Abdullah ibn Mubarak

by Sh. Zakariyya Khan

Throughout the history of Islam there have been renowned personalities who have dedicated their life to the preservation of Islam against the tide of disbelief and deviation. In the early period of Islam, the preservation of the Hadith (traditions) was an indispensable element, which needed to be preserved in order to safeguard the deen (religion). Thus, Abdullah Ibn Mubarak was one of these personalities who ensured that Islam was presented to us today in the same form it had been 1400 years ago.

Abdullah Ibn Mubarak was born in 118 hegira / 726 CE, in the town of Marwa. In his childhood he studied elementary subjects, such as writing and arithmetic, which were considered as essential. Thereafter, his life took an unusual turn, thus, he became occupied in the pleasures of the world. He lived a luxurious life of jest and play, until one night, when he received a wake up call from Allah Ta’lah. As a routine custom one-day he invited his friends for a party in his orchard, here, they played and joked until they were overpowered by sleep. However, unlike before, in his sleep he saw a bird perched on the tree reciting a verse in which Allah Ta’lah sends an admonition to his servants:

Has not the time come for the hearts of those who believe to be affected by the reminder of Allah, and that, which has been revealed of the truth. (Quran 57:16)

The message carried by this majestic verse was so profound that it led Abdullah Ibn Mubarak to discard the comforts of this temporary world in order to search for eternal bliss. He instigated his thoughts into actions by, firstly, breaking the musical instrument he had in his hand and this was his first step in Zuhad (asceticism).

Abdullah Ibn Mubarak was now on a new path in search of sacred knowledge, especially Hadith (traditions). He travelled the entire Islamic world in order to preserve Hadith, until Abu Usama declared that ‘I have not seen a person searching for Hadith throughout the corners of the world like Abdullah ibn Mubarak. Consequently, he became the undisputed authority in the science transmitting Hadith (traditions). He attained such a lofty rank that the critics of this science unanimously agreed on the fact that he was of a sound nature and a possessor of an extraordinary memory. To achieve such acceptance is unparalleled in the history of Islam; however, this status was necessary for a person who was to be the torch barer of the Hadith. The renowned scholar of critical analysis of transmitters, Yahya Bin Maeen, has wonderfully illustrated his noble traits:

He (Abdullah ibn Mubarak) was intelligent, cautious (in narrating Hadith), trustworthy and a true scholar of Hadith. It is sufficient to know (his status) that many narrated from him, thus he is one of the narrators of Imam Bukhari and the rigorous conditions applied by Imam Bukhari in the verification and sound nature of a narrator is all well known, therefore there is no reason to expound on it.

Hence, he was a firm pillar in the establishment of Hadith, so whenever there was a narration he would take extreme measures to ensure the authenticity of Hadith before he would narrate it. This is why his legendary statement still resonates today in the hearts and minds of the scholars of Hadith that ‘Isnad (the chain of narration) is a part of Deen (religion), if there was no Isnad, then everyone would say what they desired’. Thus, everyone, including the king knew his extreme precaution. Thus, the Abbasi King Haroon Al-Rashid once retorted to an atheist that was brought on trial, who had claimed to have fabricated over one thousand Hadith, none of which were established;

‘What is your rank in compression to Ishaq Al-Farazi and Abdullah ibn Mubarak? O Enemy of Allah! They will separate them through a sieve, letter for letter (from the collection of Hadith)’.

Not only did Abdullah ibn Mubarak gain proficiency in Hadith, but also in Fiqh (jurisprudence) he was a master in his field. The fact that he studied under the greatest living jurists of his time, including men like Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik and Sufyan Thawri, shows that he had developed an appreciation of this science.

He was also praised for being a prolific writer in his time; Imam Dhahabi states that his books include Kitab Al-Arbaeen, Kitab Tareek, Kitab Jihad and Kitab Zuhad wa Raqaiq. Unfortunately all of his written works are not published today.

