After numerous collections of Hadith had been made during the third century of Islam six works became recognised as authoritative. Two of them are believed to be completely authentic, namely the Sahih al-Bukharii and the Sahih Muslim. The other four, Sahih al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah, Sunan Abu Dawud and Sunan Nasa'i are also highly esteemed but are regarded lower in category to Sahih Bukhari and Muslim
'Maa wara-un-nehr, in Central Asia has given the world many religious scholars whose names are inscribed for ever on the pages of Islamic history. Among them we find such a distinguished person as Abu Abdur Rahman Ahmad bin Shu'aib an Nasai'i. His book Sunan occupies an outstanding place among six principal Hadith collections (Sihah Sittah) known in the Muslim world. Imam Nasa'i was very careful while selecting materials for his work. This is why many scholars consider that the book Sunan Nasa'i occupies third place in Hadith collections after Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. It contains 5764 tradition, said to have been carefully collected out of 500,000.'
Imam Abu Abdur Rahman Ahmad ibn Shu'aib an-Nasa'i (r.a) - [215 - 303 A.H.]
Imam an-Nasa'i was born in the town of Nasa' in the province of Khorasan. After gaining hadith from the teachers in his own city, Imam an-Nasa'i travelled through Khorasan, Iraq, the Hijaz, Syria and Egypt collecting ahadith. Egypt was where Imam an-Nasa'i settled and established his center for teaching and studies here.
He Died in Makkah in 303 Hijri
About this Translation
The learned translator of Sunan Nasa'i has the full command over the English language and an instinctive feel of the Arabic language. As such, he is very competent to translate this Hadith collection into English. The English rendering of Sunan Nasa'i is thus faithful and as accurate as it can be Insh'Allah