Das Buch der vierzig Hadithe

The Arabic term Hadith refers to a narration that conveys a statement of the Prophet Muhammad (died 632) or reports on an action of the Prophet. The knowledge of the chains of transmission and the collection of Hadiths soon became a central component of Islamic scholarship. Moreover, the Hadiths particularly fulfilled the Islamic claim to offer believers a model way of life that encompasses all aspects of daily life and existence: "Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah, you have a good example" (Quran 33:21). The famous Syrian scholar Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (1233-1277) made a pointed selection from the extensive Hadith literature, which he called the Book of Forty Hadiths, containing the central teachings of Islam: "Each of these forty Hadiths is a mighty pillar of the pillars of religion.".