The Sacred Texts

the first among women to tell of the Prophet’s sayings and doings. She reported more than two thousand hadith, while Abu Hurayrah related more than five thousand hadith. Later, the sayings were compiled by various collectors of hadith. In this regard, Bukhari and Muslim are the first to have applied the most rigorous measures to ascertain the reliability of each hadith. An unbroken chain of narrators was traced for each hadith and each transmitter’s life was analysed from all angles to validate his trustworthiness.