Bukhari

Chapter of Sahih Bukhari Hadith Number: 6266: «بَابُ الْمُعَانَقَةِ وَقَوْلِ الرَّجُلِ كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ:»
Relationship between the chapter heading and the hadith:
In the chapter heading, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah also mentioned embracing (mu‘anaqah), but under the chapter, there is no mention of embracing. Perhaps Imam Bukhari rahimahullah wanted to allude to that hadith which has already passed in the Book of Transactions (Kitab al-Buyu‘), and it is also possible that he intended to write that hadith here, but did not do so because he rahimahullah does not usually bring a hadith with the same chain of narration more than once (except in rare places), which is against his usual practice. In some manuscripts, after the word «المعانقة», there is no conjunction "wa", in which case «قول الرجل كيف أصبحت؟» and «المعانقة» would be two different chapters, due to which «باب المعانقة» may have been left empty. These are various types of reconciliations that can be seen in different commentaries.

Imam Muhallab rahimahullah says:
«ترجم للمعانقة ولم يذكرها فى الباب، وانما أراد أن يدخل فيه معانقة النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم للحسن الحديث الذى تقدم ذكره فى ”باب ما ذكر من الأسواق“ فى كتاب البيوع فلم يجد له سندًا غير السند الأول فمات قبل أن يكتب فيه شيئًا فبقى الباب فارغًا من ذكر المعانقة، وكان بعده ”باب قول الرجل كيف أصبحت؟“ وفيه حديث علي، فلما وجد ناسخ الكتاب الترجمتين متواليتين ظنهما واحدة إذ لم يجد بينهما حديثا.»
"That is, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah mentioned embracing in the chapter heading, but did not mention its evidence under the chapter. In reality, the intention here was to mention that hadith at this place in which the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam embraced Sayyiduna Hasan radi Allahu anhu, which has already been mentioned in «باب ما جاء من الأسواق», in the Book of Transactions. Thus, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah did not find another chain of narration for its mention, and he rahimahullah passed away before this (because bringing repeated chains is against Imam Bukhari rahimahullah's habit), so the mention of «باب ذكر معانقة» remained empty. The next «باب قول الرجل كيف أصبحت» was, in which there was the hadith of Sayyiduna Ali radi Allahu anhu. The scribe found both headings one after the other, so he considered them as one and combined them, thus he did not find any narration to write under embracing."

Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah, discussing this issue, writes:
«والذي يظهر أنه أراد ما أخرجه فى ”الأدب المفرد“ فإنه ترجم فيه ”باب المعانقة“ و أورد فيه حديث جابر أنه بلغه حديث عن رجل من الصحابة قال: ”فابتعت بعيرًا فشددت إليه رحلي شهرًا حتى قدمت الشام، فإذا عبدالله بن أنيس فبعثت إليه فخرج فاعتفتني اعتنقته“ الحديث فهذا أولى بمراده.»
"What appears to be the case is that Imam Bukhari rahimahullah wanted to quote here the narration of «الأدب المفرد», in which the chapter «المعانقة» exists, under which he narrated a report from Sayyiduna Jabir radi Allahu anhu, in which he says that he learned that there was a Companion of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam who possessed a hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, so I bought a camel and fitted a saddle on it, then traveled for a month until I reached Syria, where I went to meet Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Unays radi Allahu anhu, who embraced me and I embraced him... etc. So this is a hadith exactly in accordance with what Imam Bukhari rahimahullah intended."

From these quotations, several points become clear. According to Allamah Muhallab rahimahullah, the hadith of Sayyiduna Hasan radi Allahu anhu was mentioned in the Book of Transactions. The second point is also learned from his remarks that Imam Bukhari rahimahullah wanted to establish a separate chapter for «باب المعانقة», but life did not permit, due to which the scribe considered these two chapters, «باب المعانقة» and «وقول الرجل كيف أصبحت», as one and recorded them together. However, contrary to this, Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah says that in fact, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah is alluding to that hadith which he himself has extracted in (his other book) «الأدب المفرد».

Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi rahimahullah, while discussing the relationship between the chapter heading and the hadith, writes:
«لم يذكر فى المعانقة حديثًا بل ذكره فى البيع فى معانقته للحسن رضي الله عنه، فيحتمل أنه اكتفي هنا بذالك، أو أنه كما قيل: قصد أن يسوقه هنا فلم يستحضر له غير السند السابق، وليس من عادته غالبًا إعادة السند الواحده(2) فأدركه الموت قبل أن يقع له ما يقع له ما يوافق ذالك.»(1)
"That is, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah did not present any hadith under the chapter regarding embracing, rather he sufficed with the hadith of Sayyiduna Hasan radi Allahu anhu, and it has also been said that Imam Bukhari rahimahullah intended to mention it, but did not find a second chain for the previous hadith (therefore, he did not record the hadith here again with the same chain), and it is generally not his habit to mention a hadith again with the same chain; he would have presented a hadith with a different chain, but he passed away."

