Sharh Kitab al-Fitan min Sahih al-Bukhari - Abd al-Karim al-Khudayr
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- Sharh Kitab al-Fitan min Sahih al-Bukhari - Abd al-Karim al-Khudayr
Sharh Kitab al-Fitan min Sahih al-Bukhari (Commentary on the Book of Tribulations from Sahih al-Bukhari) is an audio lecture series and transcribed commentary by the contemporary Saudi scholar Abd al-Karim al-Khudayr, explaining the section on civil strife and end-time tribulations (Kitab al-Fitan) from al-Bukhari’s (d. 256 AH / 870 CE) hadith compilation Sahih al-Bukhari .
Background and Purpose
In the opening of the work, al-Khudayr notes that many students of religious knowledge overlook non-legal sections of Sahih al-Bukhari—such as those on the beginning of creation (Badʾ al-Khalq), military expeditions (al-Maghazi), biography (al-Siyar), supplications (al-Daʿawat), heart-softening traditions (al-Riqaq), adhering to the Quran and Sunnah (al-Iʿtisam), and tribulations (al-Fitan)—focusing primarily on legal and practical rulings (al-ahkam al-ʿamaliyyah) . He emphasizes that studying the prophetic guidance concerning fitan (trials and tribulations) is especially pertinent during times of widespread crises and turmoil affecting the Muslim community .
Structure and Content
The published text consists of transcribed lessons from al-Khudayr’s official website, arranged into eight parts corresponding to eight recorded lessons . The commentary covers the chapter headings (tarajim) and hadiths compiled by al-Bukhari, including:
- Foundational Warnings and Early Tribulations: The work opens with a definition of fitnah and the explanation of the Quranic warning: وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنكُمْ خَاصَّةً ("And fear a trial which will not afflict those among you who do wrong exclusively"), followed by chapters on seeing disapproved actions after the Prophet's time, the foretold destruction of the community by foolish youths, and the warning ويل للعرب من شر قد اقترب ("Woe to the Arabs from an approaching evil") .
- Eschatological Signs and Portents: Later lessons address major end-time portents, such as the emergence of the fire from the land of Hijaz (khuruj al-nar), narrations concerning the leader from Qahtan, the Euphrates uncovering a mountain of gold, the arrival of a time when no recipient for charity can be found, and the conflict between two large Muslim factions .
Throughout the commentary, al-Khudayr contextualizes al-Bukhari’s chapter arrangements, examines the chains of transmission and textual variants, and cites classical authorities such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, including his treatise Ladhdhat al-ʿAysh fi Turuq Hadith al-Aʾimmah min Quraysh on the narrations regarding leadership .
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