5c] Imam Bukhari

5c]
Before he actually placed ahadith in his compilation he used to perform ghusl and prayed to Allah through two rakah nafl prayers asking for guidance. Imam Bukhari ( R.A) worked such that onlyafter being completely satisfied with the hadith inquestion did he give it a place in his kitaab. Due to this great care which was taken, the people were heard to say that the ahaadeeth which Imam Bukhari (R.A) has narrated have been so carefully phrased and with such precision that it is felt Imam Bukhari (R.A) had heard the ahaadeeth directly through the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
Abu Zaid Marwazi reports that I was once asleep in between the ‘Black stone’ and ‘Maqaam-e-Ibrahim’ when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam appeared in my dream he stated, “O Abu Zaid! For how long shall you teach Imam Shafi’s (R.A) kitaab ? When shall you start the teaching of my kitaab ?”
I questioned, “O Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam!Which kitaab is yours?” He replied, “Mohammed Ibn Ismail’s Al-Jame-ul-Sahih.”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (R.A) reports that Imam Bukhari(R.A) has kept it of utmost importance to only narrateahaadeeth of a strong testimonial which can be proven by the name of thekitaab. However, along with this Imam Bukhari (R.A) also made an effort to explain all points which are difficult to understand, which is the reason why he has given a plentiful host of meanings for one sentence which may include a word that is in reality difficult to understand. Imam Bukhari(R.A) has included within his kitaab the art of narrating ahaadeeth whichhave been divided into eight different chapters. These chapters contain subjects which have been sub-titled and are famous for the ingenious way in which they have been phrased.
Imam Bukhari (R.A) has imposed conditions which all narrators and testifiers must meet before the hadith can be selected. One condition requires that all testifiers must have a strong memory.
There are also restrictions made upon this condition :
1. All the Muhadditheen who possess great knowledge of ahaadeeth must agree upon the testifiers’ in question ability to learn and memorize, along with his reporting techniques.
2. The testimonial must becomplete without any missing testifiers.
3. If there are two different narrators of a hadith related to them by a Sahaabi then the hadith shall be given a high stagein rank. However, if only one narrator can be found and the testimonial provesto be a strong one then this shall be accepted without any doubts.
Allaamah Nawawi (R.A) relates that all scholars in Islam have agreed that Sahih-ul-Bukhari has earnestly gained the reward of being the most authentic after the Holy Qur’an.
Sahih-ul-Bukhari consists of 7 275 ahaadeeth including those ahaadeeth which have been repeated.However, should the repeated ahaadeeth be excluded then the total number of ahaadeeth will be 4,000.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar counted the ahaadeeth and concluded that there was 7 397 where the ahaadeeth have been passed down from the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam directly and with the narrations of Sahabah or Tabi’een etc.; procuring a total of 9 407 ahaadeeth in all. Although after excluding the repetitions he found 2 353narrations of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and 160 sayings of the respected Sahabah totaling to 2 513 narrations in all.
Bukhari Shareef has been set apart from other compilations, gaining a distinctive honour due to the following reasons :
1. Whilst Imam Bukhari (R.A) was engaged in the writing of Bukhari Shareef,if the need arose to stop work for a period of time, then he would continue his work only after writing‘Bismillah’ which is the reason why ‘ Bismillah’ hasbeen found to be written in between in many places.
2. At the end of all chapters Imam Bukhari (R.A) has concluded by use of a word within the sentence so as to give one a point to ponder upon and hopefully so that one becomes more aware of the primary objective of life. e.g. after the first chapter he has included a word which brings one to think of their short life in this world and of their death. His intention is that one reads Kitaabe-Bukhari with death in mind.
3. Imam Bukhari (R.A) has paid great attention towards the beginning and ending his kitaab withan appropriate hadith. For the first hadith narrated within the kitaab is based upon intention which gives one the opportunity to be sincere with himself as to what he intends to gain from studying the words of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam which have been narrated throughout the kitaab. Also the last chapter whichImam Bukhari (R.A) has chosen to end his kitaab with is ‘Kitaab-ul-Tauheed’which gives one a whole host of words which may be said in order to praise the oneness of Allah;
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