In the name of Allah most
gracious most merciful
Assalaamu alaykum wa
rahmatuallahi wa barakatuhu
Imam Bukhari (194 - 265)
After the Sahābah al-kirām,
Imām al-Bukhārī ranks as the most eminent of those pious people who have
conferred endless bliss upon the Ummah of the Holy Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi
wa sallam. The greatest evidence of this is the book of Ahādīth an-Nabawī he compiled,
commonly known as Sahīh al-Bukhārī. It is universally acknowledged as the most
authentic book after the Holy Qur'ān. So long as their is one Muslim left on
the Earth, the blessings of Imām Bukhārī will have a place in his or her Īmān
and Islām. Let us briefly examine below a short survey of his life and works.
Imām al-muhaddithīn Hadrat
Imām Abū `Abdullāh Muhammad ibn Ismā`īl al-Bukhārī was born on the 13th of the
Islāmic month of Shawwāl, 194AH, in the famous city of Bukhara, of the land
"beyond the canal" - present day Uzbekistan -. The father of Imām
Bukhārī, Ismā`īl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Mughīrah al-Ja`fī, was a great muhaddith and
ascetic from whom he inherited his characteristics of literary zeal and
excellence. During infancy his father passed away and his mother took on the
entire responsibility of bringing him up. Imām Bukhārī became blind at a young
age. He had recourse to many famous and skilled doctors of his time but their
treatments made no difference. His mother was a pious worshipper and a
righteous woman. She cried out for help in the court of Allāh the Almighty, for
her child and begged for the restoration of his eyesight. At last, "the
river of mercy flowed over her," and Almighty Allāh accepted her invocation.
One night, she visited Ibrāhīm `alayhis-salām in a dream and was told,
"Allāh has restored the sight of your son because of your intense and
beautiful invocations." In the morning, as Imām Bukhārī got up from his
bed, glimmers of light reached out into his eyes.
When Imām Bukhārī reached the
age of ten and after acquiring his elementary education, Almighty Allāh
inserted the interest in the science of Ahadīth into his heart and he obtained
admission in the Hadīth class of Bukhara. He obtained his educations after
vigorous study. A year later, he had such a good retention of the text and
chains of transmission of Ahādīth, that sometimes teachers got their
corrections from him. Imām Bukhārī had been acquiring religious education with
competance and swiftness and at the tender age of sixteen, he had completely
learnt by heart the books of `Abdullāh ibn al-Mubārak, al-Wakī` and other
learned companions of al-Imām Abū Hanīfa radiyallāhu `anhum.
At the age of eighteen, He
visited Makkah accompanied by his mother and elder brother, Ahmad ibn Ismā`īl.
After performing the pilgrimage, his brother returned with the company of his
mother, but Imām Bukhārī stayed there for further education. Meanwhile, he
wrote a book called, Qadāyā as-Sahābah wat-Tābi`īn. After this he went to
Madīnah al-munawwarah to compile the famous book of Asmā` ar-rijāl (Names of
men of transmission) called, Tārīkh
al-kabīr, while sitting by the tomb of the Holy Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa
sallam during moonlight hours. Immediately after completing this, a series of
imitations had begun. Muhammad ibn Yūsaf al-Furyābī said that at the time he
had copied Tārīkh al-kabīr, Imām Bukhārī did not yet have any facial hair.
Imām Bukhārī travelled to
cities far and wide for the transmission of Ahādīth and had gained immense
knowledge while sitting far from his own country for several years. He stated
himself, "To seek knowledge, I travelled to Egypt and Syria twice, Basra
four times, spent six years at the Hijāz and left for Kufa and Baghdad on so
many occasions accompanied by Muhaddithīn."
Imām Bukhārī was a man with a
very strong memory. When we look at his memory, it is as if his body from head
to toe stored it. Seeing his memory, the memory of Abū Hurayrah radiyallāhu
`anhu is rekindled in the hearts of Muslims. Hashid ibn Ismā`īl states that in
his childhood: "Imām Bukhārī used to go with us to the Scholars of Basra
to listen to Ahādīth. All of us used to write Ahādīth down, except Imām
Bukhārī. After sixteen days, we thought about it and we condemned Imām Bukhārī
saying that, 'you had wasted so many days work by not writing down Ahādīth.'
