Sahih al-Bukhari
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The Sahih of al-Bukhari (Arabic: صحيح البخاري), as it is commonly referred to as, is one of the six major hadith collections of Sunni Islam. These prophetic traditions were collected by the Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (810-870) and published during his lifetime. Most Sunni Muslims view this as their most trusted collection of hadith and it has been called "The most authentic book after the Qur'an."[1]
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[edit] Actual title
The actual title of the book commonly referred to as 'Sahih al-Bukhari' is: al-Jaami’ al-Saheeh al-Musnad al-Mukhtasar min Umoor Rasool Allah wa sunanihi wa Ayyaamihi. This can be translated as: The Abridged Collection of Authentic Hadith with Connected Chains regarding Matters Pertaining to the Prophet, His practices and His Times. [2]
[edit] Reasons for compiling the Sahih
At the time when Bukhaaree saw [the earlier] works and conveyed them, he found them, in their presentation, combining between what would be considered saheeh and hasan and that many of them included da’eef hadith. This aroused his interest in compiling hadith whose authenticity was beyond doubt. What further strengthened his resolve was something his teacher, Ishaaq ibn Ibraaheem al-Hanthalee – better known as Ibn Raahooyah – had said. Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel al-Bukhaaree said, “We were with Ishaaq ibn Raahooyah who said, ‘If only you would compile a book of only authentic narrations of the Prophet.’ This suggestion remained in my heart so I began compiling the Sahih.” Bukhaaree also said, “I saw the Prophet in a dream and it was as if I was standing in front of him. In my hand was a fan with which I was protecting him. I asked some dream interpreters, who said to me, ‘You will protect him from lies.’ This is what compelled me to produce the Sahih.” [3]
[edit] Authenticity of
Ibn al-Salaah said: "The first to author a Sahih was Bukhaaree, Abu ‘Abdillah Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel al-Ju’fee, followed by Aboo al-Husain Muslim ibn al-Hajjaaj al-Naisaabooree al-Qushairee, who was his student, sharing many of the same teachers. These two books are the most authentic books after the Quran. As for the statement of al-Shaafi’ee, who said “I do not know of a book containing knowledge more correct than Maalik’s book,” - others mentioned it with a different wording – he said this before the books of Bukhaaree and Muslim. The book of Bukhaaree is the more authentic of the two and more useful."[4] Ibn Hajr quoted Aboo Ja’far al-‘Uqailee as saying, "After Bukhaaree had written the Sahih, he read it to ‘Alee ibn al-Madeenee, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahyaa ibn Ma’een as well as others. They considered it a good effort and testified to its authenticity with the exception of four hadith. Al-‘Uqailee then said that Bukhaaree was actually correct regarding those four hadith." Ibn Hajr then concluded, "And they are, in fact, authentic."[5]
[edit] Not inclusive of all authentic hadith
Ibn al-Salaah said in his Muqaddimah: "It has been narrated to us that Bukhaaree has said, 'I have not included in the book al-Jaami’ other than what is authentic and I did not include other authentic hadith for the sake of brevity.'"[6] In addition, al-Thahabi said,"Bukhaaree was heard saying, 'I have memorized one hundred thousand authentic hadith and two hundred thousand which are less than authentic.'”[7]
[edit] Number of hadith
Ibn al-Salaah said: "The number of hadith in his book, the Sahih, is seven thousand, two hundred and seventy five hadith including hadith occurring repeatedly. It has been said that this number excluding repeated hadith is four thousand."[8] This is referring to those hadith which are musnad,[9] those from the Companions originating from the Prophet with what is apparently a connected chain.[10]
[edit] The collection
Al-Bukhari traveled widely throughout the Abbasid empire for sixteen years, collecting those traditions he thought trustworthy. It is said that al-Bukhari collected over 300,000 hadith and included only 2,602 traditions in his Sahih[11] [12] [13]; however, the later number contradicts the number given by Ibn al-Salaah, as mentioned above.
The book covers almost all aspects of life in providing proper guidance of Islam such as the method of performing prayers and other actions of worship directly from the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This 9-Volume Bukhari is the work of over 16 years by Bukhari who before writing any Hadith in this book performed ablution and two units of prayer asking guidance from Allah. Then he would do the necessary research and investigation, observing if the particular Hadith fits in to his strict criteria of authenticity and if he is sure that the Hadith is authentic, he wrote it in the book.
It is said that notable hadith scholars including Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 855, Ibn Maīn 847, and Ibn Madīni 848 accepted the authenticity of his book. Therefore al-Bukhari finished his work around 846, and spent the last twenty-four years of his life visiting other cities and scholars, teaching the hadith he had collected. In every city that he visited, thousands of people would gather in the main mosque to listen to him recite traditions. In reply to Western academic doubts as to the actual date and authorship of the book that bears his name, Sunni scholars point out that notable hadith scholars of that time, such as Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (855 CE/241 AH), Ibn Maīn (847 CE/233 AH), and Ibn Madīni (848 CE/234 AH), accepted the authenticity of his book [1] [2] and that the collection's immediate fame makes it unlikely that it could have been revised after the author's death.