One of his greatest assets was his Zuhad (asceticism) and the desire for the hereafter. Even though, he had an annual yearly income in excess of one thousand Dinars. All of which he spent in the path of Allah. This is exemplified in his excursions to Makkah for Hajj, while on the journey he would lavishly spend on his associates and fellow travellers despite the fact that he was continuously fasting.

Finally, in the year 181 hegira / 797 CE, during the month of Ramadan Abdullah ibn Mubarak departed the world while striving hard in the path of Allah. The endeavours he took during his life are numerous and cannot be covered here. However, a glimpse into the life of this great Imam testifies how taking precaution in the narration and narrators preserved the Hadith from being marred with taint. We are therefore indebted to the service rendered by our pious predecessors who fulfilled their rights upon us and especially Abdullah ibn Mubarak.
Source: LUISOC

Imam Muslim

BIRTH OF IMAM MUSLIM

His name was Abul-Hussain Muslim-bin-Hajjaj al Nishapuri. He was born in a distinguished family of Arab Muslims in Khorasan which. was a famous town of Russia. Imam Muslim was born in 817 A.D. corresponding to the Islamic year 204 A.H. His forefathers occupied prominent positions during the time of the four Caliphs. He travelled to many places with the object of learning Hadith, and after completing his studies in the various centres of learning, he settled at Nishapur. He spend the rest of his life teaching Hadith.

Imam Muslim

EDUCATION
Imam Muslim started his studies at the very early age of fourteen years. In the year 218 A.H. the atmosphere in Nishapur, his birthplace, was of a religious and knowledge type. Nishapur had great personalities in this period such as lmaam Rahiwe and lmaam Zohri. After travelling widely in search of Hadith, he settled in Nishapur as mentioned above. Imam Muslim was much impressed by the vast knowledge of Imaam Bukhari (R.A.), in the field of Hadith and the deep insight he possessed on this subject. He therefore attached himself to Imaam Bukhari (R.A.) up to the end of his life. Imam Muslim was also an admirer of another great teacher of Hadith, Muhammed bin Yahya al Dhuli. He attended his lectures regularly. He visited Baghdad several times and had the opportunity of delivering lessons there. His last visit to Baghdad was two years before his death.

IMAM MUSLIM’S TEACHERS

Imam Muslim (R.A.) apart from attending the lessons of Imaam Bukhari regularly, also attended the lectures of lmaam Ahmad bin Hambal, Abdullah al Qarri, Qutaiba bin Said, Abdullah bin Maslama and other great Muhadith.

IMAM MUSLIM’S STUDENTS

Imam Muslim (R.A.’s) most noted students are Hatim Razi, Ahrnad bin Salmah, Abu Isa Tinnizi, Abubaker bin Khuzaima and other great scholars.

CHARACTER AND KNOWLEDGE
Imam Muslim R.A. adhered strictly to the path of righteousness. He was in fact a great saint of a very high calibre. His excellent character can be well judged from the simple fact that he never ever indulged in backbiting, a very common human failing. He had a remarkable memory. Ishaq bin Rahwi said of Imam Muslim; ” I wonder what this person is going to be?” This was said in his youth. Ishaq Kausar once addressed lmam Muslim (R.A.) and said; “Your presence in the Muslim community will always keep it in the good. ” Abu Saimah who was a colleague of lmam Muslim was so attached to him that while lmaam Sahib was busy compiling the Sahih Muslim, he remained in lmaam Sahib’s company for fifteen years. He never told a lie nor did he ever use vulgar words.

MASLAK
Sheikh Abdul Latief says Imaam Tirmidhi and Imam Muslim were followers of the Shafee school of thought, although they were both Mujtahids. Moulana Abdur-Rashid says that Imaam Muslim was a Maliki. The fact is what was said by Sheikh Tahir Jazari that Imam Muslim is not a Maliki nor a Hanifi nor a Shafi, but his compilation of the sahih Muslim shows that he was more inclined towards the Shafee school of thought.