Imām Bukhārī asked us to bring our notes to him. So we all brought our notes,
upon which Imām Bukhārī began to read Ahādīth one by one from the top of his
head until he narrated to us more than fifteen thousand! Hearing these, it
seemed that Imām Bukhārī was reteaching us all of the Ahādīth we had
noted."
Muhammad ibn Azhar Sajistānī
says: "I used to go to Sulaymān ibn Harab accompanied by Imām Bukhārī for
listening to Ahādīth. I used to write the Ahādīth, but Imām Bukhārī wouldn't.
Somone said to me, 'Why doesn't Imām Bukhārī note the Ahādīth down?' I told
him, 'if you missed any Hādīth in writing, you could obtain it from the memory
of Imām Bukhārī.'"
Imām Bukhārī's memory could be
understood by knowing that if he glanced through a book, it would be committed
to memory instantly. In his early period of acquiring knowledge, he memorised
seventy thousand Ahādīth and later in his life, this figure reached three
hundred thousand. Of these, one hundred thousand were sahīh (rigorously
authenticated) and two hundred thousand were not sahīh (hasan, da`īf, etc).
Once he went to Balkh and the inhabitants desired that he should recite one
Hadīth from each of his shaykhs. Then he orated from one thousand Shaykhs one
thousand Ahādīth.
Sulaymān ibn Mujāhid says:
"One day I was present in the company of Muhammad ibn Salām Baykandī.
Muhammad ibn Salām said, 'If you had come earlier, I would have shown you the
child who has seventy thousand Ahādīth in his memory.' Sulaymān stood up from
his company and started looking for Imām Bukhārī. Shortly he found him and
asked, 'Are you the one who has committed seventy thousand Ahādīth to memory?'
Imām Bukhārī replied, 'I have learnt more Ahādīth than this by heart. I even
know the place of birth, death and residence of most of those companions from
whom the Ahādīth are narrated."
Along with his extraordinary
memory, he also had a very sharp intellect. He did not depend on pen and paper
as much as he relied on his mind and memory. People examined the capabilities
of Imām Bukhāri in the science of Hadīth repeatedly but he always remained
successful as a result of Allāh's gift of intellegence and superb memory.
Hāfiz Ahmad ibn `Adī
describes: "When the people of Baghdad had learnt that Imām Bukhārī was
due to arrive there, the Muhaddithīn of Baghdad decided to test him by changing
the text and chains of transmission of one hundred Ahādīth. They joined the chain
of one Hadīth with the text of another and attached the chain of this Hadīth
with the text of the prior. Like this, they mixed up the text and chains of
transmission of one hundred Ahādīth and gave these to people who would test
Imām Bukhārī with these.
"When Imām Bukhāri
arrived at Baghdad, the people held a gathering in his honour, in which most of
the Ulamā, nobles and public were present. One person stood up according to the
plan and asked a question regarding a Hadīth with its altered chain of transmission.
Upon this, a second person stood up and recited in similar manner. Like this,
the people completed the hundred Ahādīth and awaited Imām Bukhārī's reply. He
said that he had not apprehended those Ahādīth. When he saw that everyone had
finished asking questions, he stood up and described the chain of transmission
of the first Hadīth read and then gave its correct chain. Like this, he
detailed the faulty chains on the Ahādīth of all one hundred set up by the
scholars. He had given the correct chains of transmission to every Hadīth. When
he finished, the entire audience was full of praise and recognition of the
superiority and greatness of Imām Bukhārī."
Hāfiz Abul-Azhar relates:
"Once four hundred Muhaddithīn had gathered in the city of Samarqand to
test Imām Bukhārī. They did this by mixing up the transmissions of Syria with
the transmissions of Iraq and the transmissions of Iraq with the transmissions
of Syria. Similarly, they inserted the transmissions of the Haram (Makkah) into
the ones of Yemen and vice versa. They did this to Imām Bukhāri for seven days,
but could not mislead him in text or transmission a single time. He had
comprehensive knowledge in the science of Hadīth - all of the routes of a
Hadīth were in his eyes if one with many chains was found. So Imām Bukhārī had
a good view of all of them. In that age, no one had more command over the
different ways of transmission than Imām Bukhārī."
