Fath al Bari : Vol 1 English

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Fath al Bari : Vol 1
Commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari in English, New,
Fath al-Bari Sharh al-Bukhari : Victory of the Creator,
*[A4+] Large Hardback with Dustjacket - 552 pages,
by Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani,
Translated by Khalid Williams,
Edited by Dr. Muhammad Isa Waley,
Published by Visions of Reality.

Now in Stock & Despatching,

Description :

The finest commentary to the greatest book of hadith – now in English!

Fath al-B?r? Sharh al-Bukh?r? (‘Victory of the Creator: Commentary on Bukh?r?)’ by Shaykh al-Isl?m Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqal?n?, may Allah be pleased with him, is by far the most famous, most popular and most widely respected commentary on the greatest book of hadith – the Sahih of Imam al-Bukh?r?, radi Allahu ta'ala anhu.

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’?n, Hadiths– the recorded words, actions, approvals and disapprovals of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, – 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-Bukh?r?’s al-J?mi‘ al-?ah?h is considered the greatest.

Over the centuries, hundreds of commentaries have been written on the Sahih of al-Bukh?r?. None, however, have received the same degree of acclaim and critical approval as the Fath al-B?r? of Ibn ?ajar al-‘Asqal?n? (d. 852/1449), may Allah be pleased with him. 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-Jam?‘a especially in the West.

About this edition :

This is an immense publishing project, it is hoped that a new volume will be added every few months; the total number of volumes will be in the region of twenty.

At present about one-third of the entire work has been translated.

This volume includes biographical entries for Imam al-Bukh?r? and Ibn Hajar, from classical works by al-Sakh?w? and al-Kha??b al-Baghd?d?’s, as well as Ibn ?ajar’s H?di al-s?r?, whose partial translation includes an introduction to Fat? al-B?r?, as well as a biography of Imam Bukh?r?. This leads to the commentary of Books 1, 2 and 3 of Sahih al-Bukhari.

Table of Contents : Volume 1 :

---From the Publisher,
------About this edition,
---About the Translator,
---About the Editor,
---Works Cited (an indicative selection),
---Publications (an indicative selection),
---Imam Sakhawi's Biography of Shaykh al Islam ibn Hajar al-Asqalani,

---Hadi al-Sari - The Traveller's Guide,

---Introduction,
----Chapter 1. Explanation of what led Abu 'Abd Allah al-Bukhari to Compose His al-Jami al-Sahih, and His Sound Intention in Doing So.
----Chapter 2. Explanation of the Subject of the Book and the Author's Purpose in Wrioting It,
----Chapter 3. An Explanation of How the Author Abridged or Divided Hadiths, and why He Repeated some Hadiths in Different Chapters,
----Chapter 4. An Explanation of the Author's Reason for Relating Mu'allaq Hadiths, whether Marfu' or Mawquf, and a Clarification of the Rules Governing This.

----Ibn Hajar's Biography of Imam al-Bukhari,

------His Lineage, Birth and Upbringing and the Beginning of His Study of Hadith,
------The Ranks of His Shaykhs from Whom He Took Dicatation and on Whose Authority He Narrated,
------His Life, His Qualities, His Asceticism and His Virtues,
------The Praise and Reverence Accorded Him by Others,
------An Illustrative Example of the Praises His Comtemporaries and Followers Lavished on Him,
------Some Reports Showing the Extent of His Memory, the Sharpness of His Intellect and His Mastery of Hadith Criticism, in Addition to the Foregoing,
------The Virtues of the Sahih, Apart from Those Already Mentioned Above,
------What Happened Between Him and Al-Dhuhli Concerning the Issue of the Articulation of the Qur'an, and the Trials that came His Way because of this, and His Innocence of what was Attributed to Him,
------His Authored Works, and the People who Narrated from Him,
------His Return to Bukhara and what Happened there between Him and the Emir there, and how this was Connected to His Death.

---Imam al-Bukhari's Biography : Taken from Tarikh Baghdad by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi,

------Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi's Biography of Imam al-Bukhari,
------How the People of Basra Described Al-Bukhari and Praised Him,
------How the People of Hejaz and Kufa Described Him,
------How Al-Bukhari Held a Gathering of Hadith in Baghdad and How the People of Baghdad Tested Him there,
------How the People of Baghdad Praised Him,
------What the Folk of Reasoning Said About Him,
------What Has Been Preserved of the Sayings of the People of Khorasan and Transoxiana (East of the River Oxus) About Him,
------The Story of Al-Bukhari and Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Dhuhli in Nishapur,
------The Story of Al-Bukhari and the Emir Khalid ibn Ahmad after His Return to Bukhara.

Fath al-Bari sharh Sahih al-Bukhari : Victory of the Creator

Book [1] : The Beginning of the Revelation,

---Author's Introduction to the Fath al-Bari,

---Chapter 1. How the Revelation First Came to the Messenger of Allah, ?, and The Words of Allah : 'Verily we have revealed unto you as We revealed unto Noah and the Prophets' after him' [4 : 163].

