Adil Salahi - Al-Adab Al-Mufrad with Full Commentary

IMM AL-BUKHR

Al-Adab al-Mufrad

WITH FULL COMMENTARY

A Perfect Code of
Manners and Morality

ADIL SALAHI

Imm al-Bukhr Al-Adab al-Mufrad with full commentary
A Perfect Code of Manners and Morality

First published in England by

The Islamic Foundation

Markfield Conference Centre

Ratby lane, Markfield

Leicestershire LE67 9SY

United Kingdom

Website: www.Islamic-foundation.com

Email:

Quran House, Po Box 30611, Nairobi, Kenya

P.M.B 3193, Kano, Nigeria

Distributed by

Kube Publishing Ltd

Tel: +44 (0) 1530 249230

Fax: +44 (0) 1530 249656

Email:

Adil Salahi, 2017 All rights reserved

The right of Adil Salahi to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents act, 1988.

Rights managed through co-publishing agreement with ICMG Australia, 1575 Sydney Road, Campbellfield, VIC, Australia, 3061.

With special thank you for the immense contribution of ICMG Youth Australia.

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data is available from the British library

ISBN 978-0-86037-614-9 casebound

ISBN 978-0-86037-609-5 paperback

ISBN 978-0-86037-619-4 ebook

Cover Design & Typesetting: Nasir Cadir

Printed by: Mega Basim, Turkey

About the Publishers

THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION was established in 1973 to promote scholarly research and publication, as well as building bridges between Muslims and non-Muslims through respectful and informed dialogue. Since its inception, the Foundation has developed its national and international standing through the character, variety and scope of its activities. Its publishing imprint, now managed by Kube Publishing Ltd, currently has over 300 published titles. The Foundation is based in Markfield in the United Kingdom.

ISLAMIC COMMUNITY MILLI GORUS (ICMG) AUSTRALIA is an Islamic organization that caters for the social-religious and cultural needs of Muslims on a global platform. ICMG Australia emphasizes the moral and spiritual strength of Islam and endeavours to improve and protect the fundamental rights of Muslims through its multi-dimensional structure.

It has been successful in establishing educational institutions as well as providing social interactive services such as youth programs, community management and humanitarian aid. With its primary objective of teaching Islam and conveying it to subsequent generations, ICMG Australia is at the forefront of developing tomorrows leaders today. ICMG also acknowledges the great support by ICMG Youth Australia.

Dedication

To Hayfa, my wife, who has always given me
encouragement and valued support,
without which I could not have produced this work.

To Abd al-Rahman and Sundus, my grandchildren.
They will do well to observe Islamic manners and morality.

Contents

PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) always used concise language, preferring to impart his meaning in fewer words. He was recognised as the most eloquent of people at a time when the Arabs greatly valued fine speech and celebrated poets and poetry. When translating the text of his statements it is necessary sometimes to add some explanatory words. I have indicated such additions by placing them within square brackets. I have used ordinary brackets for any addition or explanatory phrases already used in the Arabic text, either by Imam al-Bukhari himself or a narrator of the adth in question.

Imam al-Bukhari divided this anthology into 644 chapters, giving each chapter a title. Whilst hardly any chapter included more than four adths, some chapters included only one. Moreover, his titles often highlight a point in the adth, or draw attention to the reason he enters the adth at a particular point. As such matters are fully apparent in the commentary, I have dispensed with these titles.

A problem that I had to wrestle with is how to divide the book into chapters dealing with main subjects. This is due to the fact that the way Imam al-Bukhari divided his chapters enabled him to include some chapters on one topic, then move to another, and then come back to a different aspect of the earlier topic. To treat each main topic in an integrated chapter would necessitate a rearrangement of the adths included in the anthology. I felt that this would cause more problems than it would solve. I have, therefore, opted to retain the arrangement of the anthology, using subtitles to indicate change to a fresh point. I realise that such division is not particularly accurate, and indeed I have had to use the heading miscellaneous more than once. I hope that my readers will overlook any shortcoming in my work.

Imam al-Bukhari enters certain adths more than once in his anthology, often under different headings. When he repeats a adth under the same heading, his reason is either to give a different chain of transmission or to give a slightly different version that highlights a different point. I give the new number of the adth and mention the earlier number for reference to text and commentary. However, sometimes I have given the new text in full, when there is difference in text, and may add some explanation on the relevance of the adth to the chapter in which it occurs a second or third time.

When a adth refers to several points and Imam al-Bukhari enters it under a topic relating to the main point of the adth, my commentary is not limited to that point. I explain the other points as necessary. On the other hand, I may list several adths and explain them together when they are closely interlinked. Readers will note that some adths are given long commentary while others have short explanations. This is simply due to the issues addressed.

A considerable portion of this work was written in the form of articles published in the Saudi daily newspaper Arab News, in a series under the heading of, Guidance from the Prophet. This was published in my twice-weekly column Islam in Perspective which I wrote and edited during the period between 1980 to 2011. I am indebted to Arab News, its publishers and Chief Editors for giving me the opportunity to make this contribution. I look back with fond memories on my association with the Arab News.

In writing this commentary I relied heavily on the scholarly work of Fadlullah al-Jaylani, Fadl Allah al-Samad fi Sharh al-Adab al-Mufrad, and I referred to the commentaries on the major adth anthologies. In translating the text of the adths, I referred to, and benefited by, the translation of Al-Adab al-Mufrad published by the UK Islamic Academy; but I did not restrict myself to it, preferring to rely mainly on my earlier translation and to amend it where the Academys translation provided improvement.

Adil Salahi

London, 2 May 2017

adth: Verification and Acceptability