Abū Razīn to say to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), ‘We shall never lack goodness from a Lord who shows mercy, is pleased, and forgives,’ since he had already believed and read in His Book: ‘Indeed, He is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ So understand this—though I do not think you do.”1.

I say: I do not know whether the pupil understands it either; I do not think he does.

22 The writer said on p. 38: “Imam al-Bayhaqī reported in his book al-Asmāʾ wa-l-Sifāt (The Names and Attributes), p. 298, that Imam al-Bukhārī (may Allah Most High have mercy on him) interpreted laughter as mercy. This is the way of the early generations and the hadith scholars. Al-Bukhārī was undoubtedly one of the leading hadith scholars and belonged to the first three generations—the early generations whose excellence was attested.”

I say: Far be it from them! Interpreting the texts so as to divert them from their apparent meanings is not their way. Rather, they let the texts stand as they have come, without distorting their meanings, likening Allah’s attributes to those of creation, denying them, or specifying how they are.

What al-Bayhaqī mentioned—that al-Bukhārī interpreted laughter as mercy—is nowhere to be found in the copies of Sahīh al-Bukhārī available to us. The hadith concerning which al-Bayhaqī stated that al-Bukhārī interpreted laughter as mercy appears in two places in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, yet al-Bukhārī did not mention this false interpretation in either place. Al-Hāfiz explicitly stated in al-Fath (8/632) that this interpretation was absent from the copies of Sahīh al-Bukhārī he had examined—and his meticulous attention to the Sahīh and extensive familiarity with its copies are well known. He said (may Allah have mercy on him): “I have not seen this in the copies of al-Bukhārī available to us.”

Accordingly, no weight should be given to the attribution of this statement to al-Bukhārī (may Allah have mercy on him) by some who reinterpret the texts. Claims carry no weight unless supported by evidence.