Sunan Abu Dawood

1 Who compiled Sunan Abu Dawood?
(a) Abu Dawood Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath al-Sijistani (b) Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari
(c) Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d) None of these

2 In which century AH did Abu Dawood die?
(a) 2nd century AH (b) 3rd century AH
(c) 4th century AH (d) None of these

3 In which year AH did Imam Abu Dawood die?
(a) 273 AH (b) 279 AH
(c) 275 AH (d) None of these

4 Abu Dawood was particularly associated with:
(a) Philosophy (b) Astronomy
(c) Hadith scholarship (d) None of these

5 Sunan Abu Dawood is commonly included among:
(a) The Kutub al-Sittah (b) The four major schools of fiqh
(c) The major books of tafsir (d) None of these

6 The word “Sunan” generally indicates a Hadith collection arranged primarily according to:
(a) Biographical order (b) Legal and practical subjects
(c) Geographical regions (d) None of these

7 Abu Dawood’s full name includes:
(a) Ahmad ibn Shu‘ayb (b) Muhammad ibn Yazid
(c) Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath (d) None of these

8 Abu Dawood was born in:
(a) Sijistan (b) Madinah
(c) Baghdad (d) None of these

9 Which scholar was among Abu Dawood’s teachers?
(a) Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (b) Ibn Sina
(c) Al-Farabi (d) None of these

10 Sunan Abu Dawood is particularly valuable for studying:
(a) Greek philosophy (b) Fiqh and practical Islamic rulings
(c) Persian literature (d) None of these

11 Which statement about Sunan Abu Dawood is correct?
(a) Every report in it is sahih (b) It contains only Quranic verses
(c) It contains reports of different levels of authenticity (d) None of these

12 Abu Dawood traveled extensively mainly to:
(a) Acquire and transmit Hadith knowledge (b) Serve as a military commander
(c) Conduct astronomical research (d) None of these

13 Abu Dawood died in:
(a) Baghdad (b) Basra
(c) Damascus (d) None of these

14 Which of the following is associated with Abu Dawood?
(a) Al-Marasil (b) Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb
(c) Muqaddimah Ibn Khaldun (d) None of these

15 Sunan Abu Dawood is especially known for its:
(a) Focus on jurisprudential Hadith (b) Focus on astronomy
(c) Focus on Arabic poetry (d) None of these

16 The compiler of Sunan Abu Dawood belonged to:
(a) Andalusia (b) Sijistan
(c) Egypt (d) None of these

17 Which of the following is NOT a compiler of one of the Kutub al-Sittah?
(a) Abu Dawood (b) Al-Tirmidhi
(c) Al-Nasa’i (d) Al-Farabi

18 The title “Abu Dawood” refers to:
(a) Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath (b) Muhammad ibn Ismail
(c) Ahmad ibn Shu‘ayb (d) None of these

19 Sunan Abu Dawood is primarily a:
(a) Hadith collection (b) Book of philosophy
(c) Book of geography (d) None of these

20 Which statement best describes the contents of Sunan Abu Dawood?
(a) Only historical biographies (b) Hadith organized around practical and legal subjects
(c) Only Quranic commentary (d) None of these

21 Abu Dawood studied under:
(a) Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (b) Imam al-Shafi‘i
(c) Imam Abu Hanifah (d) None of these

22 The principal language of Sunan Abu Dawood is:
(a) Arabic (b) Persian
(c) Greek (d) None of these

23 Abu Dawood was a major scholar of:
(a) Hadith (b) Mathematics
(c) Medicine (d) None of these

24 Which of the following is true of the Hadith reports in Sunan Abu Dawood?
(a) They are all fabricated (b) They include reports of varying grades
(c) They are all mutawatir (d) None of these

25 Sunan Abu Dawood became especially influential in:
(a) Islamic jurisprudence (b) Greek philosophy
(c) Astronomy (d) None of these

26 Abu Dawood’s nisbah “al-Sijistani” refers to:
(a) Sijistan (b) Syria
(c) Sindh (d) None of these

27 Which scholar is associated with the famous collection Sahih al-Bukhari rather than Sunan Abu Dawood?
(a) Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (b) Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath
(c) Abu Dawood (d) None of these

28 The main purpose of compiling a Sunan collection was to preserve Hadith relevant to:
(a) Practical religious life and law (b) Ancient mythology
(c) Political propaganda (d) None of these

29 Abu Dawood’s collection is commonly called:
(a) Sunan Abi Dawud (b) Sahih Abi Dawud
(c) Musnad Abi Dawud (d) None of these

30 Which statement is most accurate?
(a) Sunan Abu Dawood contains only weak reports (b) Sunan Abu Dawood contains reports of varying authenticity
(c) Sunan Abu Dawood contains no legal Hadith (d) None of these

31 Abu Dawood’s scholarly travels were primarily undertaken in pursuit of:
(a) Hadith (b) Commerce
(c) Political office (d) None of these

32 Which of the following is a feature of classical Hadith scholarship?
(a) Traveling to different scholars to obtain reports (b) Avoiding all written records
(c) Rejecting chains of transmission (d) None of these