Yūsuf ibn Mūsā Marūzī states:
"I was sitting in the central mosque of Basra when I heard a voice saying,
'O seeker of knowledge, Imām Muhammad ibn Ismā`īl has arrived. Whoever wants to
receive Ahādīth from him should present himself in his company.'" Marūzī
says: "I saw a thin, weak young man near the pillar who was praying salāt
with extreme humbleness and humility and that was Imām Bukhārī. As soon as the
announcement was made, curious people from all directions began to gather
around."
1. Self sufficiency:
The father of Imām Bukhārī,
Muhaddith Ismā`īl ibn Ibrāhīm was enormously rich and Imām Bukhārī had
inherited a huge share of his wealth. He used to give his wealth on the basis
of silent partnership (e.g. if a person is in possession of a shop, the profits
are shared equally, but only one partner does all the work). Abū Sa`īd Bakr ibn
Munīr states: "Once Abū Hafs sent some goods to Imām Bukhārī and when
traders learnt of this, they came and offered five thousand dirhams. He told
them, 'Come in the evening.' A second group of traders came and offered ten
thousand dirhams, but he told them, 'I have already made an agreement with
someone else. Ido not want to change my intention for the sake of ten thousand
dirhams.'"
2. Simplicity and humbleness:
From the point of view of his
character, Imām Bukhārī was a simple and hard working person. He would fulfill
his own needs by himself. Despite having a lot of wealth and status, he always
kept the minimum number of servants required and never indulged himself in this
matter. Muhammad ibn Hātim Warrāq, who was one of his main disciples, says:
"Imām Bukhārī was establishing an inn near the city of Bukhara and was
placing the bricks with his own hands. I came forward and said 'Leave the
laying of the bricks for this building to me.' But he replied, 'On the day of
judgement, this act will be of benefit to me.'"
Warrāq goes on to say:
"When we accompanied Imām Bukhārī on a journey, he would gather us in one
room and would stay by himself in a separate room. Once I saw Imām Bukhārī get
up between fifteen and twenty times during the night and every time, he lit the
lamp with his own hands. He took some Ahādīth out, marked them and then placed
his head on his pillow and laid on his couch. I said to him, 'Why did you go
through all this trouble during the night, when you could have woken me up [so
that I could help you].' He replied, 'You are young and are in need of sound
sleep and I did not want to disturb your sleep.'"
3. Generosity
Just as he was generous with
this wealth, he was also greatly generous with his heart. Sometimes, he would
give three thousand dirhams as a donation in one day. Warrāq says that Imām
Bukhārī's earnings were five hundred dirhams per month and he would spend all
of it on his students.
4. Abstention (Zuhd)
Imām Bukhārī kept himself away
from all worldly desires and temptations. Sometimes, in his quest for
knowledge, he passed his time eating dried grass (hay). Usually he would eat
only two or three almonds in a whole day. Once he became ill and the doctors
told him, "Your intestines have become dry because you have been eating
dried leaves." It was at that moment that Imām Bukhārī told the doctor
that he had been eating dried leaves for forty years and during this span of
time he never even touched any kind of curry.
5. Fear of Allāh
He was bestowed with the
highest rank of piety and righteousness. He feared Allāh very much inwardly and
outwardly. He prevented himself from backbiting and suspicion and always
respected the rights of others. Bakr ibn Munīr relates that Imām Bukhārī said,
"I am hopeful that when I meet my Lord, He will not take account of me
because I never backbited."
Imām Bukhārī was so vigilant
in his worship, that he would pray Nawāfil and keep fasts in abundance. He
would complete the recitation of the whole Qur'ān daily in the month of Ramadān
and also recited ten chapters of the Holy Qur'ān deep in the night. He would
complete the Holy Qur'ān in the Tarāwīh prayers and always reciting twenty
verses in each rak`at. He was very courteous, tolerant and gentle. He never
became angry if mistreated by other persons and prayed forgiveness for those
who attributed evil to him. If he needed to correct any person, he would never
embarrass him in public.
