Sources differ on the exact number of hadiths in Sahih al-Bukhari, with definitions ofhadith varying from a prophetic tradition orsunnah, or a narration of that tradition. Experts have estimated the number of full-isnad narrations in the Sahih at 7,563, with the number reducing to around 2,600 without considerations to repetitions or different versions of the same hadith. Bukhari chose these narrations from a collection of 600,000 narrations he had collected over 16 years.[1][2] The narrations are distributed across 97 chapters coveringfiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), among other subjects. Each chapter contains references to relevant verses from the Quran.[3][4] It provides proper Islamic guidance in almost all aspects ofMuslim life such as the method of performingprayers and other actions of worship directly fromMuhammad.
It is reported that Bukhari traveled widely throughout theAbbasid Caliphate from the age of 16. Bukhari found the earlierhadith collections including bothṣaḥīḥ (authentic, sound)[5][6] andhasan narrations. He also found that many of them includeddaʻīf (weak) narrations. This aroused his interest in compiling hadith whose authenticity was beyond doubt.[1]
What further strengthened his resolve was something his teacher and contemporaryhadith scholarIshaq Ibn Rahwayh had told him. Bukhari narrates, "We were with Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh 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 theSahih." Bukhari 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 theSahih."[7]
Bukhari imposed four conditions the narrators of a hadith must meet, in order for the narration to be included in his Sahih:[1][8]
being just,
possessing strong memory and all the scholars who possess great knowledge of hadith must agree upon the narrators' ability to learn and memorize, along with their reporting techniques,
consecutive narrators in the chain must meet each other.
Bukhari began organizing his book in theMasjid al-Haram inMecca, before moving to theAl-Masjid an-Nabawi inMedina.[9] Bukhari completed writing the book inBukhara around 846 (232 AH), before showing it to his teachers for examination and verification.Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani quoted Abu Jaʿfar al-'Uqaili as saying, "After Bukhari had written theSahih, he showed it toAli ibn al-Madini,Ahmad ibn Hanbal,Yahya ibn Ma'in as well as others. They examined it and testified to its authenticity with the exception of four hadith."Ibn Hajar then concluded with al-'Uqaili's saying, "And those four are as Bukhari said, they are authentic."[10] Bukhari spent the last twenty-four years of his life visiting other cities and scholars, making minor revisions to his book and teaching the hadith he had collected. In every city that Bukhari visited, thousands of people would gather to listen to him recite traditions.[11]
Each version of theSahih is named by its narrator.Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in his bookNukat asserts the number of narrations is the same in each version. There are many books that noted differences between the different versions, the best known beingFath al-Bari. The version transmitted by Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Firabri (died 932), a trusted student of Bukhari, is the most famous version of the Sahih al-Bukhari today. All modern printed version are derived from this version.Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi quoted al-Firabri inHistory of Baghdad: "About seventy thousand people heardSahih Bukhari with me." al-Firabri is not the only transmitter of Sahih al-Bukhari. Many others narrated the book, including Ibrahim ibn Ma'qal (died 907), Hammad ibn Shakir (died 923), Mansur Burduzi (died 931) and Husain Mahamili (died 941).[12]
One of the Transmissions from Bukhari to present day
The number of extant manuscripts of Sahih Bukhari is difficult to assess. An Islamic Manuscripts catalog published in 1991 byRoyal Al Bayt Institute lists 2,327 manuscripts of Bukhari, while a study in 2016 indicates there are more than 1500 manuscripts inTurkey alone.[14]: 41 [15]
The oldest known copy was written in the year 370 AH/980 CE, according to the narration of al-Mirwazi from al-Farbari. It was first published by the OrientalistMingana in Cambridge in 1936 CE.[16][14]: 42 The oldest complete surviving manuscript is located atSüleymaniye Library which was completed inAl-Andalus on 3rd Sha'ban 550 AH/2nd October 1155 CE. It is based onAbu Dharr’s recension and was compared with several key manuscripts by the scribe and later owners. In 2018, a facsimile edition of the manuscript was published by ISAM.[17]: 16–19 [18]
The number of detailed commentaries on the Sahih are numbered around 400,[20]Ibn Khaldun said: “Explaining Sahih al-Bukhari is a debt owed by this nation.” As a result, numerous scholars have raced to settle this debt over time, and numerous commentaries on Sahih al-Bukhari have been produced.[21]
In 2019, the Arabic Virtual Translation Center inNew York translated and published the first complete English translation ofSahih al-Bukhari titledEncyclopedia of Sahih Al-Bukhari, including explanatory notes, a glossary of every term, and biographies of all characters and narrators in theisnad. The encyclopedia was produced by Mohammed Hasan Yousef Arar. The final edition was released on 01 February 2025.[8]
Muslims regardSahih al-Bukhari as one of the two most important books among theKutub al-Sittah alongside theSahih Muslim, written by al-Bukhari's studentMuslim ibn al-Hajjaj. The two books are known as theSahihayn (The TwoSahihs).[4][34][35]Al-Nawawi wrote about Sahih al-Bukhari, "The scholars, may God have mercy on them, have agreed that the most authentic book after the dear Quran are the two Sahihs of Bukhari andMuslim."[36]Siddiq Hasan Khan (died 1890) wrote, "All of theSalaf andKhalaf assert that the most authentic book after the book of Allah is Sahih al-Bukhari and then Sahih Muslim."[37]
