Al-Hakim al-Mustadrak is structured to cover various aspects of life, guiding Muslims on matters of faith, jurisprudence, and conduct. It is known for its rigorous criteria for authentication, making it a valuable resource for understanding the teachings of Islam.

Mistake 1: Believing everything in Al-Mustadrak is authentic. Truth: Al-Hakim himself admitted he included some borderline narrations. The book is a mustadrak (supplement), not a sahih (sound collection).

Mistake 2: That vol. 4, p. 398 is identical in all prints. Truth: The page number shifts slightly between the Hyderabad (first edition) and the modern Beirut reprints. When citing, always specify the edition.

Mistake 3: That al-Dhahabi rejected everything al-Hakim accepted. Truth: On vol. 4, p. 398, you will often find al-Dhahabi agreeing with al-Hakim. Their disagreements exist in about 25-30% of the Mustadrak.

In the vast ocean of Islamic hadith literature, few works occupy as unique a position as Al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn by the great 11th-century Muhaddith (hadith scholar), Imam Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Nishapuri (may Allah have mercy on him). Among the thousands of traditions he compiled, a specific reference—Al-Hakim al-Mustadrak vol. 4, p. 398—has garnered significant attention from scholars, students, and lay readers alike.

Why is this specific page so important? What narrations reside there? And why do scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah, as well as those from other Islamic intellectual traditions, frequently cite this precise location? This article unpacks the significance, the content, and the scholarly debates surrounding this landmark page.

Why do researchers seek out al-hakim al-mustadrak vol. 4 p. 398 with such precision? There are three primary reasons:

While variations exist between editions (Beirut 1990 vs. Hyderabad 1915), a consistent narration appearing on or near this page is often attributed to Abu Hurairah (RA) or Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (RA) regarding the end of times. For example, one might find:

Narrated by Abu Huraira: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "The night and day will not come to an end until a man from the tribe of Ghifar has ruled over this earth." (Graded by al-Hakim as Sahih according to Muslim’s standard, with al-Dhahabi concurring).

Alternatively, the page may contain a lengthy tradition about the descent of ‘Isa (Jesus) son of Mary, the emergence of Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog), and the ultimate establishment of justice.

Hadith collections like Al-Hakim al-Mustadrak are crucial in Islamic studies for several reasons: