The Hadith of ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir R.A

The Hadith of ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir and the Manuscript Variants of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī

Among the well-known Prophetic traditions concerning ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir is the statement:

وَيْحَ عَمَّارٍ، تَقْتُلُهُ الفِئَةُ البَاغِيَةُ، يَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى الجَنَّةِ، وَيَدْعُونَهُ إِلَى النَّارِ

“Alas for ʿAmmār! The rebellious group will kill him. He will call them towards Paradise, while they will call him towards the Fire.”

**This report appears in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī in two places, commonly numbered 447 and 2812.**

A criticism sometimes raised is that the words:

تَقْتُلُهُ الفِئَةُ البَاغِيَةُ

“The rebellious group will kill him”

are absent from certain manuscript transmissions of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, and that their attribution to al-Bukhārī is therefore questionable.

A comparison of the manuscript evidence, however, shows that the matter is considerably more nuanced.

The Modern Critical Edition

A recent edition published by Bayt al-Sunnah, prepared with particular reliance upon the celebrated Yūnīnī recension of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, compares a number of important transmission lines and manuscript witnesses.

Among the recensions consulted are:

The edition also draws upon further manuscript witnesses in establishing the text.

The First Occurrence: Hadith 447

At the first occurrence, the editors note:

قوله:تقتله الفئة الباغية ليس في رواية أبي ذر والأصيلي

“The words, ‘the rebellious group will kill him,’ are not found in the transmission of Abū Dharr and al-Aṣīlī.”

Thus, for this occurrence, the phrase is absent specifically from the transmissions of Abū Dharr al-Harawī and al-Aṣīlī.

The significant point, however, is that the phrase is retained in the other manuscript traditions represented in the edition.

The Second Occurrence: Hadith 2812

At the second occurrence, the editors state:

قوله: «تقتله الفئة الباغية» ليس في رواية أبي ذر وكريمة

“The words, ‘the rebellious group will kill him,’ are not found in the transmission of Abū Dharr and Karīmah.”

Here, therefore, the phrase is absent from the transmissions of Abū Dharr al-Harawī and Karīmah, while it is retained in the other manuscript witnesses.

What the Manuscript Evidence Actually Shows

When the two occurrences are considered together, an important pattern emerges.

The transmission of Abū Dharr al-Harawī omits the phrase تقتله الفئة الباغية in both places.

By contrast:

This is important because the manuscript evidence does not support the impression that the words “the rebellious group will kill him” are a late or isolated addition to Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.

Rather, the evidence indicates that the wording was transmitted through multiple important recensions of the work, while its omission is confined to particular transmission lines.

Conclusion

The textual variation in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī should therefore be represented accurately.

It is true that the words تَقْتُلُهُ الفِئَةُ البَاغِيَةُ are absent from some transmissions.

But it is equally important to recognise that they are preserved in the broader manuscript tradition of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, including multiple independent transmission lines, and appear in both locations in the majority of the recensions represented by the critical edition.

Accordingly, the mere fact that one recension — most notably that of Abū Dharr al-Harawī — omits the words cannot by itself establish that the phrase was foreign to al-Bukhārī’s text.

On the contrary, the manuscript evidence demonstrates that “the rebellious group will kill him” possesses substantial textual support within the transmission history of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī itself.

Adapted from the original article written by Brother Dhulfiqar al Masriqi

The Hadith of ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir R.A

The Hadith of ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir and the Manuscript Variants of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī

Among the well-known Prophetic traditions concerning ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir is the statement:

وَيْحَ عَمَّارٍ، تَقْتُلُهُ الفِئَةُ البَاغِيَةُ، يَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى الجَنَّةِ، وَيَدْعُونَهُ إِلَى النَّارِ

“Alas for ʿAmmār! The rebellious group will kill him. He will call them towards Paradise, while they will call him towards the Fire.”

This report appears in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī in two places, commonly numbered 447 and 2812.

A criticism sometimes raised is that the words:

تَقْتُلُهُ الفِئَةُ البَاغِيَةُ

“The rebellious group will kill him”

are absent from certain manuscript transmissions of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, and that their attribution to al-Bukhārī is therefore questionable.

A comparison of the manuscript evidence, however, shows that the matter is considerably more nuanced.

The Modern Critical Edition

A recent edition published by Bayt al-Sunnah, prepared with particular reliance upon the celebrated Yūnīnī recension of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, compares a number of important transmission lines and manuscript witnesses.

Among the recensions consulted are:

the transmission of Imām Abū Saʿd al-Samʿānī from Abū al-Waqt al-Sijzī;

the transmission of Imām Abū Muḥammad al-Aṣīlī;

the transmission of Imām Abū al-Qāsim Ibn ʿAsākir al-Dimashqī;

the transmission of Imām Abū Dharr al-Harawī;

the transmission of Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥamawī;

the transmission of Abū Isḥāq al-Mustamlī; and

the transmission of Abū al-Haytham al-Kushmīhanī.

The edition also draws upon further manuscript witnesses in establishing the text.

The First Occurrence: Hadith 447

At the first occurrence, the editors note:

قوله:تقتله الفئة الباغية ليس في رواية أبي ذر والأصيلي

“The words, ‘the rebellious group will kill him,’ are not found in the transmission of Abū Dharr and al-Aṣīlī.”

Thus, for this occurrence, the phrase is absent specifically from the transmissions of Abū Dharr al-Harawī and al-Aṣīlī.

The significant point, however, is that the phrase is retained in the other manuscript traditions represented in the edition.

The Second Occurrence: Hadith 2812

At the second occurrence, the editors state:

قوله: «تقتله الفئة الباغية» ليس في رواية أبي ذر وكريمة

“The words, ‘the rebellious group will kill him,’ are not found in the transmission of Abū Dharr and Karīmah.”

Here, therefore, the phrase is absent from the transmissions of Abū Dharr al-Harawī and Karīmah, while it is retained in the other manuscript witnesses.

What the Manuscript Evidence Actually Shows

When the two occurrences are considered together, an important pattern emerges.

The transmission of Abū Dharr al-Harawī omits the phrase تقتله الفئة الباغية in both places.

By contrast:

al-Aṣīlī’s transmission omits it in one occurrence but retains it in the other;

Karīmah’s transmission likewise omits it in one occurrence but retains it in the other;

while the remaining manuscript traditions represented in the critical edition preserve the phrase in both locations.

This is important because the manuscript evidence does not support the impression that the words “the rebellious group will kill him” are a late or isolated addition to Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.

Rather, the evidence indicates that the wording was transmitted through multiple important recensions of the work, while its omission is confined to particular transmission lines.

Conclusion

The textual variation in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī should therefore be represented accurately.

It is true that the words تَقْتُلُهُ الفِئَةُ البَاغِيَةُ are absent from some transmissions.

But it is equally important to recognise that they are preserved in the broader manuscript tradition of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, including multiple independent transmission lines, and appear in both locations in the majority of the recensions represented by the critical edition.

Accordingly, the mere fact that one recension — most notably that of Abū Dharr al-Harawī — omits the words cannot by itself establish that the phrase was foreign to al-Bukhārī’s text.

On the contrary, the manuscript evidence demonstrates that “the rebellious group will kill him” possesses substantial textual support within the transmission history of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī itself.

Adapted from the original article written by Brother Dhulfiqar al Masriqi

**This report appears in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī in two places, commonly numbered 447 and 2812.**