Sahih Bukhari is a book of narrations and hadiths of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). It was compiled a couple centuries after the Prophet by Sheikh Muhammed al Bukhari, and admittidely it is quite beautifully compiled. To maintain authenticity, there is a chain of narrators for each hadith, to pinpoint where the hadith comes from and who had originally narrated the message. It traces down to early Muslims, companions of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh), his family members and his wives.
For the time period, it was an excellent compilation. Bukhari is claimed to have memorized about 200,000 hadiths by the end of his life, and contained about 6,000 hadiths of what he believed were the most authentic. They concern everything such as interpretations of the Qur'an, parables, morals, the legal system, war, the day of judgment, prophecies, the future, etc. It was a rather useful tool, and until today, it can accurately shape the attitude of the Prophet.
But. Is it perfect?
There are many Sunni Muslims who claim this book is absolutely perfect, because according to them, the companions and wives never lied. They also see how Bukhari spent his whole life travelling the world and collecting hadiths, and rationalize that because of the effort, the book has to be "sahih" or authentic in every sense.
Muslims must remember that the only perfect book is the Qur'an. Although I agree Bukhari is a great source, and I do agree that it is probably mostly authentic, but to say it is the perfect representation of the Sunnah is absurd. It may be our best, but definitely not completely Sahih. Bukhari was good for its time period, but now with today’s technology, we have a much better ability at collecting hadiths and new methods in judging their authenticity.
Let us take a look at some inconsistencies in Bukhari.
1. Exaggeration of the rank Moses (as)
Prophet Moses (as) is of course one of the most important prophets in Islam, and definitely the most similar to Muhammed (pbuh). They were both not raised by their natural parents, they were both raised in elite families, they were both regarded as political and spiritual leaders, they both lead a mass exodus of people, they were both seen as lawgivers, they were both married with children, they both succeeded over their enemies, they both fathered a nation, they were both given revelations, and finally they both succeeded against their enemies.
However, we see an exaggeration in Moses’ rank in Bukhari, which leads to internal contradictions within the book. Most of these hadiths come from Abu Huraira, who was himself a former Jew and would therefore have a somewhat bias for Prophet Moses (as) over all of the other Islamic prophets. Let’s take a look at some of these hadiths:
Volume 4, Book 55, Number 581:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
One day some meat was given to the Prophet and he said, "On the Day of Resurrection Allah will gather all the first and the last (people) in one plain, and the voice of the announcer will reach all of them, and one will be able to see them all, and the sun will come closer to them." (The narrator then mentioned the narration of intercession): "The people will go to Abraham and say: 'You are Allah's Prophet and His Khalil on the earth. Will you intercede for us with your Lord?' Abraham will then remember his lies and say: 'Myself! Myself! Go to Moses."
You could already see what is wrong here without me explaining. Basically, on the Day of Judgment, people will all be asking Prophet Abraham (as) for intercession because of his high rank of “Khalilullah” or “Friend of God”. Then, Abraham (as) will “remember his lies”. This is absurd, because it suggests that Prophet Abraham (as) had lied during his lifetime. As a prophet and holy representative of God, how can one conceive that Abraham (as) had lied during his life? There is nothing in the Qur’an to suggest that he did. Do Sunni Muslims really believe this?
Abraham (as) will then allegedly tell people to go to Moses (as) out of fear for his own sins. This means Moses (as) will be free to intercede while Abraham (as) is not, which suggests Abraham will be afraid of his sins while Moses did not commit any sins and will have enough reassurance to intercede for the followers of Abraham (as). Do you see what I mean by exaggerating the rank of Moses?
Volume 4, Book 55, Number 619:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Angel of Death was sent to Moses when he came to Moses, Moses slapped him on the eye. The angel returned to his Lord and said, "You have sent me to a Slave who does not want to die." Allah said, "Return to him and tell him to put his hand on the back of an ox and for every hair that will come under it, he will be granted one year of life." Moses said, "O Lord! What will happen after that?" Allah replied, "Then death." Moses said, "Let it come now." Moses then requested Allah to let him die close to the Sacred Land so much so that he would be at a distance of a stone's throw from it." Abu Huraira added, "Allah's Apostle said, 'If I were there, I would show you his grave below the red sand hill on the side of the road."
How is it that one could ward off the angel of death? Your time is up when your time is up, and there is nothing you could do about it. In this hadith, the will of Moses (as) is put stronger than the will of God. As the Qur’an iterates, God will put death onto all and there’s nothing we could do to stop it. In this case, Moses (as) allegedly slaps the angel of death onto his eye. How is it that a human being, made of clay, could somehow hurt an Angel, made of spirit?
As well, the act of being a “Muslim” is submitting your will to God. By rejecting death, Moses would have defied the will of God and would therefore be committing kufr. This is another case where Moses’ (as) rank is exaggerated.
