The following is a response to ShiaPen’s article “Efforts of Bukhari to Hide Identity of Alcohol Seller Sahabi.” The article can be found here.
ShiaPen argue the following:
Ibn Abbas said: ‘Once Umar was informed that Samra sold alcohol. Umar said: “May Allah curse Samra! Allah’s messenger said: ‘May Allah curse the Jews for Allah had forbidden them to eat the fat of animals but they melted it and sold it.’’
Musnad Ahmed bin Hanbal, Volume 1 page 25 Tradition 170
Now, Bukhari has also recorded this very tradition from his master Humaidi but being a staunch biased Sahaba worshipper, he redacted the name of Samra, we hence read this tradition in Sahih Bukhari in the following manner:
Narrated al-Humaidi from Sufyan from Amr bin Dinar from Tawoos from Ibn ‘Abbas:
Once ‘Umar was informed that a certain man sold alcohol. ‘Umar said, “May Allah curse him! Doesn’t he know that Allah’s Apostle said, ‘May Allah curse the Jews, for Allah had forbidden them to eat the fat of animals but they melted it and sold it.”
Sahih Bukhari ,Volume 3, Book 34, Number 426 page 234
We reject the claim that Al-Bukhari hid the name of Samura due to some form of bias. Rather, this was the version that he heard from Al-Humaydi.
For starts, this was also narrated in Saheeh Al-Bukhari through Ibn Al-Madeeni from Sufyan bin Uyaynah #3201, without mentioning the name of Samura.
Al-Shafi’ee does the same in his Kitab Al-Umm from Sufyan bin Uyaynah.
Ibn Al-Jarood also mentioned it in this manner through Ibn Al-Muqri’ and Mahmood bin Adam #560. While Ya`qoub bin Shaybah narrated this version through Al-Fadhl bin Dukayn #2.
Abu `Awanah too narrated this tradition in his Mustakhraj from the narration of Al-Za`farani and others.
On the other hand, we also find the narration of Sufyan bin Uyaynah with the inclusion of the name of Samura through other paths, like Ahmad in his Musnad, `Abdulrazzaq, Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah, Abu Khaythama, and others.
In other words, we can be sure that both versions have been heard from Sufyan bin Uyaynah.
Similarly, we can also be sure that Al-Humaydi has narrated both versions too, since we find in Al-Sawma`ee’s narration from Al-Humaydi in Mustakhraj Abi `Awanah 3/106 that he refers to the person that sold the alcohol as “Fulan” (so and so), so he never specified.
Perhaps the nail in the coffin is the fact that Al-Bukhari did teach his students that the person in the Hadith is Samura bin Jundub, and not some other Samura, nor is it some anonymous man.
We find this in Al-`Ilal by Al-Tirmithy (p.205) where he authenticates the Hadith and affirms that the person named is Samura bin Jundub. This leads us to the conclusion that Al-Bukhari was not hiding the name of Samura, for he clearly taught this very fact to his students, but rather, recorded from Al-Humaydi what he heard from him.
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