Imam Bukhari | Golden Luminaries

His Name and Birth

He is Imam Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Isma’il Abi al-Hasan ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mughirah ibn al-Bardizba al-Ju’fi al-Bukhari. The father of Imam Bukhari, Isma’il Abi al-Hasan, was a pious scholar of his time. He passed away when Imam Bukhari was still a small child. Thus he was raised as an orphan at the hands of his mother and older brother. The great grandfather of Imam Bukhari, Al-Mughirah ibn al-Bardizba became a muslim at the hands of Yamaan al-Ju’fi, the guardian of Bukhara. Therefore he is called al-Ju’fi as it was the practise of that time, that who ever becomes a muslim at the hands of another, he attributes his name to that individual. He is called al-Bukhari as he was born in Bukhara. He was born after salatul jumuah on Friday 13th in Shawwal 194 after hijri.

His character

It is narrated that Imam Bukhari was a very thin man, and there would be many instances when a whole day and night would pass and he would not eat anything. He inherited a lot of wealth from his father, and he would spend this on the poor and needy. He would complete a reading of the whole Quran daily in Ramadan.

It is narrated that Imam Bukhari was once praying salatul zuhr in a garden. Upon the completion of his salah he stood up and lifted the edge of his garment. So he asked a person to look under his garment to see if they could see anything. So they looked and saw that a hornet had stung him in sixteen or seventeen places, and his skin had swollen up because of this. So Imam Bukhari was asked, how is it that you did not leave your salah upon the first sting and he replied, I was in the middle of a surah and I desired that I complete it.

Contoversy with Imam Zuhli

When Imam Bukhari came to Nisaapur he was asked regarding whether the Quran is created or not. Imam Bukhari replied “The Quran is the word of Allah and is not created whilst our actions are created”. There was a slight misunderstanding in Imam Bukhari’s statement, with many accusing him of saying the wording of the Quran is created. Imam Zuhli came to know of this incorrectly attributed statement and declared that whoever says that Quran is created then do not sit in his gathering, for verily he is an innovator. So the people stopped going to the gathering of learning of Imam Bukhari except Muslim bin Hajjaj and Ahmad bin Salamah. Imam Zuhli also said that whoever takes from such a person then let him not narrate from me. Therefore Imam Muslim does not narrate from Imam Zuhli, but he also does not narrate from Imam Bukhari.

His competence

There are many who testify to the competence of Imam Bukhari. I will mention one incident related by Abu Ahmad bin Adi al-Hafiz. He narrates that he heard a number of scholars from Baghdad intended to test Imam Bukhari’s memory with a hundred ahadith. They mixed the matn of one hadith with the isnad of the other, and the isnad of one hadith with the matn of another. So they gave these mixed ahadith to ten people, each having ten jumbled ahadith and they ordered these ten to test Imam Bukhari with these. Many people gathered from Khurasan, and others from Baghdad also. Once everyone had gathered and settled the first of the ten started relating the mixed ahadith to Imam Bukhari, and he did not stop until he had finished his ten. Each time Imam Bukhari would say I do not know of it. The scholars from amongst those who had gathered were amazed at Imam Bukhari. Thereafter the second of the ten related the jumbled ahadith, and each time Imam Bukhari would say that he does not know of it. Like this the second of the ten finished relating each of his ahadith, and so went the third and fourth and so on, until one hundred jumbled ahadith had been read to Imam Bukhari. As soon as Imam Bukhari realised that they had finished with their ahadith he turned to the first man and said, as for your first hadith then it is supposed to be this, and as for the second it is this, and likewise he did so until he completed all ten. So he returned every matn to its correct isnad and every isnad to its correct matn. Likewise he corrected all ten men and each of the hundred ahadith. Thus the people testified to his amazing memory and conceded to his great virtue.

His Teachers

Imam Bukhari heard hadith from the scholars of Balkh, Makkah, Basra, Kufa, Shaam, Asqalaan, Homs, and Damascus. It is narrated that Imam Bukhari said that he has written hadith from more than a thousand men.

