The finest commentary to the greatest book of hadith – now in English!
Fatḥ al-Bari sharh al-Bukhari (‘Victory of the Creator: Commentary on Bukhari)’ by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani is widely considered to be the finest commentary on the greatest book of hadith. The initiation of its English translation is a seminal moment which we hope will represent a major contribution to a new wave of Islamic classics in English to meet the needs of Muslim communities in the English-speaking world and also the growing interest on the part of non-Muslims.
Together with the Majestic Qur’an, Hadiths– the recorded words, actions, approvals and disapprovals of the Prophet (P.B.U.H), – are the main sources of Islamic law and doctrine. Hadiths were evaluated through a rigorous selection process and were compiled in collections in book form of which Imam al-Bukhari’s al-Jami‘ al-Sahih is considered the greatest.
Over the centuries, hundreds of commentaries have been written on the Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhari. None, however, have received the same degree of acclaim and critical approval as the Fatḥ al-Bari of Ibn Ḥajar al-Asqalani (d. 852/1449). This critically important work has retained its immense status and popularity over six centuries since it was completed, as is evident from the many editions available in Arabic today. The main reason for which is the tremendous breadth and depth of the author’s erudition, and the acuteness of his insights and judgement as are evident on every page, can be said to have set a new standard in Hadith scholarship.
Not a single complete commentary of any major Hadith work has ever been published in English, yet the need for them has never been greater than it is today. Hadith studies have suffered from widespread misrepresentation by orientalist scholarship along with the reductionist tendencies of many modernist ‘self-made’ scholars with no traditional training or qualifications freely propagating their own opinions and fatwas, now pose a real threat to the future centrality and stability of the mainstream traditional Islam of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘a especially in the West.