Manuscripts of Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī

Imām Bukhārī taught his renowned Ṣaḥīḥ to nearly 1,000 students, many of whom compiled authorized copies which they used throughout the Muslim world.

The Yunīnī Project

The most authoritative copy of the Ṣaḥīḥ became the one based upon the monumental project of Sharaf al-Dīn al-Yūnīnī (d. 701 AH), a student of renowned scholars Ibn al-Ṣalāh (d. 643) and al-Mundhirī (d. 656), and teacher of Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Birzālī (d. 739) and Dhahabī (d. 748). In 666 AH in Damascus, he convened a scholarly assembly extending over 71 sessions, in which they utilized 5 valuable manuscripts, with ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisī’s manuscript used as the mother-text, to produce one authoritative version. The Andalusian grammarian Ibn Mālik (d. 672 AH) supervised the reading and the renowned calligrapher Ibn Zayd (d. 702) compiled the text. The Yūnīnī manuscript bears the imprint of several women, being based upon the earlier copy of Karīmah al-Marwaziyyah (d. 463), a great scholar who lived to 100 years and was the teacher of Khaṭīb.

The Royal (Sulṭāniyyah or ʿĀmiriyyah) Edition

In 1893 CE, the last Ottoman Sultan, ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd II (d. 1918), issued an imperial decree to the Cairene publishing house al-Maṭbaʿah al-Amīriyyah to print a meticulously evaluated edition of the Ṣaḥīḥ. Using a range of invaluable manuscripts, particularly the Yūnīniyyah that was sent from the imperial library of Istanbul for this purpose, the project was complete by 1895 CE and the first edition of the work was released in nine volumes. A committee of 16 Ḥadīth scholars from al-Azhar—under the auspices of the Grand Shaykh of al-Azhar, Ḥassūnah al-Nawāwī—were then tasked with reviewing the work. It is uncertain whether the Yūnīniyyah remained in Cairo after the revision or was returned to Istanbul. Its exact whereabouts are currently unknown. This edition was called the Royal Manuscript Edition (nushkhah amīrīyyah or sulṭāniyyah). It was later critically edited by a scholar of Madīnah Zuhayr Nāṣir and published in a refined form. No other ḥadīth work has had as much attention and care devoted to it.

download the ʿĀMIRIYYAH EDITION HERE

Kitāb Badʾ al-Waḥy (Beginning of Revelation) pg 2-10
Kitāb al-Īmān (Faith) pg 10-21
Kitāb al-ʿIlm (Knowledge) pg 21-39
Kitāb al-Wuḍūʾ (Ablution) pg 39-59
Kitāb al-Ghusl (Bathing) pg 59-66
Kitāb al-Ḥayḍ (Menses) pg 66-73
Kitāb al-Taymammum pg 73-78
Kitāb al-Ṣalāh (Prayer) pg 78-110
Kitāb Mawāqīt al-Ṣalāh wa Faḍlihā (Timing and Virtue of Prayer) pg 110-124
Kitāb al-Adhān (Call to Prayer) pg 124-174
vOLUME 1

For More Info read the following:

  • On the Manuscripts of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: Discrepancies and Disappearance of the Original Copy [https://ahadithnotes.com/archives/1315]
  • A Timeless Tale of Erudition: al-Yūnīnī and his Proverbial Manuscript of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī [https://ahadithnotes.com/archives/1326]
  • An Overview of Ten Manuscripts of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī [https://ahadithnotes.com/archives/1493]