The Meticulous Effort Behind Sahih Muslim

With utmost precision and care, Imam Muslim compiled his Sahih. Without repetition, the total number of hadiths in it is 3,033, and if repeated narrations are included, the total reaches 7,563. Imam Muslim selected these from a pool of 300,000 hadiths.

It should be remembered that "300,000 hadiths" does not refer to 300,000 distinct texts or statements. The methodology of counting hadiths is clarified with the following example: if one Tabi‘i (Successor) narrates a hadith from a Companion, it is considered one hadith. If two Tabi‘is narrate the same hadith, it counts as two hadiths. Similarly, if multiple students narrate from a single Tabi‘i, each chain is counted separately. Therefore, the 300,000 refers to hadiths narrated through 300,000 unique chains of transmission (isnads).

Many people misunderstand this principle, which leads to significant confusion regarding the actual number of hadiths.