The Four Books

The Four Books () are the four canonical hadith collections of Twelver Shia Islam. The term is used mostly by Twelver Shias.

NameCollectorNo. of hadith Kitab al-Kafi Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni al-Razi 16,199 </tr> Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih Muhammad ibn Babawayh 9,044 </tr> Tahdhib al-Ahkam Shaykh Muhammad Tusi 13,590 </tr> Al-Istibsar Shaykh Muhammad Tusi 5,511 </tr> Total ahādith 44,344 </tr>

Twelver Shia Muslims use different hadith books than those used by Sunni Muslims, who prize the six major hadith collections. Unlike Sunnis, Twelver Shi'i Muslims uphold the Twelve Imams as their absolute authority of religion after the prophet Muhammad, and thus much of their hadith is transmitted on the authority of the Imams.Seyyed Hossein Nasr, A young Muslim's guide to the modern world, KAZI Publications, Inc Chicago, IL, 2003, p. 19 Shi'ites consider many hadith transmitters in Sunni tradition to be unreliable, particularly due to their indifferent or, at times, antagonistic stance towards Ahl al-Bayt (Household of Muhammad).Momen, Moojan, Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Yale University Press, 1985, p.28-31

See also List of Shi'a books Kutub al-Sittah

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