the traditional chain, and the character of the witnesses composing it; and as one of his rules was to refuse every tradition at variance with his own ideas of orthodoxy, it by no means follows that any statement rejected by him is really untrustworthy. His collections, however, differ from the "Musnâds" in not having respect to any school of theology, but solely to the character and supposed soundness of the traditions. It also takes a wider range and embraces statements on the exegesis of the Coran, the ancient prophets, the campaigns, etc. It contains 7275 separate traditions; or, excluding repetitions, somewhere about 4000. 

The great rival of Bokhâri is his pupil Muslim, whose object it was to complete and improve his Master's collection by adding fresh traditions and new chains of authorities. His work thus contains some 12,000 traditions, but if we exclude repetitions, the contents hardly exceed those of Bokhâri; the arrangement, however, is better, and hence the collection more valuable. Bokhâri is the standard authority in Asia and Egypt; Muslim in Northern Africa, and formerly also in Spain. Four other collections, but of less authority, are recognised by the Sunnies, making the canonical number altogether six.¹ There are many others, but these are alone authoritative 

To the Shiea collections Sprenger devotes but half a dozen lines. He justly describes them as of little worth. The Shiea Collectors began the work later than the orthodox party; they also hold Aly and the Imams (successors of Aly) as infallible, and their precepts as sacred as those of Mahomet himself; and "they have at all times sought to bolster up their doctrine by lies and falsehoods." Sprenger himself is a decided Sunnie, and his language is strong; but to one familiar with Shie-ite tradition it can hardly be called unjust.