Volume 4, Book 55, Number 620:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
A Muslim and a Jew quarreled. The Muslim taking an oath, said, "By Him Who has preferred Muhammad over all people...!" The Jew said, "By Him Who has preferred Moses, over all people." The Muslim raised his hand and slapped the Jew who came to the Prophet to tell him what had happened between him and the Muslim. The Prophet said, "Don't give me superiority over Moses, for the people will become unconscious (on the Day of Resurrection) and I will be the first to gain consciousness to see Moses standing and holding a side of Allah's Throne. I will not know if he has been among those people who have become unconscious; and that he has gained consciousness before me, or he has been amongst those whom Allah has exempted."
And again in another hadith…
…The Prophet became angry, till anger appeared on his face, and said, "Don't give superiority to any prophet amongst Allah's Prophets, for when the trumpet will be blown, everyone on the earth and in the heavens will become unconscious except those whom Allah will exempt. The trumpet will be blown for the second time and I will be the first to be resurrected to see Moses holding Allah's Throne.”… (Volume 4, Book 55, Hadith 626)
Another hadith in Bukhari states that Muhammed (pbuh) has five names: Muhammed (the one who is praised), Ahmed (the praiseworthy), al Mahi (the eraser of evil), al Hashr (the first to be resurrected), and al Aqib (that there will be no prophet after him).
These two hadiths contradict each other. While one says Muhammed (pbuh) will be the first to be resurrected, the other says Muhammed (pbuh) will be the first to regain consciousness, only to see Moses (as) already leaning on the throne of God. There are other hadiths scattered around Bukhari that say the same thing; that Moses will be conscious before Muhammed (pbuh). This creates an internal contradiction within Sahih Bukhari.
2. Bizarre Hadiths
Volume 4, Book 53, Number 324:
Narrated Ali:
I got a she-camel in my share of the war booty on the day (of the battle) of Badr, and the Prophet had given me a she-camel from the Khumus. When I intended to marry Fatima, the daughter of Allah's Apostle, I had an appointment with a goldsmith from the tribe of Bani Qainuqa' to go with me to bring Idhkhir (i.e. grass of pleasant smell) and sell it to the goldsmiths and spend its price on my wedding party. I was collecting for my she-camels equipment of saddles, sacks and ropes while my two she-camels were kneeling down beside the room of an Ansari man. I returned after collecting whatever I collected, to see the humps of my two she-camels cut off and their flanks cut open and some portion of their livers was taken out. When I saw that state of my two she-camels, I could not help weeping. I asked, "Who has done this?" The people replied, "Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib who is staying with some Ansari drunks in this house." I went away till I reached the Prophet and Zaid bin Haritha was with him. The Prophet noticed on my face the effect of what I had suffered, so the Prophet asked. "What is wrong with you." I replied, "O Allah's Apostle! I have never seen such a day as today. Hamza attacked my two she-camels, cut off their humps, and ripped open their flanks, and he is sitting there in a house in the company of some drunks." The Prophet then asked for his covering sheet, put it on, and set out walking followed by me and Zaid bin Haritha till he came to the house where Hamza was. He asked permission to enter, and they allowed him, and they were drunk. Allah's Apostle started rebuking Hamza for what he had done, but Hamza was drunk and his eyes were red. Hamza looked at Allah's Apostle and then he raised his eyes, looking at his knees, then he raised up his eyes looking at his umbilicus, and again he raised up his eyes look in at his face. Hamza then said, "Aren't you but the slaves of my father?" Allah's Apostle realized that he was drunk, so Allah's Apostle retreated, and we went out with him.
There are a lot of hadiths in Bukhari, which make you wonder why they are there in the first place. This hadith tries to portray Hamza (ra), the uncle and protector of the Prophet (pbuh), as a violent drunkard. Hamza (ra) was, of course, named the “Master of Martyrs” by the Prophet, and this hadith is not so befitting of this title. Even if this hadith were somehow authentic, why would it be in the Sunnah today, and what applicability does it have to my day-to-day life as a Muslim? What purpose does the hadith serve other than tarnishing the image of Hamza (ra) and Muslims?
Volume 4, Book 53, Number 334:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:
Once I went upstairs in Hafsa's house and saw the Prophet answering the call of nature with his back towards the Qibla and facing Sham.
Again, this is irrelevant to Islam. I don’t know what the narrators hopes to achieve by talking about the direction in which the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) answered the call of nature once in his life.
Anyways. I don’t want to make this blog too long, and I don’t think anyone will ever be able to fit all of the inconsistencies, contradictions, or downright bizarre hadiths in one blog. If Muslims want a Sahih book, they must critically study Bukhari as well as other books, erase what is not applicable to Muslims, and go from there. Sahih Bukhari is a good start, but it should definitely not end at that.
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