Sahih Al-Bukhari is the most authentic collection of ahadith narrating the sayings and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). Compiled by Imam Bukhari, this enormous work is the reflection of his true dedication to Islam. His work is considered the most authentic, and there is an ijma (agreement) of the scholars of all factions of Islam that Sahih Al-Bukhari is without false or unverified statements.
While exploring the book of Sahih Al-Bukhari, you will see a wealth of wisdom, guidance, and insights that connect with today’s world. You will find guidance for every step you take in life, for your salah, etiquettes, be it meeting or greeting someone or bidding farewell, table manners, or work ethics. The Hadith collection is divided into 97 books and covers all facets of life. Our beloved Prophet (ﷺ) has taught us everything that will not only help us live in this world but also attain high status in the akhirah.
Let’s unlock the true essence of the Sunnah and learn the deep meanings behind it by exploring and understanding the grand book of Sahih Al-Bukhari.
Sahih al-Bukhari is a collection of hadith compiled by Imam Muhammad al-Bukhari. It is recognized by a large majority of the Muslims to be the most authentic collection of the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). It contains over 7500 hadith (with repetitions) in 97 books.
Current Location: Islamabad, Pakistan
Sahih Al-Bukhari is one of the most trusted Hadith books, followed by millions of Muslims around the world. It consists of the Sunnah acts and sayings of our beloved Prophet (ﷺ). These include everyday acts and sayings of the Prophet (ﷺ) along with teachings and explanations provided by him for the teachings of the Quran. In most cases, we follow the way in which a command of Allah is to be executed by taking guidance from related ahadith. For example, in the Quran, Allah said to establish Salah but did not explain the way to establish Salah in its entirety. We get that guidance from the Sunnah of the Prophet (ﷺ) recorded in the ahadith books. Making ahadith collections crucial in Islamic jurisprudence and collective understanding of the religion.
Sahih Al-Bukhari is part of Kutub al-Sittah, the six collections of Hadith books that were compiled by Sunni scholars in the 9th century in Baghdad. Imam Bukhari collected around six hundred thousand Hadiths in 16 years of time and chose around 7563 Hadith (with repetitions) that are authentic (have proven chains of narration) and do not have any false claims. These Hadiths are covered in 97 different books or chapters, each book contributing to the Islamic perspective of living. I
Imam Bukhari studied the narrators or authors of the Hadith to know If they were authentic. He studied the entire chain of the narrators of Hadith, and if even one of them was a weak narrator, Imam Bukhari would eliminate the Hadith from the category of sahih. A weak narrator was someone whose credibility was in doubt due to their character, behavior, or any other reason. To be categorized as Sahih, the credibility of all narrators of the Hadith had to be beyond a shred of doubt.
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn Al-Mughirah ibn Bardizyah Al-Jufi Al-Bukhari, famous as Imam Bukhari, was a Persian Islamic Scholar who was born on 13th Shawaal 194 after the Hijirah period or 810 AD providing the entire Ummah with a gift of his hard work Sahih Al Bukhari. After completing his worldly mission, he met his Creator in 256 AH or 870 AD. He is the most renowned Muhaddith in history, and his contribution to preserving the Hadith is incomparable. He collected 600,000 Hadiths in 16 years, compiling it in a complete Hadith book. The Bukhari collection of Hadith is considered the most trustworthy without any false statements that might contradict the attributes of the Prophet (ﷺ).
After converting to Islam, Al- Al-Mughirah, the great-grandfather of Imam Bukhari, settled in Bukhara - currently a city in Uzbekistan, where Imam Bukhari was born. Imam Bukhari’s father was an Islamic Scholar and was a student of great scholars including Imam Malik ibn Anas. He died when Imam Bukhari was an infant, so he was raised by his single mother.
