The Life and Legacy of Imam al-Bukhari: Commander of the Faithful in Hadith

“And among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors similarly. Only those fear Allāh,

from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allāh is Exalted in Might and Forgiving.” (Quran 35:28)

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah ﷻ be upon you.

“In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”

“[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds -” (Quran 1:1-2)

And may Allah's peace, blessings, and prayers be upon the Messenger of Allah.

To proceed:

May Allah bless you, my brothers and sisters, to a new

episode of the series "The Biography of an Imam".

Today's episode will be about

a personality whose memory Allah ﷻ has immortalized and whose knowledge He has blessed.

He is a sun that shone and a sky that shaded the world.

He is the role model of scholars, the master of jurists, and the heir of the prophets.

The godly scholar, the pride of the Hadith scholars,

the Commander of the Faithful in Hadith,

the illustrious Imam, Al-Bukhari (RH),

author of the famous book which is the most authentic book after the Book of Allah ﷻ.

Speaking about Al-Bukhari (RH), in reality,

requires many episodes and sessions,

because this scholar is a giant among the giants of knowledge and an Imam among the Imams of religion.

Imam al-Bukhari (RH)—

I will speak briefly about his biography, his upbringing, and a part of his life.

Of course, if we look at the name of Imam al-Bukhari, he is Abu Abdullah Muhammad

ibn Isma'il ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mughirah al-Ju'fi.

As for Imam al-Bukhari (RH),

he became famous by this title in relation to Bukhara,

which is in the lands of Transoxiana.

If we want to know the name and lineage of al-Bukhari:

Al-Bukhari is Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma'il ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mughirah

ibn Bardizbah al-Ju'fi.

His grandfather, this Bardizbah, whose name some scholars vocalized

with a fatha on the 'ba', a sukun on the 'ra', and a kasrah on the 'dal',

and others mentioned otherwise, until al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RH) said:

"This is the well-known pronunciation."

'Bardizbah' in Persian means 'the farmer', so they say.

The people of Bukhara say: 'This is a title for a farmer.'

And this Bardizbah was a Persian, following the religion of his people, as Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RH) said.

As for his grandfather Al-Mughirah, he accepted Islam at the hands of Yaman al-Ju'fi, governor of Bukhara, and was attributed to him as his patron in Islam.

That is, a patronage of Islam, not of slavery—patronage being of two types: patronage of Islam and patronage of slavery.

The scholars wrote a biography for Al-Bukhari's father, Isma'il, and mentioned that he used to narrate from Hammad ibn Zayd and Malik ibn Anas.

The Iraqis narrated from him, and Ibn Hajar wrote his biography in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib.

He was pious and devout, to the point that Ahmad ibn Hafs said: 'I visited Isma'il...'

the father of Abu Abdullah—meaning al-Bukhari—at his death,

and said, "I know of no dirham in my wealth that is Haram or doubtful."

Glory be to Allah ﷻ! Look at the impact...

...of this asceticism and piety of al-Bukhari's father.

Of course, al-Bukhari (RH) was born in the city of Bukhara,

which is one of the greatest cities of Transoxiana, about an eight-day journey from Samarkand.

Al-Bukhari (RH) was born on the night of Friday, the 13th of Shawwal,

in the year 194 AH (one hundred and ninety-four),

since most people nowadays do not know how to read this format.

This date, or birth year, is 194 AH (one hundred and ninety-four Hijri).

Al-Bukhari (RH) grew up...

He was an orphan, because his father died when he was still a young child.

And his mother raised him in the best manner and took the best care of him.

The life of Imam al-Bukhari, from his early upbringing, was not paved with roses,

nor did he grow up

like boys who are born into luxury,

Rather, he lived a life full of surprises and events, even in his youth.

He faced a series of surprises and sad chapters, and Allah has wisdom in that.

And these events, in my estimation, were among the reasons

for this great launch into the world of knowledge,

until he became a shining star in the sky of this world,

and a luminous planet in the lives of people.

And among that

...grave events in the life of Imam al-Bukhari is that he went blind in his childhood.