33 Sunan Abu Dawood belongs to which broad type of Hadith compilation?
(a) Jami‘ (b) Sunan
(c) Musnad only (d) None of these

34 Abu Dawood died approximately in:
(a) 889 CE (b) 892 CE
(c) 915 CE (d) None of these

35 Which year corresponds to the commonly given death date of Abu Dawood?
(a) 275 AH (b) 279 AH
(c) 303 AH (d) None of these

36 Abu Dawood’s work is particularly useful to scholars of:
(a) Fiqh (b) Astronomy
(c) Medicine (d) None of these

37 Which of the following best distinguishes Sunan Abu Dawood from a collection limited to sahih reports?
(a) It includes reports of different grades of authenticity (b) It contains no Hadith
(c) It contains only Quranic verses (d) None of these

38 Which scholar is correctly matched with Sunan Abu Dawood?
(a) Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath (b) Muhammad ibn Yazid
(c) Abu Isa al-Tirmidhi (d) None of these

39 Abu Dawood’s collection forms part of the commonly recognized:
(a) Kutub al-Sittah (b) Kutub al-Arba‘ah
(c) Major works of philosophy (d) None of these

40 Which statement about Abu Dawood is correct?
(a) He was a major Hadith scholar (b) He was primarily a mathematician
(c) He was primarily a physician (d) None of these

41 The collection of Abu Dawood contains Hadith relating to:
(a) Worship, transactions and other legal subjects (b) Astronomy alone
(c) Literature alone (d) None of these

42 Al-Marasil is associated with:
(a) Abu Dawood (b) Al-Bukhari
(c) Ibn Sina (d) None of these

43 Which city is associated with the death of Abu Dawood?
(a) Basra (b) Makkah
(c) Cairo (d) None of these

44 The death of Abu Dawood occurred during the:
(a) 1st century AH (b) 2nd century AH
(c) 3rd century AH (d) None of these

45 Sunan Abu Dawood is especially important for:
(a) Understanding Prophetic guidance relevant to Islamic law (b) Studying Greek mythology
(c) Studying European medieval art (d) None of these

46 Which statement is NOT correct?
(a) Abu Dawood compiled a major Hadith collection (b) His Sunan is among the Kutub al-Sittah
(c) His collection contains reports of different grades (d) Every report in his Sunan is necessarily sahih

47 Abu Dawood’s scholarly method was closely connected with:
(a) Hadith transmission and criticism (b) Architecture
(c) Chemistry (d) None of these

48 Which of the following is the most appropriate description of Sunan Abu Dawood?
(a) A major Hadith collection arranged by practical and legal subjects (b) A book of Quranic tafsir
(c) A book of philosophy (d) None of these

49 Imam Abu Dawood died in:
(a) Basra in 275 AH (b) Baghdad in 279 AH
(c) Madinah in 303 AH (d) None of these

50 The lasting significance of Sunan Abu Dawood is especially associated with:
(a) Preservation of Hadith useful for Islamic jurisprudence and practice (b) Preservation of Greek philosophy
(c) Development of astronomy (d) None of these

Answer Key

1 (a) Abu Dawood Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath al-Sijistani
2 (b) 3rd century AH
3 (c) 275 AH
4 (c) Hadith scholarship
5 (a) The Kutub al-Sittah
6 (b) Legal and practical subjects
7 (c) Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath
8 (a) Sijistan
9 (a) Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
10 (b) Fiqh and practical Islamic rulings
11 (c) It contains reports of different levels of authenticity
12 (a) Acquire and transmit Hadith knowledge
13 (b) Basra
14 (a) Al-Marasil
15 (a) Focus on jurisprudential Hadith
16 (b) Sijistan
17 (d) Al-Farabi
18 (a) Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath
19 (a) Hadith collection
20 (b) Hadith organized around practical and legal subjects
21 (a) Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
22 (a) Arabic
23 (a) Hadith
24 (b) They include reports of varying grades
25 (a) Islamic jurisprudence
26 (a) Sijistan
27 (a) Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari
28 (a) Practical religious life and law
29 (a) Sunan Abi Dawud
30 (b) Sunan Abu Dawood contains reports of varying authenticity
31 (a) Hadith
32 (a) Traveling to different scholars to obtain reports
33 (b) Sunan
34 (a) 889 CE
35 (a) 275 AH
36 (a) Fiqh
37 (a) It includes reports of different grades of authenticity
38 (a) Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath
39 (a) Kutub al-Sittah
40 (a) He was a major Hadith scholar
41 (a) Worship, transactions and other legal subjects
42 (a) Abu Dawood
43 (a) Basra
44 (c) 3rd century AH
45 (a) Understanding Prophetic guidance relevant to Islamic law
46 (d) Every report in his Sunan is necessarily sahih
47 (a) Hadith transmission and criticism
48 (a) A major Hadith collection arranged by practical and legal subjects
49 (a) Basra in 275 AH
50 (a) Preservation of Hadith useful for Islamic jurisprudence and practice