Introduction to Partial Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud

Translator: Prof. Ahmad Hasan

Sunan Abu-Dawud (full name Abu-Dawud Sulaiman bin Al-Aash'ath Al-Azdi as-Sijistani) was born in 202 A.H. and died in 275 A.H. He was one of the most widely travelled of the scholars of ahadith, going to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Khurasahn, Egypt, Syria, Nishapur, Marv, and other places for the sole purpose of collecting ahadith. His primary interest was in law, hence his collection focuses purely on legal ahadith. From about 50,000 ahadith, he chose 4,800 for inclusion in his work based on their superior authenticity. The translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud found here is not complete. Roughly half of the collection is missing; please take this into account if you cannot find a specific hadith.