Glory be to Allah ﷻ! He was afflicted with blindness in his youth,

and this illness deeply saddened his mother.

His mother grieved deeply for her son, the apple of her eye, this orphan who...

...did not grow up under his father's care, but rather under his mother's care.

This grief that his mother endured—and she was a righteous, devout woman—

drove her to stand and pray. She was among those who prayed the night prayer,

but she dedicated most of her supplications to her son who had lost his sight.

She would pray and supplicate to Allah ﷻ constantly.

Then, Subhan Allah, she saw Ibrahim (AS) in a dream.

She saw Ibrahim (AS) in a dream saying: "O woman, Allah ﷻ has restored your son's sight due to your abundant supplication."

...due to your frequent supplication." Glory be to Allah ﷻ!

The mother returned and found her son cured and seeing after he had been blind,

may Allah ﷻ have mercy on him and on Al-Bukhari's mother.

Of course, Al-Bukhari (RH), the signs of his genius began to show since childhood,

promising signs and indications of his intelligence were apparent on him while he was still a young child.

Indeed, he was a marvel in memorization.

And his mother played a major role in his reaching this high rank and lofty status,

for she used to make him love knowledge.

Look, subhan Allah, at the mother's role; she used to make her son love knowledge,

so he had barely completed his tenth year before he memorized the entire Holy Quran.

Then he began to frequent the circles of the major scholars of Hadith and Fiqh.

Muhammad ibn Abi Hatim said: I said to Abu Abdullah—meaning Al-Bukhari—"How did your affair begin?"

He said, "I was inspired to memorize Hadith while in the kuttab (traditional school)."

The term "maktab" refers to the well-known kuttab.

He said, "I was inspired to memorize Hadith while I was in the kuttab."

I asked, "How old were you?" He replied, "Ten years old or less."

"Then I left the kuttab after ten, and I began to frequent Al-Dakhili,"

who was one of the scholars. One day, Al-Dakhili,

who was a scholar of Hadith, said while reciting to the people:

"Sufyan, from Abu al-Zubayr, from Ibrahim."

This chain of narration was: Sufyan, from Abu al-Zubayr, from Ibrahim.

So I said to him—Al-Bukhari (RH), at this young age—said:

I said to him, "Abu al-Zubayr did not narrate from Ibrahim."

He rebuked me—meaning, he was young, so how could he correct this scholar?

I said, "Abu al-Zubair did not narrate from Ibrahim." He scolded me,

so I said to him, 'Refer back to the original.'

He went in, looked at the original—his book—then came out and said to me,

"How is it, young boy?"

I said, "It is al-Zubair ibn Adi from Ibrahim."

"Al-Zubair ibn Adi from Ibrahim."

So he took the pen from me, corrected his book, and said, "You are right."

Al-Bukhari was asked, "How old were you when you corrected him?"

He replied, "Eleven years old. Eleven years old."

What does this indicate? It indicates early brilliance,

it indicates an exceptional case...

where it is very difficult for someone of this age to correct chains of narration for senior scholars.

Of course, Al-Bukhari grew up loving knowledge from childhood, seeking it,

and he was extremely keen on memorizing the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, in narration and comprehension,

By the age of sixteen,

he had the readiness and ability to memorize everything he read, looked at, and heard.

He memorized the books of Abdullah bin al-Mubarak,

and the books of Waki' bin al-Jarrah, and other books of the Imams of Hadith.

He had an insatiable appetite for seeking knowledge and seized every opportunity, never satisfied,

moving between the circles of scholars in his city.

At that time, the city of Bukhara and its surroundings were indeed a center of knowledge,

and the scholarly movement in Bukhara was very active.

especially in the narration of Hadith, where the greatest scholars of that time were.

Of course, Al-Bukhari (RH) did not limit himself to the scholars of his town,

but rather he wanted to follow the path of the scholars in traveling to seek knowledge; indeed, it is the way of the Prophets.

Moses (AS) traveled to Al-Khidr (AS), and Jabir ibn Abdullah traveled to Abdullah ibn Unays in Egypt,

and many of the Companions (RA) traveled seeking knowledge.