His Arrival in Nīshāpūr and
the issue of the creation of the Qur'ān
In 250 AH, Imām Bukhārī
decided to go to Nīshāpūr. After hearing this news, a wave of happiness spread
among its people. In those times, Muhammad ibn Yahya adh-Dhuhlī was the head of
the literary kingdom of Nīshāpūr. He advised and led the inhabitants of the city
to gather together for the welcoming of Imām Bukhārī. A huge crowd went to the
outskirts of the city to receive Imām Bukhārī, with extreme magnificence and
honour. Imām Muslim ibn Hajjāj says that in all his life, he had never seen
such a reception ever given to a scholar or even a ruler.
Imām Bukhārī began to deliver
lectures on Hadīth in Nīshāpūr. At every session, a huge crowd always packed
the area to listen and many included people who had arrived specifically to
learn the science of Hadīth. However, some unpleasant people were envious about
the reputation and popularity of Imām Bukhārī. These people set up Muhammad ibn
Yahya adh-Dhuhlī to become his opponent. In this incident, Muhammad ibn Yahya
considered the pronunciation of the Qur'ān as eternal and was firmly rooted
with this concept.
Once, a man approached Imām
Bukhārī and asked him whether the Qur'ān was created (makhlūq) or not created
(ghayr makhlūq). Imām Bukhārī paused for a while. The man insisted on a reply,
upon which he was told, "The Qur'ān are the words of Allāh and they are
not created (ghayr makhlūq)." The man posed some more questions about the
words of the Qur'ān, upon which Imām Bukhārī said, "Our actions are
created and the pronunciation is one our actions."
[Comment by G.F. Haddad: The
above is inaccurately translated. It should read: "Muhammad ibn
Yahya considered the
*pronunciation* of the Qur'ān as eternal..." and "Imām Bukhārī said,
'Our actions are created and the pronunciation is one our actions.'"
The disagreement was only over
the pronunciation (lafz) of the Qur'an, not the words of the Qur'an, although
lafz also means "wording." Al-Dhuhli and other people close to the
Hanbali madhhab considered that the pronunciation is uncreated just like the
Qur'an itself. Others, like Bukhari and Muslim, also al-Karabisi the companion
of al-Shafi`i and others considered the pronunciation created since it is part
of one's acts and acts are certainly created. There was no disagreement that
the words of the Qur'an are not created since they are what is meant when we
say that the Qur'an is Allah's Speech.
What possibly reconciles the
different views on this subject is that lafz is used by some to mean the
revealed, uncreated words and contents of recitation, while others mean thereby
the mere act of pronunciation, which is created; hence the extreme caution
shown by some, such as Imam al-Bukhari, who fell short of saying: "Lafz is
created" even though he used it in the second sense, since he said:
"Lafz is an act of human beings, and our acts are created." This
lexical ambiguity is a proof of sorts that the differences on this particular
question were largely in terminology rather than essence. Added to this is a
fundamental difference in method around the appropriateness of such dialectic
(kalam), which poisoned the air with unnecessary condemnations on the part of
Imam Ahmad's followers - and Allah knows best.]
After this, mass propaganda
started against Imām Bukhārī, which led to accusations that he believed the
words of the Qur'ān to be created. When Dhuhlī heard these rumours, he
disconnected his ties with Imām Bukhārī and became his foe. He started warning
people by announcing that they should not attend the lectures of Imām Bukhārī.
As a result, people refrained from sitting in his lectures, except Muslim ibn
Hajjāj. At last, due to his disappointment, Imām Bukhārī left the city of
Nīshāpūr and returned to Bukhara.1
When the people of Bukhara
learnt that Imām Bukhārī was coming back to his homeland, they became extremely
overjoyed and erected tents many miles outside the city to welcome him. They
greeted him with splendour for his return. He established a school there where
he spent a great deal of time teaching with satisfaction.
