Source: Ahkām wa Masā’il Kitāb-o-Sunnat Kī Roshnī Mein by Shaykh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbānī
Nowadays, some individuals raise objections against Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī—the masterpiece compiled by Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله—in an attempt to diminish its status. What is the ruling regarding such people?
After the Noble Qur’ān, the second greatest source of Islamic law is the authentic narrations of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Qur’ānic commands have been explained and detailed through the Prophet’s ﷺ sayings, actions, and approvals. The noble muḥaddithūn (hadith scholars) devoted tremendous effort and sacrifice to compile these blessed narrations into books.
Among these compilations, the book most honored and revered by the Muslim Ummah is none other than Imām al-Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
The deniers of hadith (munkirīn-e-ḥadīth) reject authentic and weighty narrations to manipulate the words of the Qur’ān according to their desires. This is because the ḥadīth of the Messenger ﷺ stands as a firm barrier against their whims and innovations.
To overcome this barrier, they attempt to undermine the credibility of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī through baseless objections and make their flawed reasoning the ultimate standard.
But remember:
Spitting at the moon does not stain the moon.
Since the day Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī was compiled, the Ummah has unanimously accepted and revered it.
✔ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī رحمه الله said:
"Priority of authenticity lies first with those narrations upon which both al-Bukhārī and Muslim agreed. Then, the narrations exclusively reported by al-Bukhārī are superior to those exclusively reported by Muslim—because after them, the scholars unanimously agreed to accept their books with full recognition."
❖ Question:
Nowadays, some individuals raise objections against Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī—the masterpiece compiled by Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله—in an attempt to diminish its status. What is the ruling regarding such people?
❖ Answer:
After the Noble Qur’ān, the second greatest source of Islamic law is the authentic narrations of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Qur’ānic commands have been explained and detailed through the Prophet’s ﷺ sayings, actions, and approvals. The noble muḥaddithūn (hadith scholars) devoted tremendous effort and sacrifice to compile these blessed narrations into books.
Among these compilations, the book most honored and revered by the Muslim Ummah is none other than Imām al-Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
❖ The Attitude of the Deniers:
The deniers of hadith (munkirīn-e-ḥadīth) reject authentic and weighty narrations to manipulate the words of the Qur’ān according to their desires. This is because the ḥadīth of the Messenger ﷺ stands as a firm barrier against their whims and innovations.
To overcome this barrier, they attempt to undermine the credibility of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī through baseless objections and make their flawed reasoning the ultimate standard.
But remember:
Spitting at the moon does not stain the moon.
Since the day Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī was compiled, the Ummah has unanimously accepted and revered it.
❖ Testimonies of the Scholars:
✔ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī رحمه الله said:
"Priority of authenticity lies first with those narrations upon which both al-Bukhārī and Muslim agreed. Then, the narrations exclusively reported by al-Bukhārī are superior to those exclusively reported by Muslim—because after them, the scholars unanimously agreed to accept their books with full recognition."
Reference: Nuzhah al-Naẓar fī Tawḍīḥ Nukhbah al-Fikr, p. 35, Farūqī Kutub Khāna, Multan]
✔ Imām al-Qasṭallānī رحمه الله, the commentator of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, wrote:
"The writings of Imām al-Bukhārī travel the globe like the sun. They have become universally known and accepted. Only the one touched by Satan and mentally deranged would deny their prestige. Among all his works, al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī) is the most magnificent and esteemed."
✔ Imām al-Qasṭallānī رحمه الله, the commentator of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, wrote:
"The writings of Imām al-Bukhārī travel the globe like the sun. They have become universally known and accepted. Only the one touched by Satan and mentally deranged would deny their prestige. Among all his works, al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī) is the most magnificent and esteemed."
Reference: Irshād al-Sārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, p. 62]
✔ Shāh Walīullāh al-Dihlawī رحمه الله said:
"As for the two Ṣaḥīḥs (al-Bukhārī and Muslim), the hadith scholars have agreed that all connected and elevated (marfūʿ) narrations in them are decisively authentic. These books have reached their authors through continuous, mass-transmitted (mutawātir) chains. Whoever seeks to diminish their rank is an innovator, deviating from the path of the believers. If you truly wish to assess their true status, compare them to the works of Ibn Abī Shaybah, al-Ṭaḥāwī, or Musnad al-Khwārazmī—you will see the vast difference between them."
✔ Shāh Walīullāh al-Dihlawī رحمه الله said:
"As for the two Ṣaḥīḥs (al-Bukhārī and Muslim), the hadith scholars have agreed that all connected and elevated (marfūʿ) narrations in them are decisively authentic. These books have reached their authors through continuous, mass-transmitted (mutawātir) chains. Whoever seeks to diminish their rank is an innovator, deviating from the path of the believers. If you truly wish to assess their true status, compare them to the works of Ibn Abī Shaybah, al-Ṭaḥāwī, or Musnad al-Khwārazmī—you will see the vast difference between them."
Reference: Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah 1/124]
It is clear that those who attempt to belittle the status of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī or raise baseless objections against it are:
◈ Mentally unstable (makhbūṭ al-ḥawās),
◈ Ignorant of the truth,
◈ Followers of Shayṭān,
◈ And deviants from the path of the believers (sabīl al-mu’minīn).
May Allah guide them. Āmīn.
❖ Conclusion:
It is clear that those who attempt to belittle the status of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī or raise baseless objections against it are:
◈ Mentally unstable (makhbūṭ al-ḥawās),
◈ Ignorant of the truth,
◈ Followers of Shayṭān,
◈ And deviants from the path of the believers (sabīl al-mu’minīn).
May Allah guide them. Āmīn.