Of course, this passion for knowledge that was apparent in Imam Al-Bukhari,

and this blessing that Allah ﷻ bestowed upon him made him look at the vast horizons of his land and feel they were not enough for him.

Glory be to Allah, the Almighty! He felt these vast horizons were not enough for him because he had acquired something great,

He said that moving between the scholars of his region did not satisfy him in reality.

It was as if he had acquired all that they had,

so he traveled far and wide in search of Hadith.

He traveled abroad, unsatisfied with seeking Hadith only locally.

And he went... and it is mentioned

that his good name in his homeland did not leave; he was the one who moved.

But the people still remember this young, vibrant youth,

this exceptional case,

this prodigy left behind a great legacy in his homeland.

As for the Hijaz — he went to the Hijaz on his first journey for Hajj, accompanied by his mother and brother.

And he had intended to meet the great senior scholars

and the giants of knowledge, the eminent ones whose fame had spread across the horizons.

And he was keen to learn from many noble shaykhs and to acquire high chains of transmission.

So he stayed behind after his mother and brother, and remained in Makkah for six years.

six years, sitting with scholars and meeting virtuous sheikhs.

Then he set off, traveling between the centers of the Islamic world,

the centers of the Islamic world, collecting Hadith and holding sessions to narrate them,

enduring the hardships of travel,

and bearing its difficulties and fatigues.

He left no center of knowledge with scholars of Hadith without journeying to it.

staying in their lands, taking Hadith from the mouths of men,

gathering it before death approached. He might visit a single city many times,

leaving it and then returning to it again

when he felt he had not taken all they had, may Allah ﷻ have mercy on him.

Among the Islamic centers from which he drew knowledge and took from their sheikhs, other than Makkah and Madinah,

Makkah and Madinah were the Qiblah of seekers of knowledge, just as they are the Qiblah of prayer, because

because Makkah and Madinah had major scholars,

so seekers of knowledge sought them out from far and wide to learn from them.

But Al-Bukhari (RH) was not satisfied

with what he acquired in Makkah, Madinah, and the Hijaz; instead,

he traveled to Baghdad, Wasit, Basra, Kufa, Damascus, Caesarea, and Ashkelon,

as well as Khorasan, Balkh, Nishapur, Merv, Herat, Egypt, and elsewhere.

You can imagine these countries in all their vastness—one located in the west and one in the east,

and another in the east, and so on.

And they did not have these means: planes, cars, trains, or any of that, or ships, for example.

If they could not find mounts, like camels or horses, they walked on foot,

just as Imam Ahmad (RH) and others walked in pursuit of knowledge.

Imam al-Bukhari (RH) said about himself:

"I entered Ash-Sham, Egypt, and Al-Jazira twice,

and Basra four times, and I stayed in Hijaz for six years,

and I cannot count how many times I entered Kufa and Baghdad."

Meaning, he took knowledge from the people of Kufa and Baghdad.

Al-Bukhari, as I mentioned,

was an exceptional case in terms of intelligence.

Among the wonders of his memorization and keen intelligence

is what Muhammad ibn Abi Hatim al-Warraq mentioned, saying:

"I heard Hashid ibn Isma'il and another saying:

Abu 'Abdullah al-Bukhari used to attend with us the scholars of Basra

when he was a boy, but he would not write.'

Meaning, he did not write as the other boys and children wrote.

He says: 'Until days passed like this,

and we would say to him: 'You attend with us but do not write, so what are you doing?'

So he said to us one day, after sixteen days, he said to us:

"You have both badgered me and persisted, so show me what you have written."

He said, "So we brought out to him what we had,

and it exceeded fifteen thousand Hadiths.

He recited them all from memory, until we began

correcting our books from his memory."

Meaning, we corrected the mistakes in what we wrote from the memory of this man, from the memory of this Imam.

Then he said, "Do you think that I attend in vain and waste my days?"

So we knew that no one could surpass him," may Allah Almighty have mercy on him and forgive him.

The teachers of Imam al-Bukhari are too numerous to count,

and this is natural with these journeys accompanied by this love for knowledge and passion for acquiring it.

