What Does Sahih Mean?

Sahih (Arabic: صحيح) is pronounced sa-HEEH.

Meaning

In everyday Arabic, sahih means correct, healthy or sound. In the science of hadith (reports of the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ), it is the grade given to the most reliable reports. Scholars call a hadith sahih when:

• its chain of narrators is unbroken, all the way back to the Prophet ﷺ;
• every narrator was known to be honest and upright;
• every narrator had a precise memory or careful written records;
• it does not contradict more reliable reports and has no hidden defect.

Below sahih comes hasan (good, also accepted), and below that da’if (weak), which is not used to establish beliefs or rulings. This careful checking reflects a Qur’anic principle:

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِن جَآءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌۢ بِنَبَإٍۢ فَتَبَيَّنُوٓا۟ أَن تُصِيبُوا۟ قَوْمًۢا بِجَهَٰلَةٍۢ فَتُصْبِحُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَٰدِمِينَ ﴿٦﴾

O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.

How Muslims use it

Muslims ask “Is it sahih?” before relying on a saying attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. Two famous books carry the word in their titles: the collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim, which Muslim scholars regard as the most reliable books after the Qur’an. On this website we only quote hadith graded sahih or hasan.

Example

“That saying is often shared online, but scholars say it isn’t sahih, so it shouldn’t be attributed to the Prophet ﷺ.”

Read more in What Is Hadith? and Are the Hadith Authentic?