Are there any weak hadiths or wordings in Bukhari and Muslim, and how many are there, and does their presence affect the standing of the two books?
The number of hadiths criticized by Al-Daraqutni in Al-Sahihain is 210 hadiths, of which 32 are agreed upon (by both Bukhari and Muslim), 78 are specific to Al-Bukhari, and 100 are specific to Muslim. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar clarified in "Fath al-Bari" that most of these criticisms do not undermine the authenticity of thehadiths, and that the answer to them is clear. He noted that only a few of these criticisms require a forced answer. He also pointed out that the Ummah's acceptance of Al-Sahihain indicates their great value.
Sheikh Muqbil Al-Wadi’i stated that the number of hadiths criticized in Al-Daraqutni’s book "Al-Ilzamat wal-Tattabbu’" (Constraints and Follow-up) regarding Al-Sahihain is 200 hadiths. Similarly, Sheikh Rabi' Al-Madkhali mentioned that the criticized hadiths in Muslim reached 94 hadiths.
It is worth noting that many of these criticisms do not pertain to the text (matn) of the hadith but rather to its chain of narration (sanad). In such cases, the hadith may have been narrated as supportive evidence (shawahid) or through corroborating narrations (mutaba'at), or the aim might be to clarify its defect (illah) rather than to use it as an argument. Furthermore, the criticism does not necessarily imply weakness but rather that the hadith did not reach the highest degrees of authenticity. It is also possible that the error originated from the critic himself, and only a few of these criticisms are accurate.
Regarding the hadith "On the Day of Resurrection, people from among the Muslims will come with sins like mountains, and Allah will forgive them and place them upon the Jews and Christians," Al-Albani ruled it to be anomalous (shadh), and Al-Baihaqi and Al-Bukhari deemed it weak. Muslim included it in his collection as supportive evidence (shawahid), not as a primary principle (usul).
As for the hadith "If a servant falls ill or travels, Allah records for him the like of what he used to do when he was healthy and resident," Al-Daraqutni mentioned it in "Al-Ilzamat wal-Tattabbu’" and criticized Al-Awwam's sole narration of it. However, in "Al-Ilal" (The Defects), he authenticated Al-Awwam's narration. Ibn Hajar confirmed that the presence of a story within the hadith indicates the narrator's precision in memorization, and Al-Albani authenticated it.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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