Sahih Bukhari is a book of narrations and hadiths of the Prophet Muhammed PBUH. It was compiled a couple centuries after the Prophet by Sheikh Muhammed al Bukhari, and admittidely it is quite beautifully compiled. To maintain authenticity, there is a chain of narrators for each hadith, to pinpoint where the hadith comes from and who had originally narrated the message. It traces down to early Muslims, companions of the Prophet Muhammed PBUH, his family members and his wives.
For the time period, it was an excellent compilation. Bukhari is claimed to have memorized about 200,000 hadiths in his life, and contained about 6,000 hadiths of what he believed were the most authentic. They concern everything such as interpretations of the Qur'an, parables, morals, the legal system, war, the day of judgment, prophecies, the future, etc. It was a rather useful tool, and until today, it can accurately shape the attitude of the Prophet.
But. Is it perfect?
There are many who claim this book is absolutely perfect. They see how Bukhari spent his whole life travelling the world and collecting hadiths, and rationalize that because of the effort, the book has to be "sahih" or authentic in every sense.
We must remember that the only perfect book is the Qur'an. Although I agree Bukhari is a great source, and I do agree that it is probably mostly authentic. It may be our best, but definitely not completely Sahih.
Example as quoted from Sahih Bokhari:
Volume 4, Book 55, Number 581:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
One day some meat was given to the Prophet PBUH and he said, "On the Day of Resurrection Allah will gather all the first and the last (people) in one plain, and the voice of the announcer will reach all of them, and one will be able to see them all, and the sun will come closer to them." (The narrator then mentioned the narration of intercession): "The people will go to Abraham and say: 'You are Allah's Prophet and His Khalil on the earth. Will you intercede for us with your Lord?' Abraham will then remember his lies and say: 'Myself! Myself! Go to Moses."
You could already see what is wrong here without me explaining. Basically, on the Day of Judgment, people will all be asking Prophet Abraham for intercession because of his high rank of “Khalilullah” or “Friend of God”. Then, Abraham will “remember his lies”. Now this nauzubillah suggests that Prophet Abraham had lied during his lifetime. As a prophet and holy representative of God, how can one conceive that Abraham had lied during his life? There is nothing in the Qur’an to suggest that he did.
Still another is:
Volume 4, Book 53, Number 334: Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar,.........
I would consider this one particularly disrespectful towards Rahmatullil Alamin, so any one curious, can consult sahih bokhari and look this one up by themselves.
Brthr i respectfully disagree wd u...alhumdulillah sahi bukhari is a very authentic buk...da only thing is we need to make a proper understanding about it. ...we shld always see for any more hadiths related to a particular one so that it clears all our doubt. we should not make any bigotry without proper understanding.
Volume 4, number: 578
Narrated Abu Huraira
Abraham did not tell a lie except on three occasions. Twice for the sake of Allah when he said, "I am sick," and he said, "(I have not done this but) the big idol has done it." The (third was) that while Abraham and Sarah (his wife) were going (on a journey) they passed by (the territory of) a tyrant. Someone said to the tyrant, "This man (i.e. Abraham) is accompanied by a very charming lady." So, he sent for Abraham and asked him about Sarah saying, "Who is this lady?" Abraham said, "She is my sister." Abraham went to Sarah and said, "O Sarah! There are no believers on the surface of the earth except you and I. This man asked me about you and I have told him that you are my sister, so don't contradict my statement." The tyrant then called Sarah and when she went to him, he tried to take hold of her with his hand, but (his hand got stiff and) he was confounded. He asked Sarah. "Pray to Allah for me, and I shall not harm you." So Sarah asked Allah to cure him and he got cured. He tried to take hold of her for the second time, but (his hand got as stiff as or stiffer than before and) was more confounded. He again requested Sarah, "Pray to Allah for me, and I will not harm you." Sarah asked Allah again and he became alright. He then called one of his guards (who had brought her) and said, "You have not brought me a human being but have brought me a devil." The tyrant then gave Hajar as a girl-servant to Sarah. Sarah came back (to Abraham) while he was praying. Abraham, gesturing with his hand, asked, "What has happened?" She replied, "Allah has spoiled the evil plot of the infidel (or immoral person) and gave me Hajar for service." (Abu Huraira then addressed his listeners saying, "That (Hajar) was your mother, O Bani Ma-is-Sama (i.e. the Arabs, the descendants of Ishmael, Hajar's son)."