SAHIH OF IMAM MUSLIM
Allamah Nabawi (R.A.) says that the Ummat have accepted the Bukhari Shareef and Muslim Shareef as the Kitabs, which follow the Quraan, in authenicity although the Bukhari is regarded as holding a higher position than the Sahih Muslim for specific reasons, the sequence applied in the Muslim is much better than that of Bukhari. It is known as Al-Jamah as Sahih because it contains the eight different subjects on Hadis.

AL-JAMAH AS SAHIH MUSLIM
Imam Bukhari (R.A.) concentrated his efforts on compilation of authentic hadith as well as deduction of Laws from Hadith. This is the most difficult part to understand in the Bukhari. How he deduced Laws from the Hadis, Imam Muslim concentrated his efforts only on compilation of authentic Hadith.
source: inter-islam.org

Read Sahih of Imam Muslim online

Self Discipline

Self Discipline is the key to success in Life…

This post is about what happened in a typical middle-class household.

The son didn’t like living in his house.
“You are leaving the room without switching off the fan”
“The TV on in the room where there is no one. Switch it off!”
“Keep the pen in the stand; it has fallen down”

The son didn’t like his father nagging him for these minor things.
He had to tolerate these things till yesterday since he was with them in the same house.

But today, however, he has an invitation for a job interview.
“As soon as I get the job, I should leave this town. There won’t be any nagging from my father” were his thoughts.

He left for the interview.

Father advised: “Answer the questions put to you without any hesitation. Even if you don’t know the answer, mention that confidently.” Father gave him more money than he actually needed to attend the interview.

The son reached the interview centre.

There was no security outside near the gate. Even though the door was open, the latch was protruding out probably hitting the people entering through the door. He put the latch properly, closed the door and entered the office.

On both sides of the pathway he could see beautiful flower plants. The gardener had kept the water running in the hose-pipe and was not to be seen anywhere. The water was overflowing on the pathway. He kept the hosepipe near the plant and went further.

There was no one in the reception area. However, there was a notice saying that the interview was on the first floor. He slowly climbed the stairs.

The light that was switched on last night was still burning at 10 am in the morning. He remembered his father’s admonition, “Why are you leaving the room without switching off the light?” and thought he could still hear that now. Even though he felt irritated by that thought, he sought out the switch and switched the light off.

Upstairs in a large hall he could see many aspirants sitting waiting for their turn. He looked at the number of people and wondered if he had any chance of getting the job.

He entered the hall with some trepidation and stepped on the “Welcome” mat placed near the door. He noticed that the mat was upside down. He straightened out the mat with some irritation. Habits die hard.

He saw that in a few rows in the front there were many people waiting for their turn, whereas the back rows were empty, but a number of fans were running over those rows of seats.

He heard his father’s voice again, “Why are the fans running in the room where there is no one?” He switched off the fans that were not needed and sat at one of the empty chairs.

He could see many men entering the interview room and immediately leave from another door. There was thus no way anyone could guess what was being asked in the interview.

He went and stood before the interviewer with some trepidation and concern.

The officer took the certificates from him and without looking at them asked, “When can you start work?”

He thought ,”is this a trick question being asked in the interview, or is this a signal that I have been offered the job?” He was confused.

“What are you thinking?” asked the boss. “We didn’t ask anyone any question here. By asking a few questions we won’t be able to assess the skills of anyone. So our test was to assess the attitude of the person. We kept certain tests based on the behaviour of the candidates and we observed everyone through CCTV. No one who came today did anything to set right the hose pipe, the welcome mat, the uselessly running fans or lights. You were the only one who did that. That’s why we have decided to select you for the job”, said the boss.

He always used to get irritated at his father’s discipline and remonstrations. Now he realized that it is only the discipline that has got him his job. His irritation and anger at his father vanished completely.

He decided that he would bring his father to to his workplace and left for home happily.

Whatever our father tells us is only for our bright future!

A rock doesn’t become a beautiful sculpture if it resists the pain of the chisel chipping it away.

For us to become a beautiful sculpture and a human being we need to chisel out the bad habits and behaviour from ourselves. Those are what our father does when he disciplines us.

