Fath al-Bari
Fatḥ al-Bārī fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī () is a multi-volume commentary on the Sunni hadith collection "Sahih al-Bukhari", composed by Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani Shafi. Considered his magnum opus, it is the most celebrated hadith commentary. It is reported that it took Ibn Hajar 25 years to finish his work. Reception. Abd al-Hayy ibn Abd al-Kabir al-Kattani said: “When the author of "al-Hittah" quoted Ibn Khaldun as saying that the explanation of "Sahih al-Bukhari" is a debt upon the Muslim nation, he said, ‘This debt has been fulfilled by the  explanation of al-Hafith Ibn Hajar.’ For that reason, when it was suggested to Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Shawkani, that he write an explanation of "al-Jami’ al-Sahih" by al-Bukhari just as others have, he responded, ‘There is no migration after "al-Fath",’ referring to "Fath al-Bari"". Abd al-Hakim Murad said of "Fath al-Bari" in the introduction to the translation of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's commentary on selected hadith (published as a booklet by the Muslim Academic Trust): "The importance of this literature may be gauged by the fact that at least seventy full  commentaries have been written on Imam al-Bukhari’s great Sahih... the most celebrated [of which] is without question the magnificent "Fath al-Bari" ("Victory of the Creator") by Imam Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, a work which was the crown both of its genre and of the Imam’s academic career. It is appreciated by the ulema for the doctrinal soundness of its author, for its complete coverage of Bukhari’s material, its mastery of the relevant Arabic sciences, the wisdom it shows in drawing lessons (fawa’id) from the hadiths it expounds, and its skill in resolving complex disputes over variant  readings." Islamicist Norman Calder described Ibn Hajar's work as "the most magnificent achievement of exegetical discourse". Editions. Editions include one from the Egyptian Press of Mustafa Al-Babi Al-Halabi, 1959 (1378 A.H.).