After the honorable Companions, Imam
Al-Bukhari ranks as one of the most eminent scholars who have
conferred endless bliss upon the Ummah. The greatest evidence of this
is the book of Hadith he compiled, commonly known as Sahih
Al-Bukhari, which is universally acknowledged as the most
authentic book after the Qur’an.
His Early Years
Imam Abu `Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma`il
Al-Bukhari was born on Shawwal 13, AH 194, in the famous city of
Bukhara, present day Uzbekistan. The father of Al-Bukhari, Isma`il ibn
Ibrahim ibn Al-Mughirah Al-Ja`fi, was a great scholar of Hadith and
ascetics, from whom the son inherited the characteristics of literary
zeal and excellence.
During Al-Bukhari’s infancy, his father
passed away and his mother took on the entire responsibility of
bringing him up. Al-Bukhari 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 worshiper and a
righteous woman. She cried out for help in the court of Allah the
Almighty, for her child and begged for the restoration of his
eyesight. At last, “the river of mercy flowed over her,” and
Almighty Allah accepted her invocation. One night, she saw Ibrahim
(peace and blessings be upon him) in a dream and was told, “Allah
has restored the sight of your son because of your invocations.” In
the morning, as Al-Bukhari got up from his bed, he saw glimmers of
light.
Primary Education and Interest in Hadith
When Al-Bukhari was 10 years old and had
acquired his elementary education, he became interested in the science
of Hadith and obtained admission in the Hadith class of Bukhara. He
studied vigorously. A year later, he had such good retention of the
text and chains of transmission of hadiths, that sometimes teachers
obtained their corrections from him. Al-Bukhari acquired religious
education with competence and swiftness. At the tender age of 16, he
had completely learned by heart the books of `Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak,
Al-Waki`, and other learned companions of Imam Abu Hanifah.
Commencement of Hadith Compilation
At the age of 18, Al-Bukhari visited Makkah,
accompanied by his mother and elder brother Ahmad ibn Isma`il. After
performing the pilgrimage, his brother returned in the company of his
mother, but Al-Bukhari stayed there for further education. Meanwhile,
he wrote a book called Qadaya as-Sahabah wat-Tabi`in. After
this, he went to Madinah to compile the famous book At-Tarikh
al-Kabir.
Over a period of several years, Al-Bukhari
traveled far and wide for the transmission of hadiths and gained
immense knowledge. He stated, “To seek knowledge, I traveled to
Egypt and Syria twice, Basra four times, spent six years at Hijaz, and
left for Kufah and Baghdad on so many occasions accompanied by Hadith
scholars.”
His Remarkable Memory
Al-Bukhari was a man with a very strong
memory: It seemed as if his body, from head to toe, stored
information. His superb memory reminds us of Abu Hurairah (may Allah
be pleased with him). Sulaiman ibn Mujahid said, “One day, I was
present in the company of Muhammad ibn Salam. He said, ‘If you had
come earlier, I would have shown you the child who has 70,000 hadiths
in his memory.’ Sulaiman stood up from his company and started
looking for Al-Bukhari. Shortly he found him and asked, ‘Are you the
one who has committed 70,000 hadiths to memory?’ Al-Bukhari replied,
‘I have learned more hadiths than this by heart. I even know the
place of birth, death, and residence of most of those Companions from
whom the hadiths are narrated.’”
Also, Muhammad ibn Azhar As-Sajistani said,
“I used to go to Sulaiman ibn Harb accompanied by Imam Al-Bukhari to
listen to hadiths. I used to write the hadiths, but Imam Al-Bukhari
wouldn’t. Someone said to me, ‘Why doesn’t Imam Al-Bukhari note
the hadiths down?’ I told him, ‘If you missed any Hadith in
writing, you could obtain it from the memory of Imam Al-Bukhari.’”
Glimpses of His Private Life
Self-Sufficiency
The father of Al-Bukhari, Isma`il ibn Ibrahim,
was enormously rich and Al-Bukhari inherited a huge share of his
wealth. He used to invest his wealth on the basis of silent
partnerships (whereby the profits are shared equally but only one
partner does the work). Abu Sa`id Bakr ibn Munir stated, “Once Abu
Hafs sent some goods to Imam Al-Bukhari, and when traders learned of
this, they came and offered 5,000 dirhams. He told them, ‘Come in
the evening.’ A second group of traders came and offered 10,000
dirhams, but he told them, ‘I have already made an agreement with
someone else. I do not want to change my intention for the sake of
10,000 dirhams.’”
Simplicity and Humbleness
Al-Bukhari was a simple and hard working
person. He would carry out his affairs by himself. Despite having
wealth and status, he always kept the minimum number of servants
required and never indulged himself in this matter. Muhammad ibn Hatim
Al-Warraq, who was one of his main disciples, said, “Imam Al-Bukhari
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 judgment, this act will be of benefit to me.’”
Warraq went on to say, “When we accompanied
Imam Al-Bukhari on a journey, he would gather us in one room and would
stay by himself in a separate room. Once I saw Imam Al-Bukhari get up
between fifteen and twenty times during the night, and every time, he
lit the lamp with his own hands. He took some hadiths out, marked
them, and then placed his head on his pillow and lay 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.’”
Generosity
Al-Bukhari set a good example in generosity.
He would give 3,000 dirhams as a donation in one day. Al-Warraq said
that Al-Bukhari’s earnings were 500 dirhams per month, and he would
spend all of it on his students.
Fear of Allah
Al-Bukhari was bestowed with a high level of
piety and righteousness. He feared Allah very much both inwardly and
outwardly. He prevented himself from backbiting and suspicion and
always respected the rights of others. Bakr ibn Munir related that
Al-Bukhari said, “I am hopeful that when I meet my Lord, He will not
take account of me because I never engaged in backbiting.”
Al-Bukhari was so vigilant in his worship that
he would perform many supererogatory Prayers and fasts. He would
complete the recitation of the whole Qur’an daily in the month of
Ramadan and recite ten juz’ of the Qur’an deep into the
night. He never became angry if mistreated by other persons, and he
prayed for forgiveness for those who attributed evil to him. If he
needed to correct any person, he would never embarrass him in public.
His Passing
He died on the night of `Eid Al-Fitr, the
first night of Shawwal, in the year AH 256. In 12 more days he would
have been 62 years old. On that night, the sun of great knowledge,
virtue, and blessings set, one whose knowledge and actions had
enlightened the hearts and minds of the great intellects and people of
Samarqand, Bukhara, Baghdad, and Nishapur. May Allah accept his
tireless effort and shower his soul with mercy.
