Does Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī Contain Any Weak Ḥadīth? – A Detailed Research-Based Answer
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām, Vol. 2, p. 302
Does Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī contain any weak ḥadīth?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
All the ḥadīths of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī with a connected chain (isnād muttaṣil) are absolutely authentic.
Not a single one of them is weak. This is a matter upon which ijmāʿ (consensus) has been transmitted in all the reliable books of ḥadīth methodology (uṣūl al-ḥadīth).
Some scholars have even reported that:
“If a person swore an oath saying, ‘If there is any weak narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, then my wife is divorced,’ his wife would not be divorced (because there is no such narration).”
(See: Muqaddimah Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ with al-Taqyīd wa-l-Īḍāḥ by al-ʿIrāqī, pp. 38–39)
Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī رحمه الله stated:
“There is consensus among all the muḥaddithīn that all the connected and marfūʿ ḥadīths in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim are certainly authentic. Both books have reached us with tawātur from their authors. Whoever does not accept the greatness of these books is an innovator and one who opposes the path of the Muslims.”
(Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah, Urdu, Vol. 1, p. 242, trans. ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Ḥaqqānī, publ. Muhammad Saeed & Sons, Karachi)
The authoritative Deobandī work ʿAqāʾid al-Islām clearly states:
“That is why among the books of ḥadīth, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī is the strongest and most reliable, followed in rank by Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.”
(ʿAqāʾid al-Islām, p. 100, by ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Ḥaqqānī)
By the grace of Allāh, the following challenge is issued to all the rejecters of ḥadīth in the world:
“If they can prove even a single weak ḥadīth according to the principles of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, they will never succeed.”
Allāh’s promise stands:
"وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا"
“…even if they were supporters of one another.”
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām, Vol. 2, p. 302
Question:
Does Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī contain any weak ḥadīth?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
All the ḥadīths of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī with a connected chain (isnād muttaṣil) are absolutely authentic.
Not a single one of them is weak. This is a matter upon which ijmāʿ (consensus) has been transmitted in all the reliable books of ḥadīth methodology (uṣūl al-ḥadīth).
Some scholars have even reported that:
“If a person swore an oath saying, ‘If there is any weak narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, then my wife is divorced,’ his wife would not be divorced (because there is no such narration).”
(See: Muqaddimah Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ with al-Taqyīd wa-l-Īḍāḥ by al-ʿIrāqī, pp. 38–39)
Opinion of the Muḥaddithīn
Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī رحمه الله stated:
“There is consensus among all the muḥaddithīn that all the connected and marfūʿ ḥadīths in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim are certainly authentic. Both books have reached us with tawātur from their authors. Whoever does not accept the greatness of these books is an innovator and one who opposes the path of the Muslims.”
(Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah, Urdu, Vol. 1, p. 242, trans. ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Ḥaqqānī, publ. Muhammad Saeed & Sons, Karachi)
View from the Deobandī School of Thought
The authoritative Deobandī work ʿAqāʾid al-Islām clearly states:
“That is why among the books of ḥadīth, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī is the strongest and most reliable, followed in rank by Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.”
(ʿAqāʾid al-Islām, p. 100, by ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Ḥaqqānī)
A Challenge to the Rejecters of Ḥadīth
By the grace of Allāh, the following challenge is issued to all the rejecters of ḥadīth in the world:
“If they can prove even a single weak ḥadīth according to the principles of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, they will never succeed.”
Allāh’s promise stands:
"وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا"
“…even if they were supporters of one another.”
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