The mother lifts the child up on her waist to feed her, to cuddle her, and to put her to sleep. But the father is not like that. He lifts the child up on his shoulders to make her see the world that he couldn’t see.

We can realize the pain the mother undergoes by listening to her; but the father’s pain can be realized only when others tell us about it.

Our father is our teacher when we are five years old; a villain when we are twenty, but a guidepost when he is no more in our midst.

The mother can go to her daughter’s or son’s home when she is old; but the father doesn’t know how to do that. He is always independent and alone.

Hence there is no use in hurting our parents when they are alive and remembering about them when they have passed away.

May Allah grant us the ability to value our parent whilst they are alive, and remember them in our prayers when they have passed on, ameen.

Adhkar for Alleviating Calamaties

Every individual should make a point of reciting this at times of difficulty.

A recommendation is to stipulate a daily amount to be recited, e.g. 50/100/200 times.

Affliction of a Believer

Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radiyallahu ‘anha) reported:

“I heard Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) say, ‘Allah records a good deed and expiates a sin whenever anything afflicts a believer, even if it be a thorn prick.’”

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2572)

Abundant Istighfaar 

“Istighfaar in abundance removes difficulties and brings barakah in earnings.”

(Hakimul Ummat Maulana Thanvi)

Imam Bukhari

Who is not aware of Hadhrat Imam Bukhari (R.A) and his kitaab ‘Saheehul- Bukhari’?
However in this present day, the majority of Muslims use his kitaab to refer to whenever in need of a supporting reference for their actions or deeds without the knowledge of the life of the great author.

The famous and respected Muhaddith, Imam Bukhari’s (R.A) genealogy is as follows: Mohammed Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Mugheera Ibn Bardizbah.
His father Ismail was a well-known and famous Muhaddith in his time and had been blessed with the chance of being in the company of Imam Malik, Hammad Ibn Zaid and also Abdullah Ibn Mubarak (R.A.).

Imam Bukhari’s Birth

Imam Bukhari (R.A) was born on the blessed day of Friday 13 Shawwaal 194 (A.H). He had lost the use of his eyes in the early stages of his childhood. However, due to the pious and lengthy prayers of his mother his eyesight was returned miraculously. The news had reached his mother through a dream in which Hadhrat Ibrahim (A.S) had appeared and said, “Due to your bountiful and sacred prayers Allah Ta’alaa has returned the eyesight of your son.”
The dream was proven to be true in the morning.

Ismail the father of Imam Bukhari (R.A) had died in Imam Bukhari’s childhood, leaving him in the care of his mother where he was nourished with love and care.

Imam Bukhari’s Education & Travel

At the age of sixteen after having memorized the compiled books of Imam Waki and Abdullah Ibn Mubarak, he performed Haj with his elder brother and mother. After the completion of Haj Imam Bukhari remained in Makkah for a further two years and upon reaching the age of eighteen headed for Medinah, and spent his nights next to the grave of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam compiling the books of ‘Qadhaayas-Sahaabah Wat-Taabi’een’ and ‘Taareekhul-Kabeer’ with the moonlight as a means of lighting.

Imam Bukhari (R.A) travelled a great deal in order to expand his knowledge. He made two trips to Syria and Egypt and stayed six years in Arabia. He also happened to return to Kufa, Baghdad and Basra four times and at times remained there for a period of five years. Also at Haj season he used to return to Makkah.

Imam Bukhari ( R.A) first started listening and learning ahaadeeth in 205 A.H., and after profiting from the Ulamaa of his town he started his travels in 210 A.H. There are a great number of teachers from whom Imam Bukhari (R.A) actually gained his much respected knowledge. It has been known to be said by Imam Bukhari (R..A) himself that, “I have written ahaadeeth from 1080 different people all of whom were scholars.” However, he profited most from Ishaq Ibn Rahway and Ali Ibn Madeeni (R.A). Imam Bukhari (R.A) has narrated ahaadeeth from Ulamaa of five different categories. He has also narrated ahaadeeth from his students believing in the fact that no person shall be titled a scholar of ahaadeeth until he has narrated from his elders, youngsters and contemporaries.

