Objection No. 1:
It has already been mentioned that among all books of Hadith, the most authentic is Sahih al-Bukhari. Some people have objected to this based on the statement of Imam al-Shafi‘i (may Allah have mercy on him): “I do not know of any book on the face of the earth, in knowledge, more correct than the book of Malik.”
Response:
When Imam al-Shafi‘i made this statement, Sahih al-Bukhari had not yet been compiled. At that time, his statement was correct, and this is evident from the context of his words.
Another reason is that Imam al-Bukhari considered disconnected and mursal narrations as critical defects (i.e., ‘illah qadiha) and did not include such hadiths in the main subject matter of his book. In contrast, Imam Malik did not view disconnected or mursal narrations as defects and would include such narrations—even reports without any chain (balaghat)—in the content of his book. Therefore, the Muwatta of Imam Malik is not more authentic than Sahih al-Bukhari.
Objection No. 2:
The teacher of Imam al-Hakim, Hafiz Abu ‘Ali al-Naysaburi, said: “Under the canopy of the sky, there is no book more authentic than the book of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj.”
Response No. 1:
Hafiz Abu ‘Ali may have made this statement without having seen Sahih al-Bukhari, hence he claimed that there is no book more authentic than Sahih Muslim. But this response is weak, because it is unacceptable to assume that he knew about Sahih Muslim but not about Sahih al-Bukhari.
Response No. 2:
The statement of Hafiz Abu ‘Ali al-Naysaburi does not necessarily mean that Sahih Muslim is more authentic than all other books, because he did not explicitly say it is more authentic than all. Therefore, Sahih al-Bukhari can still be considered the most authentic.
However, this response also has a weakness, because the statement in question actually negates the idea of Sahih al-Bukhari being the most authentic. One may not be able to say "more authentic," but could at least say “equal in authenticity.”
Response No. 3:
What Hafiz Abu ‘Ali might have meant is that in terms of structure, arrangement, and the exclusive inclusion of marfu‘ (elevated) hadiths, Sahih Muslim holds superiority over Sahih al-Bukhari. For example, Imam Muslim presents multiple chains (isnads) for a single hadith and avoids including any personal commentary—even refraining from setting chapter headings—unlike Imam al-Bukhari, who includes chapters and jurisprudential discussions.
But this interpretation is also not adequate because it appears to be a speculative explanation. If that had truly been the intended meaning, the word "afdal" (superior) would have been used instead of "asahh" (more authentic).
Response No. 4:
Hafiz Abu ‘Ali al-Naysaburi was a student of Imam al-Nasa’i and the teacher of Imam al-Hakim. Imam al-Nasa’i himself said regarding Sahih al-Bukhari: “There is no book among all these books better than the book of Muhammad ibn Isma‘il.”
The word "ajwad" (better) also relates to the chains of narration, thus affirming the superior authenticity of Sahih al-Bukhari. Additionally, Imam al-Nasa’i’s rank in the field of narrator criticism and knowledge of hadith defects is not less than that of Imam Muslim. Since Imam al-Nasa’i was the teacher of Hafiz Abu ‘Ali, his statement carries more weight.
It should also be noted that, upon close analysis, Sahih al-Bukhari indeed holds a higher status than Sahih Muslim, because the criteria for authenticity include the precision of the narrators, continuity of the chains, and absence of hidden defects. In all three aspects, Sahih al-Bukhari surpasses Sahih Muslim. Therefore, Sahih al-Bukhari holds the highest status among the books of hadith.
