Bukhari’s and Muslim’s Sahih and their characteristics

Abstract

The two greatest muhaddis in history, Bukhari and Muslim, had an outstanding memory, precise criteria for accepting and transmitting Hadith and, above all, subtle piousness and godliness. These characteristics made their two collections most renowned and most accepted among all Hadith works. By consensus of Islamic scholars their two collections, known as sahih, are, after the Noble Qur’an, the most authentic Books on the planet Earth. It is their precise criteria, which they set up in these most authentic Hadith collections, that constituted impenetrable rampart for weak and apocryphal traditions and their infiltration into the field of Hadith science and tradition of Muslims. Hence, it is not surprising that these two collections were the subject of most attentive preservation, most precise analysis and most frequent use of intellectual people, and also common people, throughout the history. It is enough to mention that imam Bukhari’s sahih was listened to and learnt by heart by 90.000 people, which means that Bukhari alone had more students than all universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And that is the best illustration of the value and respect of these works.