xvi INTRODUCTION

It was a great task for him to sift the forged Hadiths from the authentic ones. He laboured day and night and although he had memorised such a large number he only chose approximately 7275 of which there is no doubt about their authenticity.

Before he recorded each Hadith, he would make ablution and offer a two Rakat prayer and supplicate his Lord (Allah). Many religious scholars of Islam tried to find fault in the great remarkable collection of `Sahih-Al-Bukhari' but without success. It's for this reason they unanimously agreed that the most authentic book after the Book of Allah is Sahih-Al-Bukhari.

Imam Bukhari died on First Shawwal in the year 256 A.H., and was buried in Khartank, a village near Samarkand. May Allah have mercy ,on his soul.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Having noticed the great need of those Muslims who do not know Arabic to learn the correct authentic Hadiths of Allah's Apostle and since Sahih-Al-Bukhari is regarded as the most reliable book of the Prophets Hadiths, I have undertaken the project of translating the meanings of the Hadiths it contains into English to serve my Muslim-brethren who know this language, but have not had the chance to learn Arabic.

My only hope is that Allah, the Glorious, may help the Muslims to benefit by this Glorious Book and that I may win a reward in the Hereafter similar to the rewards of those who will act upon its instructions; as Allah's Apostle says: "He who guides somebody to what is good will have a reward similar to the reward of the doer of that good deed (whom he has guided to it)." (Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih).

Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan
Islamic University
Medina AI-Munawwara
(Saudi Arabia)