Imam Bukhari (R.A) also had a vast amount of students. It has been stated that approximately 9 000 people were privileged to sit in his lessons where he taught his Kitab ‘Sahih-Ul-Bukhari’. There were travellers amongst these from all corners of the world in order to join these pious sittings and to be honoured with a glimpse of the knowledge that he held and which never failed to astonish anybody.

Imam Bukhari’s Memory

Imam Bukhari’s (R.A) memory was considered to be inhuman, for as soon as the praying of a hadith would finish Imam Bukhari (R.A) would repeat it orally. It has been known that in his childhood he had memorized 2 000 ahaadeeth.

There is one spectacular incident which took place in Baghdad when Imam Bukhari (R.A) took up temporary residence there. The people having heard of his many accomplishments, and the attributes which were issued to him, decided to test him so as to make him prove himself to them. In order to do that they chose one hundred different ahaadeeth and changing the testimonials and the text of the ahaadeeth they were then recited by ten people to Imam Bukhari (R.A).

There was a crowd of gathered people from within and outside the city to witness the outcome of such a test. When the ahaadeeth were recited Imam Bukhari (R.A) replied to all in one manner, “Not to my knowledge.” However, after the completion of all the ahaadeeth Imam Bukhari (R.A) repeated each text and testimonial which had been changed followed by the correct text and testimonial, such was the memory of Imam Bukhari (R.A).

Imam Bukhari’s Abstinence

His abstinence was also an attribute which was incomparable and undauntless. He had been left a considerable amount of wealth by his father however, due to his generosity he spent it all in the path of Allah so that at the end he had been left with no money forcing him to spend his day on one or two almonds.

He never took advantage from the generosity of any king or ruler, although many occasions arose. Once he fell ill and when his urine was tested, the results showed that he had not consumed curry for a long time. Upon questioning he said, “I have not consumed curry for the last forty years.

The Governor of Bukhara made a special request for Imam Bukhari (R.A) to make daily visits to his home in order to teach his children. Imam Bukhari (R.A) declined stating that, “I give greater respect to knowledge rather than to people, for it is they who are in need of the knowledge and it is they who should seek it.”

Upon hearing this the Governor was further annoyed by Imam Bukhari’s (R.A) answer and made a second request that Imam Bukhari (R.A) make a special arrangement to teach his children alone without anyone else being present which was also refused by Imam Bukhari (R.A). The Governor was infuriated by the second refusal and ordered Imam Bukhari (R.A) out of Bukhara. The people of Samarqand hearing of this quickly issued an invitation to Imam Bukhari (R.A) to come to their town. However, there was also a difference of opinion within the people of Samarqand which forced Imam Bukhari (R.A) to turn towards Khartang.

It was here that he spent the month of Ramadaan and in the month of Shawwaal headed towards Samarqand, where death found him whilst he was traveling. Imam Bukhari died in the month of Shawwaal 256 A.H., at the age of 62.
(To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.)

Works & Writings

There are a number of books compiled by Imam Bukhari (R.A) however, Bukhari Shareef has gained great esteem and a high status in the learning and praying of ahaadeeth.
A specific date has not been known as to when he had started the writing of Bukhari Shareef, however, we do know that after he had finished he had shown the manuscript to his teachers Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (R.A) for approval who died in 241 A.H, along with Ibnul-Madeeni who died in 234 A.H, and lastly Ibn Maeen who passed away in 233 A.H. It has also been recorded that it took the noble writer a period of 16 years to gather the ahaadeeth and to write Bukhari Shareef which sets the date back to 217 A.H, as the year in which he started the compilation; Imam Bukhari (R.A) being merely 23 years of age.

Before Imam Bukhari (R.A) had started to collect ahaadeeth there had actually been quite a few published books of ahaadeeth in which Imam Bukhari (R.A) found ahaadeeth of both weak and strong testimonials, which gave him the idea to compile such a kitaab containing ahaadeeth of only strong testimonials. Ishaaq Ibn Rahway (R.A) agreed to this idea which strengthened Imam Bukhari’s (R.A) decision.

