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four thousand. These are said to have been selected from a mass of "six hundred thousand", which were more or less widely current in his day. Buḫārī enjoyed a great reputation for learning during all the latter part of his life, and taught his Ṣaḥīḥ to a large number of pupils. He died in the year 257 A. H. (A. D. 870).
The Mohammedan Ḥadīṯ literature had its beginnings in scattered collections of the sayings of the Prophet. These collections were for a long time merely accidental, and often very carelessly made; they were in no way official or normative. Oral tradition still maintained its supremacy. But with the growth and the severe testing of Muslim institutions, the advantage of being able to refer to the words and habits of the Prophet himself came to be felt in increasing degree. Thus it came about that more ambitious and comprehensive collections were formed. The first important work of this nature was the Muwaṭṭaʾ of Mālik ibn Anas († 179 A.H.). This was not, however, purely a compilation of traditions, but rather a sort of compendium of law and usage as acknowledged in Medina. Its author is very often cited by Buḫārī simply as مالك.
Up to this time no great attention had been paid to the trustworthiness of the men with whom the traditions originated, and through whom they had been handed down. Now came a period in which the "chain