Book [2] : The Book of Faith,

----Chapter 1. The Prophet's, ?, words 'Islam is Built upon Five'
----Chapter 2. The matters of faith, and the Words of Allah Almighty,
----Chapter 3. The Muslim is He from Whose Tongue and Hand Muslims are Safe,
----Chapter 4. Which Islam is Best ?
----Chapter 5. Giving Food is Part of Islam,
----Chapter 6. Faith Entails Liking for One's Brother What One Likes for Oneself,
----Chapter 7. Love of the Messenger, ?, is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 8. The Sweetness of Faith,
----Chapter 9. The Mark of Faith is Love for the Helpers,
----Chapter 10. ---
----Chapter 11. Fleeing from Tribulation is from the Religion,
----Chapter 12. The Prophet's, ?, Words 'I am the One among You Who Knows Allah Best'
----Chapter 13. Part of Faith Is to Hate to Return to Unbelief as One Would Hate to be Cast into Fire,
----Chapter 14. The People of Faith attain Superiority through Deeds,
----Chapter 15. Reticence (haya') is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 16. "If They Repent, Establish the Prayer, and Pay Zakat, Let them Go Their Way" [9:5],
----Chapter 17. Those Who Say that Faith is Action,
----Chapter 18. When Islam is Not Genuine,
----Chapter 19. Spreading Greetings of Peace is Part of Islam,
----Chapter 20. Kufr Towards Husbands, and the Degrees of Kufr,
----Chapter 21. Sins are of Pagan Ignorance,
----Chapter 22. The Degrees of Wrongdoing,
----Chapter 23. The Signs of a Hypocrite,
----Chapter 24. Prayer on the Night of Power is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 25. Jihad is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 26. Voluntary Prayer in Ramadan is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 27. Fasting Ramadan in Anticipation is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 28. Religion is Ease,
----Chapter 29. Prayer is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 30. The Goodness of One's Islam,
----Chapter 31. The Dearest (Practice) of Religion to Allah Is the Most Consistent,
----Chapter 32. The Increase and Decrease of Faith,
----Chapter 33. Zakat is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 34. Following Funeral Processions Is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 35. A Man of Faith's Fear that His Actions Will Come to Naught without His Sensing It,
----Chapter 36. How Jibril Asked the Prophet, ?, about Faith, Islam, Excellence and the Knowledge of the Hour, and the Explanation the Prophet, ?, Gave Him,
----Chapter 37. ---
----Chapter 38. The Virtue of One Who Keeps His Religion Blameless,
----Chapter 39. Paying the Khumus is Part of Faith,
----Chapter 40. What Has Been Related about How Actions are Determined by Intention and Anticipation, and How Every Man Has What He Intends,
----Chapter 41. ---

Book [3] : The Book of Knowledge,

----Chapter 1. The Merit of Knowledge,
----Chapter 2. On One Who is Asked for Knowledge While Engaged in Conversation, and Finishes the Conversation before Answering the Questioner,
----Chapter 3. One Who Raises His Voice to Impart Knowledge,
----Chapter 4. The Hadith Scholar's Words 'He Told Us' 'He Informed Us' and 'He Notified Us'
----Chapter 5. For the Imam to Direct a Question to His Companions to Test Their Knowledge,
----Chapter 6. Reading to a Hadith Scholar and Presenting the Text to Him,
----Chapter 7. What has Been Related about Hand-to-Hand Written Transmission and Scholars Writing Knowledge to other Lands,
----Chapter 8. One Who Sits at the Edge of a Gathering, and One Who Sees a Gap in the Circle and Sits in It,
----Chapter 9. The Prophet's, ?, Words 'It May Be that One who is Told about Something Retains It Better than the One who Hears It'
----Chapter 10. Knowledge Comes before Speech and Action,
----Chapter 11. The Prophet, ?, Would Impart Counsel and Knowledge at Certain Times so as Not to Put People Off,
----Chapter 12. One Who Appoints a Fixed Day for the People of Knowledge,
----Chapter 13. When Allah Desires Good for Someone, He Gives him Understanding of the Religion,
----Chapter 14. Understanding in Knowledge,
----Chapter 15. Jealousy for Knowledge and Wisdom,
----Chapter 16. What Has Been Related about Moses Going by Sea to Khidr,
----Chapter 17. The Prophet's, ?, Words 'O Allah, Teach Him the Book'
----Chapter 18. When is it Valid for a Youth to Hear Reports?
----Chapter 19. Travel in Search of Knowledge,
----Chapter 20. The Merit of Those Who Study and Teach,
----Chapter 21. The Disappearance of Knowledge and the Rise of Ignorance,
----Chapter 22. The Remnant of Knowledge,
----Chapter 23. Answering Questions while Seated on a Mount or the Like,
----Chapter 24. Answering a Question with a Gesture of the Hand and Head,
----Chapter 25. The Prophet's, ?, Encouragement to the Delegation of 'Abd al-Qays to Preserve Faith and Knowledge and Convey it to Those Back Home,
----Chapter 26. Travelling to Ask a Pressing Question,
----Chapter 27. Taking Turns to Seek Knowledge,
----Chapter 28. Becoming Angry in Counsel and Teaching, upon Seeing Something that One Dislikes,
----Chapter 29. Kneeling before an Imam or Hadith Scholar,
----Chapter 30. Repeating a Hadith Three Times so that it is Understood,
----Chapter 31. For a Man to Teach His Slave-Girl and Wife,
----Chapter 32. For an Imam to Counsel and Teach Women,
----Chapter 33. Eagerness for Hadith,
----Chapter 34. How Knowledge Will Be Taken Away,
----Chapter 35. Should Women be Allotted an Exclusive Day for Learning?
----Chapter 36. Hearing Something and Asking about It until One Understands It,
----Chapter 37. The Duty of One Who is Present to Convey Knowledge to One Who is Absent,
----Chapter 38. The Sin of Lying about the Prophet, ?,
----Chapter 39. Writing Down Knowledge,
----Chapter 40. Knowledge and Counsel at Night,
----Chapter 41. Discussing Knowledge at Night,
----Chapter 42. Memorising Knowledge,
----Chapter 43. Paying Heed to Scholars,
----Chapter 44. When a Scholar is Asked, ' Who is the Most Knowledgeable Person?' He Should Answer, 'Allah Knows Best'
----Chapter 45. Standing when Asking a Question of a Scholar WhoIs Seated,
----Chapter 46. Asking and Answering Questions while Stoning the Columns,
----Chapter 47. Allah's Word, "You Have Not Been Given Knowledge, Save a Little" [17:85],
----Chapter 48. Refraining from Something Preferable Lest Some People Misunderstand It and End Up Doing Something Worse,
----Chapter 49. Giving Knowledge to Some People and Not Others, Fearing that They May Not Understand,
----Chapter 50. Reticence in Knowledge,
----Chapter 51. Someone Who is Shy and Has Someone Else Ask on His Behalf,
----Chapter 52. Imparting Knowledge and Answering Questions in the Mosque,
----Chapter 53. To Answer More than One Has Been Asked.