Al-Bukhari said, "I wrote from more than a thousand teachers,

"I do not have a single Hadith except that I remember its chain of narration."

And among what is narrated from him is that he said: "I wrote from one thousand and eighty souls,

none of them except a person of Hadith."

They used to say: "Faith is speech and action; it increases and decreases."

Of course, among the well-known teachers of Imam Al-Bukhari (RH) from whom he narrated was the Imam,

the Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

And Al-Bukhari always mentions him gratefully, saying: "He said to me

at the last time I bid him farewell: 'O Abu Abdullah,

will you leave knowledge and the people and go to Khorasan?'"

He said: "So I now remember his words."

And among his teachers was also Yahya ibn Ma'in,

and Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Rahwayh al-Hanzali,

and Ali ibn al-Madini, Qutaybah ibn Sa'id, and Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah,

and Abu Hatim al-Razi.

These are giants, of course; students of knowledge know who they are, and there are many others.

As for his students, I believe it is also difficult to enumerate the students of Imam al-Bukhari,

and the reason is well-known and obvious: this widespread reach, these journeys, and this knowledge

which he offered to the people.

It is absolutely certain that the benefit from him was not limited to ten

or twenty, a hundred, two hundred, a thousand, or two thousand.

Rather, his students are too numerous to be counted.

But who is the most important and prominent student of Imam al-Bukhari?

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi, the author of the Sahih,

Sahih Muslim; he was one of the students of Imam al-Bukhari.

Al-Daraqutni said, explaining al-Bukhari's virtue over Muslim:

"Were it not for al-Bukhari, Muslim would not have gone or come."

This shows the status and rank of al-Bukhari, and that no one could come close to him

among his students and disciples, as is the case with Muslim (RH).

Of course, among those who learned from al-Bukhari is Salih bin Muhammad, nicknamed Jazarah,

Salih Jazarah, who is also a famous scholar.

Also Abu Bakr Ishaq bin Khuzaymah, the author of the Sahih,

and the author of Kitab al-Tawhid.

Likewise, Muhammad bin Nasr al-Marwazi, and al-Nasa'i, the author of the Sunan,

and al-Tirmidhi, the author of the Jami', and Abu Bakr ibn al-Dunya,

who wrote in every field of knowledge.

And also Abu Bakr al-Bazzar, Abu Bakr bin Abi Dawud, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, and many others.

But I only mentioned those who...

...who had an impact on this Ummah.

I believe that this went beyond students to the teachers of Imam Al-Bukhari and his peers.

So teachers and peers began to narrate from Imam Al-Bukhari.

Among them was Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Musnadi,

a teacher of Al-Bukhari who narrated from him, and Abdullah bin Munir.

Abu Abdullah Al-Farabri says:

He said: "I saw Abdullah bin Munir writing from Al-Bukhari,

and I heard him say: 'I am one of his students.'"

SubhanAllah.

Ibn Hajar (RH) says: "Abdullah bin Munir was one of Al-Bukhari's teachers,

and he narrated from him in Al-Jami' al-Sahih,

and said: 'I have not seen anyone like him.' Yet, he narrated from Imam Al-Bukhari."

What humility is this!

These people, their affairs are with Allah ﷻ, their affairs are with Allah ﷻ.

Among his teachers who narrated from him was Ishaq ibn Ahmad Al-Sarmari,

and Muhammad ibn Khalaf ibn Qutaybah as well.

In fact, a large number of Al-Bukhari's teachers narrated from him.

As for his peers who narrated from him—those of his

age and at the same stage of seeking knowledge—

they are also many, including Abu Zur'ah and Abu Hatim, the two Razis,

as well as Ibrahim Al-Harbi, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Asim, and Musa ibn Harun Al-Hammal,

Muhammad ibn Qutaybah Al-Bukhari, and Abu Bakr Al-A'yan.

All of these narrated from Imam Al-Bukhari.

Of course, Imam Al-Bukhari's methodology in Hadith

was distinguished in many ways from other scholars, including his writing of Hadith.

He said of himself, "My writing of Hadith was not like how they wrote."