Imam Bukhari (R.A) states, “There was once a time during one of our sessions when my teacher Ishaaq Ibn Rahway remarked it would be appreciated if someone could collect ahaadeeth which held strong and reliable testimonials and write them in the form of a kitaab.” This inspired Imam Bukhari (R.A) which was later strengthened by a dream in which Imam Bukhari (R.A) was positioned in front of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam with a fan in one hand to aid him in ridding the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam of all flies which would rest upon him. Upon waking, Imam Bukhari (R.A) visited several interpreters for an appropriate interpretation. They all answered that it meant he would in future cleanse the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam of all lies spoken by the people through narrating misunderstood ahaadeeth. This gave Imam Bukhari (R.A) great comfort and strength once he started the writing of his kitab Al-Jame-ul-Sahih. The complete name of the kitaab is ‘Al-Jame-ul-Sahih-al-Musnad-min-ahaadeethe-Rasulillah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam-wa-sunanihi-wa-Ayyaamihi,’ which means a collected version of ahaadeeth in the form of a kitaab which relates to us the sayings, actions and the life of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.

Imam Bukhari (R.A) had taken great care in writing the ahaadeeth and choosing those which met the standards and conditions which he set to find ahaadeeth with only strong testimonials which included only reliable and trustworthy testifiers. He spent 16 years in writing the kitaab, altering it a total of three times. Allaamah Ayni (R.A.) reports of Ibn Tahir’s remark that Imam Bukhari had written Sahih-ul-Bukhari in his hometown Bukhara. Ibn Bujair however, relates that he had started his compiling in Makkah, and some have reported of seeing him in Basra. There is still another differing remark made by others who comment on seeing him in Madinah to write his kitaab. However, we find Imam Bukhari (R.A) relating himself that he wrote Sahih-ul-Bukhari in Masjid-e-Haraam.

Before he actually placed a hadith 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 only after being completely satisfied with the hadith in question 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 narrate ahaadeeth of a strong testimonial which can be proven by the name of the kitaab. 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 which have 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 be complete 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 stage in rank. However, if only one narrator can be found and the testimonial proves to 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 2 353 narrations 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’ has been 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 with an 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 which Imam 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; for it is this which is believed to be the sole aid for all humans when they shall find themselves in the unbearable position of being reckoned for their sins on the Day of Judgment.

Hadhrat Shaikh Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya (R.A) has summed up the above in these words,” Imam Bukhari (R.A) has commenced his kitaab with the hadeeth ‘ Innamal Aamaal….’ and concluded it with ‘Kalimataan.

Imam Bukhari

Source: Inter-islam.org

Read Sahih Bukhari online

Embrace Life with Piety

In realms where ascetic souls reside,
Where worldly charms they choose to hide,
Abstaining from life’s tempting game,
In Allah’s love, they find their aim.

For pleasures fleeting, they won’t yearn,
In solitude, a lesson learned,
In quiet moments, hearts find peace,
From worldly bonds, they seek release.

No laughter loud, nor fragrance sweet,
Can lure them from their faith’s heartbeat,
In prayer and fasting, they immerse,
Their souls in worship, free from curse.

The beauty of the world they shun,
For in submission, life is won,
In simple acts of love and care,
They find Allah’s presence rare.

In every trial and every test,
They see a path that’s truly blessed,
Abstaining from life’s fleeting pleasures,
They seek Allah’s eternal treasures.

In detachment, they find bliss,
From worldly ties, they gently kiss,
For in surrender, they are free,
Embracing life with piety.

Dua Upon Waking Up

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِىْ اَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا اَمَاتَنَا وَ اِلَيْهِ النُّشُوْرُ

All praise to Allah, who gave us life after having given us death and to him is our final return.

(Bukhari)

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Pushed to Pray

When the world pushes you to your knees, you’re in the perfect position to pray.

Rumi
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