---Conclusion,

---General Index,
---Index of Names,
---Index of Works Cited
---Index of Place Names.

About the Author- He was 'Shaykh al Islam' Imam Al-Hafidh Abul Fadl Shihab ud-Din Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad Al-Kinani Ash-Shafi'i. Known as Ibn Hajar Al-'Asqalani, may Allah be pleased with him, he was born on Sha'ban 773H in Egypt. Ibn Hajr authored more than 150 books - most of them being in study of Hadith - which flourished during his lifetime, kings and princes were known in his time to exchange gifts consisting of Ibn Hajar's works. His other most famous book is Fath ul Baari fi Sharh Sahih Bukhari : a commentary on the superb collection of Hadith by Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail Al-Bukhari. (It is the most famous and well-informative commentary on Sahih Bukhari).

Al Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani was a prominent Qadi in Egypt as well as in Ash-Sham for twenty-one years. He was humble, tolerant, and patient. He was described to be steadfast, prudent, ascetic, selfless, generous, charitable, and he spent much time in voluntary prayer and fasting. Those who came to know him praised him of his high standard of good mannerisms in dealing with rulers, Imams, as well as those who sat with him young or old. Ibn Hajar passed away in Dhu'l Hijjah in 852H.

About the Translator :

Khalid Williams is a translator specialising in traditional Islamic texts. He was born in the United Kingdom in 1983. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a First Class Honours Degree in Arabic Studies in 2006, he moved to Morocco where he currently resides with his family.

He studied Arabic grammar and basic Maliki fiqh (jurisprudence) under Shaykh Idris Watts in Fes, Quranic studies under Sidi Muhammad Haggish in Fes and Muhammad Tahir in Leeds, 'aqida (theological doctrine) and Arabic studies under Ustadh Mustafa al-Najjar al-Nahwi, (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sale' and tazkiya (spiritual purification) under Shaykh Sidi al-Buzidi al-Bujrafi (may Allah be pleased with him) in Nador and with Shaykh Sa'id al-'Alawi in Sale.'

Khalid Williams' published translations include :

   *** Our Master Muhammad, ?, The Messenger of Allah, 2 Volumes, link,
   *** Muhammad, ?, The Perfect Man, link,
   *** Commentary of Hizb al Bahr, link,
   *** The Virtues of Imam Abu Hanifa & His Two Companions, link,
   *** The Qur'an and Prophet in the Writings of Shaykh Ahmad al-'Alawi, link,
   *** The Sublime Truths of the Shadhili Path, link,
   *** The Perfect Family : Virtues of the Ahl al-Bayt, link,
   *** Al-Ghazali, The Book of Belief, Book II from the Ihya, link,
   *** Isnad is Part of Islam, link.

More Hadith Collections.
More Hadith works : Darsi,
More Hadith works : Arabic only.

Also see Hadith and Sunnah,