Sahih al-Bukhari (Bukhari's Authentic Collection)

Sahih al-Bukhari is the most recognized and authoritative hadith collection in Sunni Islam. It was compiled by Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (810-870 CE) over a period of 16 years. The work contains 7,275 hadith (with repetitions) or approximately 2,602 unique narrations, selected from over 600,000 narrations.

Al-Bukhari developed strict criteria for verifying the authenticity of each hadith. He required an unbroken chain of reliable narrators (isnad) and that each narrator had directly met the previous one. He also performed prayer and istikhara (guidance prayer) before including each individual hadith. The work is organized into 97 books (kutub) covering topics from prayer and purification to trade, marriage, and eschatology.

"Kitab al-Salah" (The Book of Prayer) in Sahih al-Bukhari is one of the most comprehensive collections of narrations about prayer. Here one finds detailed descriptions of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) manner of prayer, prayer times, and rules for congregational prayer. Imam al-Nawawi and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani have both written famous commentaries on the work.