
Al-Bukhari
The Life, Theology and Legal Thought of Islam's Foremost Traditionist
Belal Abu-Alabbas(Author)
Edinburgh University Press
Published on 30. April 2026
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-1-4744-8824-2 (ISBN)
Description
Muhammad ibn Isma?il al-Bukhari (d. 256/870) stands as one of the most distinguished figures in Islamic intellectual history. His magnum opus, the ?a?i?, is revered as the most authoritative collection of Prophetic traditions in Sunni Islam and is the most cited book in Islamic history. Beyond its juridical and theological significance, the ?a?i? was venerated in pre-modern societies as a source of spiritual blessings, recited to invoke divine favour, seek salvation, and even bring rain. Al-Bukhari's legacy endures, shaping Islamic scholarship and devotion to this day.
This pioneering critical study offers the first comprehensive examination of al-Bukhari's life, intellectual trajectory and the socio-political landscape that influenced his scholarship. It meticulously analyses his methods of hadith criticism and explores his engagement with the theological and legal discourse of his time. Through an extensive study of the theological debates he engaged with and the masa?il (legal cases) in which he challenged ?anafi authorities, this book sheds new light on the legal landscape that underpinned his work. Providing both historical depth and analytical rigour, it is an essential contribution to the study of Islamic legal and hadith traditions.
This pioneering critical study offers the first comprehensive examination of al-Bukhari's life, intellectual trajectory and the socio-political landscape that influenced his scholarship. It meticulously analyses his methods of hadith criticism and explores his engagement with the theological and legal discourse of his time. Through an extensive study of the theological debates he engaged with and the masa?il (legal cases) in which he challenged ?anafi authorities, this book sheds new light on the legal landscape that underpinned his work. Providing both historical depth and analytical rigour, it is an essential contribution to the study of Islamic legal and hadith traditions.
Reviews / Votes
Abu-Alabbas's meticulous study of al-Bukhari's life and thought, with its unparalleled discussions of his legal theory and theology, especially the theology of God's speech, establishes al-Bukhari as not only an eminent collector of ?adith but also a key contributor to the articulation of Sunni traditionalism. -- Jon Hoover, University of Nottingham Few scholars in the Islamic tradition have been spoken of as reverently as al-Bukhari, author of what is often called the most authoritative book in Islam after the Quran. Bypassing the centuries of hagiography around al-Bukhari, Abu-Alabbas provides us with a much-needed examination of al-Bukhari and his works based on an exhaustive reading of those works themselves. Centuries of scholars have written about al-Bukhari, but this book can claim to have contributed something new. -- Jonathan AC Brown, Georgetown University Al-Bukhari is one of the towering figures of the Islamic tradition. His passion was obviously to collect and sift the sayings and precedential actions of the Prophet. His selection was close enough to the Sunni consensus of what those should be that he has sometimes seemed not a scholar of his time like al-Shafi?i or A?mad ibn ?anbal but a window onto the state of things over two centuries before him. Modern-day scholars have been notably wary of probing the record for more about him than was laid out in the fifteenth century. Belal Abu-Alabbas' study is very welcome, then, in making al-Bukhari himself a subject of extensive inquiry, particularly developing his legal thought. -- Christopher Melchert, University of OxfordMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
605 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-8824-2 (9781474488242)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Dr Belal Abu-Alabbas, B.A. (Al-Azhar), DPhil (Oxford), is a historian of Islamic intellectual and legal thought (7th-13th centuries). His research focuses on the hadith corpus, Islamic law and theology in the formative and classical periods. Dr Abu-Alabbas has previously held lectureships at the University of Nottingham and the University of Bristol, and a British Academy International Fellowship at the University of Exeter. He currently holds lectureships at Cambridge Muslim College and Al-Azhar University and is a Research Associate at the University of Nottingham. Among his publications are Belal Abu-Alabbas, Christopher Melchert, and Michael?Dann, eds., Modern Hadith Studies: Continuing Debates and New Approaches (Edinburgh: Edinburgh?University?Press, 2020) and Belal?Abu-Alabbas, "The Principles of Hadith Criticism in the Writings of al-Shafi?i and Muslim", Islamic Law and Society 24:4 (2017): 311-35.
Content
Acknowledgements
Note on Dates, Places, and Terms
Introduction: The Need for a New Study of al-Bukhari
1. The Political and Intellectual Context
2. Life and Career
3. Works: Purpose, Composition, and Early Transmission
4. Hadith Criticism
5. Theology
6. The Laf? Controversy
7. Political Theology
8. Legal Principles
9. Polemics with Ahl al-Ra?y
Conclusions: Beyond al-Bukhari, Ahl al-Hadith and the Sunni Project
Bibliography
Note on Dates, Places, and Terms
Introduction: The Need for a New Study of al-Bukhari
1. The Political and Intellectual Context
2. Life and Career
3. Works: Purpose, Composition, and Early Transmission
4. Hadith Criticism
5. Theology
6. The Laf? Controversy
7. Political Theology
8. Legal Principles
9. Polemics with Ahl al-Ra?y
Conclusions: Beyond al-Bukhari, Ahl al-Hadith and the Sunni Project
Bibliography