It is possible that Imam Bukhari rahimahullah is alluding to the fact that it was the custom of the Arabs that when someone returned from a journey, he would be kissed, and it is also possible that Imam Bukhari rahimahullah is alluding to the fact that just as it has come in the hadith that «كيف أصبحت», in exactly the same way, embracing was also a custom of the Arabs. In summary, if Imam Bukhari rahimahullah had another chain for this hadith which he recorded in Sahih Bukhari, Book of Transactions, he would certainly have quoted it here, but only one chain reached the Imam rahimahullah.

Accordingly, Allamah Badruddin ibn Jama‘ah writes:
«ترجم بالمعانقة و لم يذكر فيها شيئا، وانما ذكرها فى باب ”في الأسواق“ فى معانقة النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم.»(2)
"He established a chapter on embracing, but could not present any hadith under the chapter; in fact, its mention is in chapter «الأسواق» in «معانقة النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم»."

Hadith Commentary:
The correspondence between the hadith and the chapter is as follows: the people asked Ali radi Allahu anhu about the condition of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam by saying, "How did the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wake up this morning?" and he replied, "By the praise of Allah, in good health." There are many points in this hadith that require explanation.

Regarding the matter of the caliphate, Ali radi Allahu anhu said that it was entirely appropriate.
Subsequent events demonstrated that the order in which the caliphate was established was the very order beloved and decreed by Allah. May Allah present abundant salutations from us to the pure souls of all four Rightly Guided Caliphs—Ameen, then Ameen.

In the narration, the phrase "abd al-asa" means that another caliph will be appointed and you will have to obey him.
The literal translation of the word is "slave of the staff," but the intended meaning is that a non-Qurayshi will rule over you and you will have to live under his authority.

It is a mark of Ali radi Allahu anhu's great wisdom that he did not accept the advice of Abbas radi Allahu anhuma and clearly stated that if, upon meeting, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam explicitly said that you cannot attain the caliphate, then people will never appoint us as caliph until the Day of Judgment. Therefore, it is better to leave this matter to trust in Allah (tawakkul ‘ala Allah); if we do not attain the caliphate this time, there will still be hope for the future.

To ask in such a manner would have been a kind of pessimism and would have caused distress to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Therefore, Ali radi Allahu anhu did not accept it, and in this is the wisdom and benefit of Allah: that at that time, this issue remained ambiguous, and the Muslims, through their own discretion and consultation, could appoint whomever they wished as caliph. This method of selection was established by the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, which all politicians now consider to be the height of wisdom and intelligence, and it was the first time in the world that the matter of governance was left to public opinion, which in today’s progressive terminology is called a free republic.

Whatever happened later in the matter of the caliphate—that all four Rightly Guided Caliphs, in their respective times, adorned the seat of the caliphate—this was entirely in accordance with the divine will and was very good:
﴿wa kana ‘inda Allahi qadaran maqduura﴾
Hafiz sahib says:

"And among them is that the caliphate was not mentioned after the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, perhaps because Abbas swore that after his (the Prophet’s) death, he would remain commanded, not commanding, because he knew of the Prophet’s sallallahu alayhi wa sallam directing it to someone other than him. And in Ali’s silence is evidence of Ali’s knowledge of what Abbas said." (Fath)

That is, in this is evidence that after the death of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, there was no mention of the caliphate in favor of Ali radi Allahu anhu, because Abbas radi Allahu anhu had sworn that after the Prophet’s death, he would remain commanded, not commanding, because he had sensed the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam’s attention being directed away from Ali radi Allahu anhu to someone else. And Ali radi Allahu anhu’s silence itself is proof that he was aware of what Abbas radi Allahu anhu said. It has become clear that the slogan of immediate caliphate (khilafah bila fasl) for Ali radi Allahu anhu was raised merely to create division and discord within the Ummah, in which the greatest share belonged to those who appeared Muslim but were actually Jews.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
The relevance of this hadith to the chapter heading is explained as follows: people inquired about the well-being of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam from Ali radi Allahu anhu using the words "kayfa asbahta" (How did you start your morning?), and he replied, "Bi hamdillah bari'an" (By the praise of Allah, in good health). However, this hadith does not establish that when two people meet, one should say to the other, "Kayfa asbahta" (How did you start your morning?).
Nevertheless, Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has cited a hadith from Al-Adab Al-Mufrad in which it was said to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:
"Kayfa asbahta" (How did you start your morning?),
and he replied:
"I am well."
(Fath al-Bari: 11/171)
But there is no mention of embracing (mu‘anaqah) in this narration.
It is possible that this practice was derived from the custom of the Arabs, as they would inquire about each other's well-being with the words "kayfa asbahta" after embracing.
And Allah knows best.
(2)
In any case, the evidence for embracing (mu‘anaqah) is found in other ahadith. For example, Abu Dharr radi Allahu anhu says that once he came to the service of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam while he was reclining on his bed, and the Prophet embraced him.
(Musnad Ahmad: 5/162)
Similarly, regarding Zayd ibn Harithah radi Allahu anhu, it is mentioned in a hadith that when he came to Madinah, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam embraced him and kissed him.
(Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Al-Isti’dhan, Hadith: 2732)
However, both of these ahadith are weak in terms of their chains of narration.
(Fath al-Bari: 11/71)