Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
al-Nukat ala Sahih al-Bukhari
- Author died
- 852 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Islāmiyyah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
Al-Nukat ala Sahih al-Bukhari (Points of Note on Sahih al-Bukhari) is an incomplete commentary and abridged analytical work by the hadith scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (773–852 AH / 1372–1449 CE), focusing on the foundational principles and opening sections of Sahih al-Bukhari.
Composition and Nature
The work originated from Ibn Hajar's broader engagement with Sahih al-Bukhari. In his introduction, Ibn Hajar stated that he had initially embarked on an exhaustive grand commentary (al-Sharh al-Kabir) preceded by a comprehensive introductory volume; however, after noticing diminishing student interest in overly voluminous treatises, he opted to produce a condensed version. His student al-Sakhawi recorded that after completing the introductory volume (Hady al-Sari), Ibn Hajar began an extensive commentary of which he wrote about a volume before fearing he would not finish it at that length, subsequently composing his standard commentary, Fath al-Bari. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti observed that Ibn Hajar composed Fath al-Bari, its introduction Huda al-Sari, another larger commentary, and a separate abridgment derived from it that remained incomplete, of which al-Suyuti examined three volumes from the beginning.
Scope and Contents
The text was left unfinished by the author. It comprises:
- An abridgment of the general introduction to Sahih al-Bukhari (Hady al-Sari).
- An abridged commentary on the Book of the Beginning of Revelation (Kitab Bad' al-Wahy).
- An abridged commentary on the Book of Faith (Kitab al-Iman).
- An abridged commentary on the Book of Knowledge (Kitab al-Ilm), ending at hadith number 120, through the chapter on the memorization of knowledge (Bab Hifz al-Ilm).
Distinctive Features
Although related to Ibn Hajar's main commentary, al-Nukat contains several features not found in Fath al-Bari:
- Systematization of biographical rules: It condenses and organizes the principles concerning narrator names and disambiguation that are scattered throughout Hady al-Sari.
- Unique chains of transmission: It documents personal chains of transmission (isnads) held by Ibn Hajar linking him to Sahih al-Bukhari that were omitted from Fath al-Bari.
- Methodological analysis: It presents dedicated discussions regarding the criteria and conditions (shurut) employed by al-Bukhari in his compilation.
- Scholarly revisions: It records instances where Ibn Hajar reconsidered and revised judicial conclusions (ijtihad) and identifications he had articulated in Fath al-Bari.
- Conciseness: It excises lengthy digressions to present hadith explanations directly to the reader.
Publication
The work was edited by Abu al-Walid Hisham ibn Ali al-Sa'idani and Abu Tamim Nadir Mustafa Mahmud, published in Cairo in 1426 AH / 2005 CE alongside al-Tajrid ala al-Tanqih (Ibn Hajar's marginalia on Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi's commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, assembled by al-Sakhawi).
Answer updated