Whenever I wrote from a man, I would ask him about his name,

his kunyah, his lineage, and his transmission of Hadith,

if the man was understanding. If he was not, I would ask him to produce his original manuscript and copy.

Look at this precision! Subhan Allah!

To preserve the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ.

Among what is narrated from him: "I did not sit to narrate Hadith until I knew the authentic from the weak,

and until I had examined most of the books of Ra'y,

and until I entered Basra five times or so, and I did not leave any Hadith there,

that was authentic except that I wrote it down, unless it was not apparent to me."

Al-Abbas al-Duri (RH) used to say: "I have not seen anyone who seeks Hadith as well as Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari (RH).

He would not leave a root or a branch except that he uprooted it,"

then he said to us: "Do not leave anything of his words except that you write it down."

And what does this indicate?

It indicates his trustworthiness, that he was a highly trustworthy and precise narrator.

Meaning he crossed the bridge, may Allah ﷻ have mercy on him.

Al-Bukhari (RH), along with his seeking of knowledge, his travels, and his diligence,

was a devout worshipper, ascetic, pure, pious, and cautious.

He was pure of heart and clean in his conduct.

He was deeply devoted, steadfast, and worshipful.

How could he not be, when he compiled the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ and followed his states, actions, and sayings?

Even his book, the Sahih, what did he name it?

You know that nowadays, when people hear 'Sahih al-Bukhari', they only know it as 'Sahih al-Bukhari'.

But what is the original name of the book?

"The Abridged Collection of Authentic Hadiths with Connected Chains regarding the Matters of the Prophet ﷺ,

His Sunnah, and His Days."

This long title is the title of the book Sahih al-Bukhari.

But people shorten it and say 'Sahih al-Imam al-Bukhari',

otherwise, it is: 'The Abridged Authentic Collection with Connected Chains

regarding the Matters of the Prophet ﷺ, His Sunnah, and His Days'.

Of course, Al-Bukhari studied the biography of the Prophet ﷺ

and his guidance in his worship, character, and dealings.

He studied his biography regarding his food, drink, clothing, sleep, and wakefulness,

his recreation, medical treatment, illness, and his dealings with his wives,

companions, enemies, relatives, and strangers.

It was very natural for Al-Bukhari (RH) to be imbued with this fragrant biography,

and for his pure, transparent soul to capture it.

Therefore, they say that when Imam Al-Bukhari entered prayer, he detached from everything else for it.

SubhanAllah.

When he prayed, you would say this is a man

who had no work, no business, no concerns, nor writing, nor authorship.

Bakr ibn Munir says:

"Once, Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari was praying when a hornet stung him."

You know what a hornet is.

A hornet is larger than a bee and harmful.

The hornet stung him seventeen times.

When he finished his prayer, he said, "Look what it is that harmed me in my prayer."

They looked, and there was the hornet.

It had caused swelling in seventeen places on his body,

yet he did not interrupt his prayer.

Ibn Hajar says:

"We narrated this story...

...from his scribe, who said that they asked al-Bukhari,

'Why did you not interrupt the prayer?'"

He said, "I was reciting a verse and I wanted to complete it." Allahu Akbar.

He says, "I was reciting a verse," meaning contemplating, pondering, reflecting, and comprehending this verse,

as if the sweetness of this verse made him forget the pain...

...the pain of this hornet that harmed him.

Of course, it was reported of him that he used to say, "I have never backbitten anyone since I learned that backbiting is Haram,"

"I have never backbitten anyone since I learned that backbiting is Haram."

Bakr ibn Munir says, "I heard Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari saying,

'I hope to meet Allah ﷻ and not have Him hold me accountable for backbiting anyone.'"

Of course, al-Bukhari (RH) also had a very beautiful taste in poetry,

but in knowledge and exhortation. Al-Hakim recorded some of his poetry in his Tarikh, where he said:

These verses, which we often hear the khateebs on the pulpits

and the preachers and scholars reciting, are by Al-Bukhari, by the way. He says:

“Seize the opportunity of free time for extra bowing,

for perhaps your death will come suddenly.

How many healthy people have you seen, without any illness, whose healthy soul departed suddenly?”

Allah is Greatest.

