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Why does Al-Bukhari's narration of the Hadith, which mentions Abu Bakr with the phrase "so and so," differ from Muslim's narration of the same Hadith, which mentions "and Abu Bakr was appointed," even though the isnad is the same?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

What I referred to came in the context of a long story about the dispute between Ali and Al-Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—with Omar—may Allah be pleased with him—concerning the Prophet’s charity—peace and blessings be upon him. It is not a Marfoo’ Hadith (a narration directly attributed to the Prophet). Omar stated in Sahih Muslim that they considered Abu Bakr a liar, a sinner, a treacherous person, and a betrayer, while Omar knew that Abu Bakr was truthful, righteous, well-guided, and a follower of the truth, and likewise Omar himself. As for Sahih Bukhari, Omar used the euphemism "such and such" instead of explicitly stating those words, and this is from the phrasing of the narrators like Al-Zuhri. There is no dispute about the meaning of the story, and the difference in wording is due to narration by meaning, which most scholars permit with specific regulations.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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