Since the invention of pen and paper, four books have been studied and analyzed more than all others: the Torah, the Gospel, the Qur'an, and Sahih Al-Bukhari. While there have been numerous translations of the first three, there has never been a complete translation of Sahih Al-Bukhari—due to its immense size and utter complexity—until now. After more than ten years of continuous research and translation by multiple layers of linguists, the Arabic Virtual Translation Center is pleased to announce the publication of the first-ever complete English translation of Sahih Al-Bukhari with full sanad and commentary. This is a full and accurate translation of Sahih Al-Bukhari from cover to cover with the addition of explanatory notes, a glossary of every term, and biographies of all characters. Sahih Al-Bukhari is the biggest collection of authentic hadiths. It lays the foundation of Islam and encompasses all the sharia laws. It details the building blocks of the religion and those who constructed them from the Prophet to the Sahabah to the Tabi`un and everyone who influenced them. It is a well-organized labyrinth of Islamic history that describes every precept and explains it thoroughly. Virtually all books about Islam, from those taught in kindergarten to the ones lectured at Azhar University, are interpretations of Sahih Al-Bukhari. Now, with this encyclopedia in hand, we have the opportunity not to rely solely on the works of shady characters, revisionists, or those with ulterior motives. We can retrieve information from its original source in raw format, connect all the dots, and draw our own conclusions. The entire encyclopedia is in full color and is easy to read and understand. It is recommended that it be viewed on a color monitor to easily distinguish between the different features. It is highly advised to peruse the extensive introduction to hadith by the translators before studying Sahih Al-Bukhari. This digital version has links to every entry and similar hadiths to facilitate the comprehension of each story in full. The encyclopedia is under constant review and is continuously revised and updated. Each update is assigned a distinct version number. It is only once in a generation that a must-read encyclopedia of this magnitude comes to life, and all of us can benefit from it. Benefit from it in this life and the life to come.

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī is unsurprisingly the most widely recognized book among Muslims after the Qurʾān. Curious readers of Bukhārī’s magnum opus are often left with burning questions that lie beyond its contents. Who was Imām Bukhārī? How and why did he write the Ṣaḥīḥ? How was it transmitted? Are there any reliable extant manuscripts of the work? In this introduction, Dr. Muṣṭafā al-Aʿẓamī answers these questions in a simple and accessible manner. This translation, alongside added annotations and appendices, presents and expands on al-Aʿẓamī’s research for an English readership, for whom there is a dearth of resources on the subject.

Next to the Qur'an, Islam's holiest text is qudsi hadith. Based on this premise, Islamic scholars have always been fascinated with the collection and study of this type of hadith. We collected 1230 qudsi hadiths in a book we titled 1000 Qudsi Hadiths: An Encyclopedia of Divine Sayings. 1000 Qudsi Hadiths is not only the biggest collection of qudsi hadiths in English, it is the biggest collection of qudsi hadiths ever put together in any language including Arabic. It contains all the qudsi hadiths reported by major hadith reporters such as Al-Bukhari and Muslim as well as all the qudsi hadiths reported by auxiliary hadith reporters such as Al-Tabarani, Al-Bayhaqi, Al-Hakim Al-Naysaburi, Ibn-Hibban, Ibn-Khuzaymah, Al-Daylami, Ibn-Hajar, Al-Suyuti, Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi, Al-Mundhiri, Al-Haythami, and Ibn-Kathir. The book derives its content from the biggest 216 hadith books ever written.

Contrary to popular opinion, the bulk of Islamic law does not come from the Quran but from hadith, first-hand reports of the Prophet Muhammad’s words and deeds, passed from generation to generation. However, with varying accounts often only committed to paper a century after the death of Muhammad, Islamic scholars, past and present, have been faced with complex questions of historical authenticity. In this wide-ranging introduction, Jonathan A. C. Brown explores the collection and criticism of hadith, and the controversy surrounding its role in modern Islam. This edition, revised and updated with additional case studies and attention to the very latest scholarship, also features a new chapter on how hadiths have been used politically, both historically and in the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Informative and accessible, it is perfectly suited to students, scholars and general readers interested in this critical element of Islam.

A complete overview of the science devoted to the study of the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.