Even here, there were envious
people who did not leave him alone. They met the governor of Bukhara, who was a
representative of the Khilāfat `Abasiyya, Khālid ibn Ahmad. They told him to
call Imām Bukhārī to his house and busy him with teaching his son. When the
governor put this suggestion to Imām Bukhārī, he was told, "I do not want
to abuse knowledge and carry it to the footstep of the rulers. If anybody wants
to learn, they should come to my school." The governor replied, by
stating, "If my son was to attend your school, he should not sit with
ordinary people. You would have to teach him separately." Imām Bukhārī
answered, "I cannot stop any person from hearing Ahādīth." Upon
hearing this, the governer of Bukhara became angry with him and got a fatwa
(verdict) from the time wasting opportunist (ibn al-waqt) `Ulamā against Imām
Bukhārī to banish him from the city.
Imām Bukhārī was distressed at
the thought of being banished from his homeland. Not even a month passed,
before the Khalīf of Baghdad dismissed the governor of Bukhara, Khālid ibn
Ahmad adh-Dhuhlī. The governor was expelled from his palace in extreme disgrace
and dishonour, being mounted on a she-ass and then thrown into prison, where he
died in a space of a few days. Similarly, all the supporters of the governor
also died in disgraceful ways.
His passing
After returning from Bukhara,
Imām Bukhārī decided to travel to Samarqand. He was still many miles from the
city, when he heard that the people there had two veiws about him. So he
decided to stay at a village along the way called "Kharteng". Here,
he made the following invocation one night after the late-night prayer: "O
Allāh, the Earth despite its grandeur is becoming narrow and is troubling me
greatly. So take me back to You." After this invocation, he became ill.
Meanwhile, the people of Samarqand sent a messenger to bring him there. Bukhārī
got up and was ready to travel, but his strength gave way. He began to invoke
Allāh at length, then he took to his bed and his soul passed away to his Lord -
may Allāh have mercy on him. An indescribable amount of perspiration came out
of him even after he consigned his life to the Creator of life. When this
abated, he was shrouded. He died on the night of `Īd al-Fitr, the first night
of Shawwāl in the year 256 AH. He had reached the age of 62 years, less twelve
days. On this night, the sun of great knowledge, virtue and blessings had set,
whose knowledge and actions had enlightened the hearts and minds of the great
intellects and people of Samarqand, Bukhara, Baghdad and Nīshāpūr.
Imām Bukhārī devoted his
entire life, in the search for the way of life given by the Holy Prophet
sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam, in acting upon his sayings and researching into
this science. His each and every action was a fragment of the way of the
Messenger. Warrāq stated: "In a dream, I once saw Imām Bukhārī walking
behind the Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam and his feet would fall exactly
where the feet of the blessed Prophet had fallen."
Farbarī stated: "Once in
a dream, I met the Holy Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam and he asked me,
'Where are you going?' I replied, 'To Muhammad ibn Ismā`īl [al-Bukhārī].' He
then said, 'Go, and give him my salām.'"
Just as the Holy Prophet
sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam had happiness with Imām Bukhārī during his
lifetime, he was also pleased with him after his death. Concerning this, `Abd
al-Wāhid ibn Ādam Awaysī stated: "I saw the Holy Prophet sallallāhu
`alayhi wa sallam in my sleep standing with a group of his Companions. I asked,
'O Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam, who are you waiting for?' He replied,
'For Bukhārī.' After a few days I heard the news of Imām Bukhārī's passing
away. He had died at the very moment that I saw the Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi
wa sallam in my dream."
Conclusion
Imām Bukhārī was not only a
scholar, worshipper, a devotee and a prosperous man, but he always feared Allāh
and shone with the love of the Messenger sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam. The
virtuous outpourings he gave to the world during his life are still being given
today and as the Muslim Ummah goes about its daily acts of worship, they
realise how important the role played by Imām Bukhārī was. He compiled and
circulated the Ahādīth of the Prophet wherever possible and Allāh spread his
status to every corner of the world. It is a fact that as long as the traditions
of the Holy Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam (qīla and qāla) are mentioned
in gatherings, lights and blessings will shower onto the grave of Imām
al-Bukhārī from the skies of the Most Merciful.
Allah knows best