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.

This work comprises the historical chapters of the most important compilations of Traditions, Kitāb al-Jāmi‘ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ by Imām Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī and depicts the beginning of the Prophet’s revelation, the merits of the Prophet’s Companions and the early years of Islam up to and including the decisive turning point of Islamic history, the Battle of Badr. Although the author set out to translate the whole of the Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, he could not accomplish the task for much of his manuscripts were destroyed in the chaos and the inter-religious holocaust that followed upon the outbreak of the Second World War and the partition of the Indian subcontinent. However this led to his realisation, in his own words, “ten years spent on analysing, translating and clarifying the Ṣaḥīḥ were a God-willed preparation for a work which for a very long time had represented an enticing dream to me: a new rendering into English of the Message of the Qur’ān and Commentary based on the principle that the doors of ijtihād have never been and never could be closed to man’s searching intellect.” The result was the author’s Qur’ānic commentary under the title The Message of the Qur’ān, published in 1980. Any scholarly reader of that work will easily recognise how much of the spirit of ḥadīth-and, hence, of the immortal labour of Imām Bukhārī-has gone into his interpretation of the word of God.

This Summarized version of Sahih Al-Bukhâri is an English translation of the compilation entitled "At-Tajrid As-Sarih" by Imam Zain-ud-Deen Ahmad bin 'Abdul-Lateef Az-Zubaidi. The original compilation (in nine volumes) contains more than 7500 Ahadith with repetitions and duplicates. The summarized version (in one volume) is about one quarter the size of the original and contains 2230 Ahadith without repetitions. Also, most of the duplicate Ahadith from different chains (with slight variations) have been removed and only one has been kept. Furthermore, most of the sub-narrators are often omitted when possible and sometimes only the first narrator in each chain is kept. NOTE: The numbering style has been altered slightly to includes both the Summarized and Original versions. So the Hadith numbering of the Summarized version from numbers 1 to 2230 is shown in squared brackets, while the reference to the Original version is shown directly after it by depicting the Volume number it is found in, the Book title of that Volume, and the Hadith number of that specific Book. For example: In the Book of "Fasting (Saum)", you will find the first narration beginning with "[919] Volume 3, Book 31, Hadith 118: Narrated.... etc." This makes an excellent read for the average Muslim who would like to increase their knowledge and get to know more about the authentic narrations of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him. IMPORTANT: The blessings which a person confers to the Prophet (s) every time mention is made to him has been omitted throughout this book (i.e. "sallallâhu 'alaihi wasallam" or "peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him."). The reader is humbly requested to do so every time he/she comes across any mention being made to him. Visit our eBook Store at: www.payhip.com/idpebooks Contact us at: [email protected]

All Praises belong to Allah Lord of The Worlds. We Ask Allah for His Mercy and Forgiveness and We ask Him to send His Peace and Blessings on the final last Messenger.Imam Al-Bukhari began his collection of Sahih Hadith with the chapter of Revelation since this is where Islam began. Allah sent Muhammad as the seal of the Messengers and gave him legislation. It's through Revelation that Allah guides people from darkness to light. Following this Imam Al-Bukhari mentioned the book of Iman(faith); as it is the foundation and the principle that actions are built on. There's no action without intention and no actions without faith. The greatest part of Revelation is belief in Allah and His Messenger.The origin of Iman is affirmation in the heart. This is connected with actions in Heart and on the body. For that reason Imam Al-Bukhari said: "Faith is speech and actions." This is the correct view as proven from the various texts he mentioned in this chapter. Imam Al-Bukhari mentioned numerous chapters in this book that prove faith must be accompanied with speech and actions. This is the belief of Ahlus Sunnah. Unlike the Murji'a who believe that actions aren't included in Iman and this is incorrect. There are about 39 chapters in this book that mention Allah made actions a part of Imam.Imam Al-Bukhari in Kitabul Imam detailed and defined the four schools of thought about Iman;1-Al-Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah who believe actions are a part of faith, and the Khawariji believe the major sinners are in Hell.2-The Mu'tazilah don't consider the major sinners to have gone apos-tate.3- The Murji'a believe that as long as person acknowledges and be-lieves in Allah then there's no need for actions.4-Ahlus Sunnah believe actions are necessary for faith and are a part of it.Imam Al-Bukhari's collection is considered the most authentic book of Hadith, so reading the various books from it serve as an educational reference for any Muslim. The explanations for these narrations are referenced with numbers for each point. I have taken Ash- Shaykh Abdul Aziz's Ar-Rajhi's explanation for each hadith and idea and numbered it from 1- 139 making easy for the reader to follow and refer back to anytime they want or need to.I pray and ask Allah to accept this small service to the Ummah and to forgive me for my sins. Abu Aaliyah Abdullah ibn Dwight BattleDoha, Qatar 1437(c)Ash-Shariah Publications / www.abuaaliyah.com