One night, Al-Bukhari (May Allah have mercy on him) had a strange dream that later had a great impact on his life. He saw himself standing before the Prophet(Peace and blessings be upon him), holding a palm-leaf fan in his hand with which he pushed all evil away from the Prophet(Peace and blessings be upon him). He was so confused and surprised that he went to his scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, asking them to interpret his dream. They said happily: “You will clear the lies and false claims away from the Prophet(Peace and blessings be upon him).” Al-Bukhari (May Allah have mercy on him) then remembered his teacher, sheikh Is-Haq Ibn Rahawaih, the prominent scholar of Khurasan, when he told his students once: “It would be great if you can compile a concise and brief book containing the authentic narrations of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him).”