During this period of twenty-four years, Bukhari made minor revisions to his book, notably the chapter headings. Each version is named by its narrator. According to Ibn Hajar Asqalani in his book Nukat, the number of hadiths in all narrations (versions) is the same. The most famous one today is the version narrated by al-Firabri (d. 932 CE/320 AH), a trusted student of Bukhari. Khatib al-Baghdadi in his book History of Baghdad quoted Firabri as saying: "About seventy thousand people heard Sahih Bukhari with me".
Firabri is not the only transmitter of Sahih Bukhari. There were many others that narrated that book to later generations, such as Ibrahim ibn Ma'qal (d. 907 CE/295 AH), Hammad ibn Shaker (d. 923 CE/311 AH), Mansur Burduzi (d. 931 CE/319 AH),and Husain Mahamili (d. 941 CE/330 AH). There are many books that noted differences between these versions, the best known being Fath al-Bari.
[edit] Commentaries
Several detailed commentaries on this collection have been written, such as:
1. Al-Kawkab al-Darari fi Sharh Al-Bukhari by al-Kermani (Wafat: 796H).
2. Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari by al-Hafith Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (Wafat: 852H).
3. ‘Umdat al-Qari Sharh Sah.ih al-Bukhari by Badar al-‘Ayni (Wafat: 855H).
4. Irshad al-Sari li Sharh. Sahih al-Bukhari by al-Qastalani (Wafat: 923H).
5. Al-Tanqih by al-Zarkashi.
6. Al-Tawshih by al-Suyuti (Wafat: 811H)
7. Faydh al-Bari ‘ala Sahih Al-Bukhari by Mahammad Anwar al-Kashmiri.
8. Hashiyah al-Badr al-Sari ila Faydh al-Bari by Muhammad Badar ‘Alam al-Merathi a commentary to number 7th's commentary and was published together as a book.
9. Sharh Ibnu Kathir (Wafat: 774H)
10. Sharh ‘Ala’ al-Din Maghlat.ay (Wafat: 792H)
11. Sharh Ibnu al-Mulaqqin (Wafat: 804H)
12. Sharh al-Barmawi (Wafat: 831H)
13. Sharh al-Tilmasani al-Maliki (Wafat: 842H)
14. Sharh al-Bolqini (Wafat: 995H)
15. Sharh Fath al-Bari by Ibnu Rajab al-Hanbali (Wafat: 995H)
16. Sharh Ibnu Abu Hamzah al-Andalusi
17. Sharh Abu al-Baqa’ al-Ahmadi
18. Sharh al-Bakri
19. Sharh Ibnu Rashid
[edit] References
- ^ ummah.net, islamonline.com, sunnah.org, yarehman.com, inter-islam.org, fatwa-online.com
- ^ Muqaddimah Ibn al-Salaah pg. 167 Dar al-Ma’aarif edition. Ibn Hajr mentioned the same title replacing the word umoor with hadith Hadyi al-Saari pg. 10.
- ^ Abridged from Hady al-Sari,the introduction to Fath al-Bari, by Ibn Hajr, pg. 8-9 Dar al-Salaam edition, .
- ^ Muqaddimah Ibn al-Salaah pg. 160 Dar al-Ma’aarif edition
- ^ Hady al-Sari pg. 684
- ^ Muqaddimah Ibn al-Salaah pg. 167-8.
- ^ Tathkirah al-Huffath, vol. 2 pgs. 104-5, al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah edition
- ^ Muqaddimah Ibn al-Salaah pg. 163
- ^ Hady al-Sari pg. 654
- ^ Nuzhah al-Nathr pg. 154
- ^ The number of authentic hadith
- ^ The Sciences of the Hadith: Results of Islamic Scholarship, Muslim American Society, October 9, 2003, retrieved May, 2008
- ^ Introduction to Translation of Sahih Bukhari
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Download Full Sahih Al Bukhari Online
- Study the abridged Sahih Al Bukhari online - Delivered weekly by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq
- Read English Translation of Sahih Al Bukhari in Mobile Phone - translated by Muhamamd Muhsin Khan and presented by SearchTruth.com
- Search any word in English Translation of Sahih Al Bukhari - translated by Muhamamd Muhsin Khan and search engine developed by SearchTruth.com
- English Translation of Sahih Al Bukhari - translated by Muhamamd Muhsin Khan
- www.dailyhadith.co.uk - Daily Bukhari Hadith by e-mail
- Islamic Awareness, On The Nature Of Hadith Collections Of Imam Al-Bukhari & Muslim
- Search and Read Sahih Bukhari at Ekabakti.com Search Engine
- Sahi Bukhari in Urdu with Arabic script(PDF format)