In theIntroduction to the Science of Hadith,Ibn al-Salah wrote: "The first to author aSahih wasBukhari [...], followed byAbū al-Ḥusayn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj an-Naysābūrī al-Qushayrī, who was his student, sharing many of the same teachers. These two books are the most authentic books after theQuran. As for the statement ofal-Shafi'i, who said, "I do not know of a book containing knowledge more correct thanMalik's book [Muwatta Imam Malik]", [...] he said this before the books of Bukhari and Muslim. "The book of Bukhari is the more authentic of the two and more useful."[38] Ibn al-Salah also quoted Bukhari as having said, "I have not included in the book [Sahih al-Bukhari] other than what is authentic and I did not include other authentic hadith for the sake of brevity."[38] In addition,al-Dhahabi quoted Bukhari as having said, "I have memorized one hundred thousand authentic hadith and two hundred thousand which are less than authentic."[39]
Criticism has also been directed at apparent contradictions within Bukhari regarding theahruf of the Quran. Some narrations state the Quran was revealed only in the dialect ofMuhammad's tribe, theQuraysh, while others state it was revealed in seven ahruf.[40][41] Certainprophetic medicine and remedies espoused in Bukhari, such ascupping, have been noted for being unscientific.[42] Sunni scholarIbn Hajar al-Asqalani, on the basis of contrary archaeological evidence, criticised the hadith[43] which claimed that Adam's height was 60 cubits andhuman height has been decreasing ever since.[44]
In the 2003 bookThe Idea of Women in Fundamentalist Islam, Lamia Shehadeh usedgender theory to critique anahaad hadith about women's leadership.[45][46] Another hadith reported byAbu Hurayra was criticized byFatema Mernissi for being reported out of context and without any further clarification in the Sahih. The clarification is given in a hadith reported byAisha inal-Zarkashi's (1344–1392) hadith collection. According toCharles Kurzman, this case raises the question of whether other narrations in Bukhari have been reported incompletely or lack proper context.[47] In 2017, Rachid Aylal, aQuranist, published a book criticizing the Sahih, titledSahih Al-Bukhari: The End of a Legend. It was banned in Morocco for disturbing spiritual security, due to pressure fromIslamists.[48][49]
^abArabic Virtual Translation Center (2022).Encyclopedia of Sahih al-Bukhari (9th ed.).New York City: Arabic Virtual Translation Center.ISBN9780359672653.
^Khan, Muhammad Siddiq.Al Hittah fi Dhikr al-Sihah al-Sittah (in Arabic). Dar al-Jeel. p. 178.
^abcUbayd, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim (2005).كتاب روايات ونسخ الجامع الصحيح [The Narrations and Manuscripts of the Sahih] (in Arabic) (1 ed.).Riyadh: Dār Imām al-Daʿwah li-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawzīʿ.
^abZaman, Muntasir (2021). "From Khurasan to al-Andalus: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī in the Maghreb in Light of Two Early Manuscripts".Studies in Hadith Sciences.2.
^Mawlana Nur Muhammad Azmi. "2.2 বঙ্গে এলমে হাদীছ" [2.2 Knowledge of Hadith in Bengal].হাদীছের তত্ত্ব ও ইতিহাস [Information and history of Hadith] (in Bengali). Emdadia Library. p. 24.
^abcGibb, H.A.R.; Kramers, J.H.; Levi-Provencal, E.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1960].Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. I (A-B) (New ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 1297.ISBN9004081143.
^Lewis, B.; Menage, V.L.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (1997) [1st. pub. 1978].Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. IV (Iran-Kha) (New ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 736.ISBN9004078193.
^Bukhārī, Muḥammad ibn Ismāʻīl; بخارس، محمد بن اسماعيل. (1997).Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī : the translation of the meanings of Sahih al-Bukhari : Arabic-English. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, خان، محمد محسن. Riyadh-Saudi Arabia: Darussalam Pub. & Distr.ISBN9960-717-31-3.OCLC38433341.
^Koenig, Harold G. (2014).Health and well-being in Islamic societies : background, research, and applications. Saad Al Shohaib. Cham [Switzerland].ISBN978-3-319-05873-3.OCLC880374211.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Sahih al-Bukhari 6227".Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved1 April 2017.Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Allah created Adam in His picture, sixty cubits (about 30 meters) in height. When He created him, He said (to him), "Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring." Adam (went and) said, 'As-Salamu alaikum (Peace be upon you).' They replied, 'AsSalamu-'Alaika wa Rahmatullah (Peace and Allah's Mercy be on you) So they increased 'Wa Rahmatullah' The Prophet added 'So whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape and picture of Adam Since then the creation of Adam's (offspring) (i.e. stature of human beings is being diminished continuously) to the present time."
^Islam and the Modern Age, Volume 29. Islam and the Modern Age Society. 1998. p. 39.The hadith, reported by al-Bukhari, to the effect that Adam's height was sixty cubits, has been criticised by Ibn Hajar on the basis of archaeological measurements of the homesteads of some ancient peoples, which show that their inhabitants were not of an abnormal height.
^"Sahih al-Bukhari 7099".Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved12 November 2016.Narrated Abu Bakr: During thebattle of Al-Jamal, Allah benefited me with a Word (I heard from the Prophet). When the Prophet heard the news that the people of the Persia had made the daughter ofKhosrau their Queen (ruler), he said, "Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler."
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