitled: "Restricting the Amount of Water" he narrated the same Ĥadīth, but this time, the apparent indication is the opposite. In other words, "a bucket" is the minimum amount of water to clean the area. Cases such as this are common, wherein he repeats the same narration to prove another inference.
Al-Mujtaba contains a noticeable method of subdivision of topics when compared to the remainder of the Six Books. Meaning that Imâm An-Nasâ'î has included more chapter headings indicating more subtle points between the more commonly indicated points, in the more commonly mentioned chapter headings of the others among the Six. It is as if he considered how they named the chapters for these narrations, and found that in between this and that there should be these additional chapters, since these narrations can be used to support these additional points as well. This becomes clear to anyone who has read all of the Six Books, and compared in which chapters each of the compilers included this or that narration, as well as the grouping of related chapters.
For example, in the case of narrations dealing with not facing the Qiblah when relieving oneself (see Ĥadīths 20-23), we find one or perhaps two chapters in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhârī,[1] one in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim,[2] two in Sunan Abû Dâwûd, two in Sunan At-Tirmidhî, two in Sunan Ibn Mâjah, and four in Al-Mujtaba - while there are only two in Sunan Al-Kubra. One would observe from comparing all these that in Al-Mujtaba, he has the additional chapter: "The Command to Face Toward the East or the West When Relieving Oneself"[3] and none of the others among the Six has named a chapter with a "command" related to this topic.
[1] Since the second of them contains a narration related to the topic, according to the others, but the chapter name does not indicate the topic. See Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhârī Nos. 144 and 145.
[2] While it is not clear if the chapter heading wherein Imâm Muslim narrated these Ĥadīths was written by him or by someone after him, as is the case with the chapters headings in his book in general.
[3] See Ĥadīth No. 22, and the meaning is for the people of Al-Madīah, since the Qiblah was to the south for them.
Such cases of additional chapter headings for repeated narrations indicate his vast understanding or (Fiqh), and this is among the important observations of the scholars about him and his book.
On the other hand, missing from Al-Mujtaba are the Books of Knowledge, Tafsîr, and various books on manners, and many other important topics that are mentioned in the remainder of the Six, and some of which are included in Sunan Al-Kubra.