Imam Bukhari narrates from more that 70 individuals in his saheeh, and from many more in other than his saheeh. Some of his more notable teachers include:

  1. Ishaq ibn Rahawaih
  2. Ali bin al-Madeeni
  3. Ahmad bin Hanbal
  4. Yahya bin Maeen
  5. Abdullah bin Zubayr al-Humaydi
  6. Makki Bin Ibrahim al-Balkhy
  7. Abu Asim al-Shaybani
  8. Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Ansari
  9. Isam ibn Khalid
  10. Khallad ibn Yahya
  11. Ali bin Ayyash
  12. Ubaydullah bin Musa al-Abbasi

Imam Bukhari shortest chain of narration is three narrators to the Prophet ﷺ, also known as thulathiyyat. The latter seven narrators in the list above is that from whom Imam Bukhari narrates these thulathiyyat from, the latter two narrators chains are not mentioned in his saheeh.

Imam Bukhari narrates from his teacher Muhammad bin Yahya al-Zuhli in his saheeh, even though there was controversy between them both. However Imam Bukhari does not narrate from him with his full name, rather he refers to him as Muhammad or Muhammad ibn Khalid, or Muhammad ibn Abdullah both referring to his grandfather.

Jafar bin Muhammad al-Qattan says he heard Imam Bukhari say, “I have written from one thousand teachers and more, and I do not have with me a hadith except that I mention its isnaad”. Allamah Kirmani say that Imam Bukhari narrates from 289 shuyookh in his saheeh.

Imam Bukhari narrates from Abdul Razzaq through the medium of another narrator even though both were alive at the same time. This is because Imam Bukhari intended to take from Abdul Razzaq in Yemen, however it was said to him that Abdul Razzaq had passed away. So Imam Bukhari delayed his travels to Yemen until it was made clear to him one day that Abdul Razzaq was still alive.

His Students

The names of those who narrate from him number many, and can also be found in Tahzeeb ul-Kamaal of Allamah Mizzi. Some of the more notable individuals who narrate from Imam Bukhari include:

  • Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri
  • Abu Abdul Rahman al-Nasa’i
  • Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi
  • Abu Bakr bin Ishaq bin Khuzaymah
  • Salih bin Muhamad al-Mullaqab Jazarah
  • Abu al-Fadl Ahmad bin Salamah

Imam Tirmidhi narrates through Imam Bukhari’s student.

His madhab

There are three different opinions as to which school of thought Imam Bukhari followed. There are those who bring arguments saying that he follows the Shafi school of thought. The second opinion is that he follows the Hanbali school of thought. The more preferred opinion as according to Imam Sakhawi is that he is a mujtahid mutlaq, and therefore does not follow a school thought but rather is in a position to derive rulings himself.

His writings

When Imam Bukhari was eighteen he wrote Qadaaya al-sahaabati wa al-taabieen wa aqaaweelihim. After this he wrote the famous al-Tareekh al-kabeer in Madina at the side of the grave of the Prophet ﷺ. He also wrote many other books among them are:

  • Al-Saheeh al-Bukhari
  • Al-Adab al-Mufrad
  • Rafa yadayn fi al-salah
  • Birr al-waalidayn

His death

Towards the end of Imam Bukhari’s life, the guardian of Bukhara, Khalid bin Ahmad al-Zuhli asked Imam Bukhari to teach his children. However Imam Bukhari refused saying that students should travel to their teacher to seek knowledge, and it should not be that the teacher should go to the door of the student. Thus Imam Bukhari was expelled from his hometown of Bukhara. So he went to Khartank, a village in Samarkand. Abdul Quddus bin Abdul Jabbar al-Samarkandi says he heard Imam Bukhari make dua one night: O Allah indeed the earth has narrowed upon me so take me away. The month did not complete except that Imam Bukhari’s dua was accepted. He passed away on the night of Eid ul fitr on a Saturday around the time of isha salah, in 256 after hijri. Thus he lived for 61 years, and his grave is in Khartank.

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