Imam Bukhari began studying Hadith at a very young age. He performed Hajj when he was 18 years old with his mother and brother. He stayed for 2 years in Makkah for further studies while his brother and mother returned home. Next, he moved to Madinah to enhance his Hadith knowledge and spent 4 years there learning from different scholars. After these 6 years of studies, Imam Bukhari traveled to Basra, Kufa, Egypt, and Syria to collect Hadith and deepen his understanding of Islam.
In his journey of Hadith collection which started at just 16 years old, Imam Bukhari found many Hadith that sound authentic while there were many that sounded like da’ef (meaning weak). This sparked his interest in collecting Hadith and compiling all the sahih Hadith in a book, which was supported by his teacher, Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh. Later, he compiled his famous hadith collection in the golden city of Baghdad.
Sahih Al-Bukhari, originally called ‘Al-Jami Al-Musnad Al-Sahih Al-Mukhtasar min Umur Rasul Allah (ﷺ), can be translated as “The shortened authentic collection with isnads from the affairs of the Messenger (ﷺ), and his traditions and his days.” It consists of 97 Chapters/Books and an estimated 7563 Hadiths with repetition distributed in 3450 sections. Somewhere in the 6th century, the Hadiths and stories of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) were written and organized into sections and chapters with headlines, according to scholars, and this is what Imam Bukhari followed. He categorized the Hadiths in chapters/books, made headlines for each category, and included one or more Hadiths under those chapters. Each title of the chapter shows the content inside; important subject matters are chosen to form the headlines of the Hadith.
Imam Bukhari set a few conditions for every Hadith to be counted as Sahih (authentic). Every Hadith will be categorized as authentic if some big names of scholars agree on the reliability of each narrator in the chain, and the chain should be continuous without any gaps. He considered the reliability of the narrators, chain of the narration, and lack of hindrance in the text of hadiths were all the conditions imposed by Bukhari to select a hadith to be counted as Sahih.
For narrators of Hadiths to be considered, they should fulfill five terms to count the narration as Sahih. Here are the five terms;
Every Hadith and its narrators should fulfill all the conditions of Imam Bukhari to be penned down as Sahih Hadith. All scholars, according to Imam Nawawi, have agreed that Sahih Al-Bukhari is the most authentic book to look at the Sunnah of the Prophet (ﷺ).
A few terms that might need an explanation for better understanding are stated below:
Da’ef: Hadiths that are weak and do not have reliable narrators, transmitted with gaps, or have uncertainty about their authenticity fall under da’ef hadiths.
Mutawatir: The Hadith is Mutawatir, when it is reported by a large number of narrators at each level of the chain, is considered authentic without any doubts or questions.
Isnad: The chain of narrators from the time of the Prophet (ﷺ) that have reported the Hadith and Sunnah of the Prophet are called Isnad. The reliability of Isnad determines the authenticity of the Hadith.
Mu’allaq: The Hadith in which a narrator omits the chain of narrators and connects it directly as the statement of the Prophet (ﷺ) is called Mu’allaq Hadith.
Tawatur: Hadiths that have multiple sources and leave no doubt to be called authentic.
When you visit our website, MuslimandQuran.com, use the drop-down button at the right side of the page and click on Hadith Collection. You will find 13 hadith collections on the page. Sahih Bukhari is at the top of the collection. You will have a list of all the 97 books in the collection, which you can choose to see the desired Hadiths that come under the category.
Another simple way to get all the Sahih Hadiths at your fingertips is to download our app from the iOS App Store or Play Store on your phone to use it on the go. You will find all the main sections on the homepage of our app or through the drop-down button on the top left-hand side of your phone. Click on Hadith Collection, where you will see all the books in line, the first being Sahih Al Bukhari.
Click on Sahih Bukhari to enter the book of wisdom, where you will find all the Hadiths that are purely authentic and taught by our Prophet (ﷺ). You can easily navigate through the books to see the content inside the 97 books available for your religious guidance.
Sahih Bukhari can be used by everyone around the world, be it Muslim or non-Muslim, for education and guidance. To use the Hadith from the book, quote the Hadith with the name of the narrators and provide the Book name, Volume number, and Hadith number for reference.
