لطفا منتظر باشید ...
Tahrif
The English translation of
Sahih
al-Bukhari
and the account of Jesus'
(a) return
Synopsis:
Hadith number 658 in volume 4 of the Arabic/English edition of Sahih
al-Bukhari represents a short narration that talks about the coming
of Jesus (a) at a time when an "Imam" will be present.
The translation has changed to something rather different in later editions!
Source of the Allegation
[
The
Shi'ah Encyclopedia]
Evidence, Analysis and Conclusion
Sahih al-Bukhari is the foremost book of hadith for the
Ahl al-Sunnah and is considered by them to be the most reliable book after
the Qur'an. Its English translation was undertaken by Muhammad Muhsin
Khan in 9 volumes and has been published in many editions.
The hadith under discussion appears in the Dar al-Fikr edition (which
is non-dated, though apparently recent) as follows:
Sahih al-Bukhari, Al-Bukhari, Muhammad b. Ismail (d. 256 AH),
volume 4, pg. 437, hadith number 658
Beirut: Dar al-Fikr (9 vols), translated by Muhammad Muhsin Khan, n.d.
Those with even a rudimentary understanding of Arabic text will be able
to see that the underlined arabic text of the hadith (wa imaamukum
minkum) and the English equivalent are
completely different
!
An accurate translation would be:
How will you do when the son of Mary descends
and your imam is one of your number?
This translation can be seen in James Robson's translation of Khatib
al-Tabrizi's Mishkat al-Masabih, which quotes the hadith
from Sahih al-Bukhari:
Mishkat al-Masabih, al-Khatib al-Tabrizi (d. 737 AH),
volume 3, pg. 1159, chapter vi (The Descent of Jesus)
Lahore: Shaikh Muhammad Ashraf (2 vols), translated by James Robson,
1964
Perhaps this is an innocent mistake by the
translator of Sahih al-Bukhari?
The translation by Muhammad Muhsin Khan was checked and re-checked by
several scholars, as can be seen from the 'certificate' on the first page
of each volume:
Sahih al-Bukhari, Al-Bukhari, Muhammad b. Ismail (d. 256 AH),
volume 4, pg. 1
Beirut: Dar al-Fikr (9 vols), translated by Muhammad Muhsin Khan, n.d.
So who is responsible for this error?
This 'certificate' also appears in an earlier edition published in Pakistan
in 1971.
In that edition we find that the blatant 'error' does not occur!
The hadith is translated more accurately. Notice the volume,
page, and hadith numbers in the edition below, which are identical
to the Dar al-Fikr edition mentioned above.
Sahih al-Bukhari, Al-Bukhari, Muhammad b. Ismail (d. 256 AH),
volume 4, page 437, hadith number 658
Pakistan: Sethi Straw Board Mills (Conversion) Ltd (9 vols), translated
by Muhammad Muhsin Khan, 1971 CE
So it seems that this 'error' is actually a clear and deliberate tampering
with the text of the translation. It crept into later editions which
are reprinted even now and still reflect this distortion (tahrif).
This includes the later editions printed in Pakistan. Even the online
hadith
databases
have the wrong translation. For example, see:
Sahih al-Bukhari, Al-Bukhari, Muhammad b. Ismail (d. 256 AH),
volume 4, book 55, hadith number 658
Online translations:
What is the reference to 'Fateh ul-Bari'
in the distorted versions?
Fath al-Bari is the most famous commentary (sharh) on
Sahih
al-Bukhari. It was written by Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani (d. 852
AH) a scholar of great repute amongst the Ahl al-Sunnah. Although
the analysis above demonstrates the clear and deliberate tampering of the
text, an investigation into the commentary on this hadith in Fath
al-Bari is even more revealing. It is a reasonably lengthy text
where Ibn Hajar quotes the opinions of various authorities regarding the
meaning and import of this tradition. Some of the comments are translated
below:
Fath al-Bari bi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
(d. 852 AH), under hadith number 3193
And according to Ahmad within the hadith of al-Dajjal and descent
of 'Isa "If they were with Isa, it would be said: Lead O' Ruh Allah
(i.e.
'Isa), he would say: Let your imam lead you in prayer." Also Ibn Majah
in the long hadith of Abi Umamah about al-Dajjal, he said: and all
of them, meaning the Muslims, in Jurusalem and their
imam is a righteous man who has advanced to lead them in prayer, when 'Isa
has descended; the imam steps back to allow Isa to lead. Isa would stand
between his shoulders [i.e. facing him] then would say: Lead! The [prayer]
was setup for you.
Abu al-Hasan al-Khasa'i al-'Abidi said in Manaqib al-Shafi'i that the
reports are repeated (mutawatir) that al-Mahdi is from this nation
and that 'Isa prays behind him. He made mention of this refuting
the hadith that Ibn Majah came out with from Anas which has in it
"no Mahdi except 'Isa".
And Abu Dharr al-Harawi said that he was told by al-Jawzaqi from some
of the earlier [men], he said: the meaning of
his saying "your imam is from amongst you" means that he rules by the Quran
and not by the Gospel.
[...]
Ibn al-Jawzi said: If 'Isa were to lead there would be a doubt in peoples
minds on whether he would be leading as a representative or as an initiator
of [new] law. Therefore, he would pray while being lead so that he is not
clouded with doubt, from the point of the saying [of our prophet]
"no prophet after me." Also, by way of 'Isa's prayer
behind a man from this nation, happening at the end of time and near
the Hour, is a correct proof to the saying that the
Earth is not devoid of a standing proof of Allah (qa'im lillah bi-hujjah),
and Allah knows best.
It becomes apparent from the above extract that
various explanations were quoted by Ibn Hajar to throw light on the meaning
of this hadith and the identity of the imam. The tampering
of the text of the Muhsin Khan translation was achieved by replacing the
translation with one of the several explanations, the one colored
red. All the others including the ones above colored blue were ignored.
So who is the "imam" mentioned in the
tradition?
The Shi'ah understand this to be a reference to Imam al-Mahdi (a) who
is the Twelfth Imam and Successor to the Prophet (s) from his Family (Ahl
al-bayt). He is the righteous Qa'im al-Hujjah, behind
whom Jesus (a) will pray when he descends. See for details:
Imam Mahdi - Just Leader of Humanity
The Awaited Saviour
Shi'ah Encyclopedia
Also see the heading "Ahlul Bayt - Imam Zayn al-'Abidin [a] to Imam
Mahdi [a]" in the Subject
Index
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