The Soundness of Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī

The Soundness of Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī

By Moḥammad Akram Nadwī
Translated by Dr. Abu Zayd

Some people have written the following: “If everything in Bukhārī is authentic, then it would mean that a person should wake up and eat seven dates from Madīnah followed by drinking poison, in order to affirm the ḥadīth of Bukhārī that this would not harm him.” When our noble teacher Majd Makkī was sent these mocking words regarding the soundest book after the Book of God, he asked me for my thoughts.

It would appear from this person’s formulation of his words that he never intended a discovery of the truth nor any scholarly probe that could subject his words to scrutiny. Rather, he rushed to mockery in a foolish, frivolous and stubborn manner. Scholars refrained from refuting him simply out of respect for their own selves and to safeguard their precious time from pursuing frivolous ramblings of confused persons. But what pushes me to point out his flaws are two things: first, the question of our noble Shaykh Majd Makkī—for any question of his is a command for me; and second, the fact that we live in a time when ignorance is so widespread that I fear these foolish words may misguide laymen who have no deep comprehension of ḥadīth and its meanings. Therefore, I respond to him, while relying on my Lord, with the following:

The Meaning of Ṣaḥīḥ

It must be known first that ṣaḥīḥ is a specific scholarly term that is used for a ḥadīth report which is transmitted by upright and precise individuals through a chain of transmitters (isnād) without discontinuity or deception, and free of all contradictions, overt or hidden, that would affect its attribution to its source.
Within this scheme, the Ṣaḥīḥ compilation of Imām Bukhārī, as well as the Ṣaḥīḥ of Imām Muslim, represent the highest standard of authenticity. There simply is no single book of historical reports that is equivalent to them in their level of soundness, precision, and accuracy. Were their conditions or standards applied to any other book, those books would collapse while their failures became apparent.

Comprehending Ḥadīth Content

It is not hidden from anyone who has an understanding of the discipline of ḥadīth that verification of the soundness of a ḥadīth does not guarantee any claim regarding its contents. Thus, there has to be a serious and concerted effort to understand the content until you have exhausted all possibilities of arriving at the meanings and comprehension of its words. This demands that you compare all the differences in the textual content in an academic and accurate way.
For example, a ḥadīth could be ṣaḥīḥ while its content is abrogated. Proof of that is what Imām Muslim relates from Muḥārib b. Dathār from Ibn Buraydah from his father who said: the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said: “I had previously prohibited you from visiting graves, but now you may visit them; and I prohibited you (from eating) the meat of sacrificed animals beyond three days, but now keep it as long as you like; and I prohibited you from the use of nabīdh (traditional drink made from dates/raisins) except that prepared in dry waterskins, but now drink it prepared in any utensil, but do not drink it when it becomes an intoxicant.”

It is also possible that a ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ while an error or mistake may arise in a specific portion of its content. An example of that is what Bukhārī said in the Book of Ghusl: Muḥammad b. Bashshār related to us: Muʿādh b. Hishām related to us: My father related to me: from Qatādah: Anas b. Mālik related to us: “The Prophet, peace be upon him, would visit all his wives in one round, during the day and night, and they were eleven in number.” I asked Anas: “Did the Prophet have strength for that?” Anas replied: “We used to say that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was given the strength of thirty men.” And Saʿīd said on the authority of Qatādah that Anas had told him that they were nine in number.

So here Bukhārī had corrected the mistake contained in the first ḥadīth with the second ḥadīth which was used as a supporting evidence.