A ‘Lost’ Reading of <i>Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī</i> Reconstructed: A Study of Al-Nasafī’s Recension of the <i>Ṣaḥīḥ</i>

Abstract Marked by a multitude of recensions and sub-recensions, the transmission history of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī is notably complex and the subject of extensive study. Since its extant version traces back to one source, that is, al-Bukhārī’s student Muḥammad b. Yūsuf al-Farabrī (d. 320 ah), our understanding of the Ṣaḥīḥ is largely limited to what his recension has to offer. By reconstructing an inextant primary recension of the Ṣaḥīḥ, specifically that of Ibrāhīm b. Maʿqil al-Nasafī (d. 295 ah), this paper provides an alternative perspective that sheds light on the structure, variations, and evolution of the Ṣaḥīḥ. Despite the absence of a manuscript for al-Nasafī’s recension, numerous variants documented in secondary sources make it possible to enable its reconstruction. The findings of this study reveal notable variances in the text, chapter headings, exegetical content, and authorial comments between al-Farabrī’s and al-Nasafī’s respective recensions, highlighting the idiosyncrasies of al-Nasafī’s recension and what they tell us about the provenance and posthumous transmission of the Ṣaḥīḥ.