Al-Bukhārī
The Life, Theology and Legal Thought of Islam’s Foremost Traditionist
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Edinburgh University Press
Publishing:30th Apr '26
£95.00
This title is due to be published on 30th April, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Muhammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (d. 256/870) stands as one of the most distinguished figures in Islamic intellectual history. His magnum opus, the Ṣaḥīḥ, is revered as the most authoritative collection of Prophetic traditions in Sunni Islam and is the most cited book in Islamic history. Beyond its juridical and theological significance, the Ṣaḥīḥ was venerated in pre-modern societies as a source of spiritual blessings, recited to invoke divine favour, seek salvation, and even bring rain. Al-Bukhārī’s legacy endures, shaping Islamic scholarship and devotion to this day. This pioneering critical study offers the first comprehensive examination of al-Bukhārī’s life, intellectual trajectory and the socio-political landscape that influenced his scholarship. It meticulously analyses his methods of hadith criticism and explores his engagement with the theological and legal discourse of his time. Through an extensive study of the theological debates he engaged with and the masāʾil (legal cases) in which he challenged Ḥanafī authorities, this book sheds new light on the legal landscape that underpinned his work. Providing both historical depth and analytical rigour, it is an essential contribution to the study of Islamic legal and hadith traditions.
Abu-Alabbas’s meticulous study of al-Bukhārī's life and thought, with its unparalleled discussions of his legal theory and theology, especially the theology of God’s speech, establishes al-Bukhārī as not only an eminent collector of ḥadīth but also a key contributor to the articulation of Sunni traditionalism. -- Jon Hoover, University of Nottingham
Few scholars in the Islamic tradition have been spoken of as reverently as al-Bukhārī, author of what is often called the most authoritative book in Islam after the Quran. Bypassing the centuries of hagiography around al-Bukhārī, Abu-Alabbas provides us with a much-needed examination of al-Bukhārī and his works based on an exhaustive reading of those works themselves. Centuries of scholars have written about al-Bukhārī, but this book can claim to have contributed something new. -- Jonathan AC Brown, Georgetown University
ISBN: 9781474488242
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
328 pages