Al-Bukhari used to greatly venerate the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ.

Of course, a story happened to him... Al-Bukhari's life was full of struggles.

The Emir of Bukhara, named Khalid ibn Ahmad al-Dhuhali,

requested Imam Al-Bukhari

to come to him to read Hadith to him and his children.

Of course, they considered this a great honor, for Al-Bukhari to come to them.

What did Al-Bukhari say to the Emir's messenger?

He said, “Tell him: I do not demean knowledge, nor do I carry it to the doors of rulers.”

"If you have need of anything, then come to me in my mosque or in my house.

And if you do not like this, then you are a ruler,

so ban me from the gathering, that I may have an excuse before Allah

on the Day of Resurrection that I do not conceal knowledge, I do not conceal knowledge."

Of course, this prince harbored some resentment in himself,

and incited some foolish people to speak against Imam al-Bukhari,

stir up the people against him, and cause trouble for him.

We will come to this, Allah willing,

when I mention the trial and tribulation that Imam al-Bukhari was subjected to.

Al-Bukhari (RH),

the scholars unanimously agreed on his virtue,

and on his high status, preeminence, and rank,

for he possesses many virtues and abundant merits.

Al-Bukhari possesses many virtues, abundant merits, and is without equal,

along with a love that souls were imbued with, glory be to Allah,

to the point that one of them said,

"If Muhammad ibn Isma'il were among the Companions (RA), he would have been a sign."

"If Muhammad ibn Isma'il—al-Bukhari—had been among the Companions (RA), he would have been a sign."

"And his knowledge was not of one field, but diverse; and his virtue is only what...

...he issues fatwas on, with manners, 'wherein is no idle talk nor sin.'"

As for Imam Muslim (RH), who was a student of Imam al-Bukhari,

he made a strange request of al-Bukhari.

Of course, he kissed him between his eyes—he kissed al-Bukhari between his eyes—and then said to him,

"Let me kiss your feet, O teacher of teachers, master of Hadith scholars, and physician of Hadith in its defects."

Of course, Imam al-Bukhari refused this.

Qutaybah ibn Sa'id said, "I sat with the jurists, the ascetics, and the worshippers,

but since I came of age, I have never seen anyone like Muhammad ibn Isma'il.

And in his time, he was like Umar (RA) among the Companions (RA).

Nu'aym ibn Hammad says: "Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari is the faqih of this Ummah."

Imam Muslim says: "I bear witness that there is no one like you in the world."

Bundar, Muhammad ibn Bashar, the well-known teacher of al-Bukhari,

says: "He is the most trustworthy of Allah's ﷻ creation in his time."

He also said: 'I have been proud of him for years.'

As for Hashid ibn Isma'il, he says: 'I saw Ishaq ibn Rahawayh al-Hanzali —'

— well known — 'I saw Ishaq ibn Rahawayh sitting on the pulpit, with al-Bukhari sitting beside him,'

and Ishaq was narrating hadith, when Muhammad rejected one.

Muhammad — who? Al-Bukhari — Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari.

He rejected it, and Ishaq deferred to his view.

And he said: 'O people of hadith, look at this young man and write from him,'

'for had he lived in al-Hasan al-Basri's time, people would have needed him for his knowledge of hadith and fiqh.'

Al-Bukhari said, "Ishaq ibn Rahwayh took the book of history that I compiled."

Of course, Al-Bukhari has a collection of books, including Al-Tarikh al-Kabir, Al-Tarikh al-Saghir, and Al-Tarikh al-Awsat.

He said, "Ishaq ibn Rahwayh took the book of history that I compiled,"

and presented it to the Emir, Abdullah ibn Tahir,

and said, "O Emir, shall I show you magic?"

meaning, due to their amazement at this book.

Al-Bukhari said, "I never felt small in front of anyone except Ali ibn al-Madini"—this was his teacher.

He said, "And sometimes I would bring him narrations he did not know," meaning in Hadiths and chains of transmission.

Hamid ibn Ahmad said: This statement was mentioned to Ali ibn al-Madini, and he said to me,

"Ignore what he said. By Allah, he has never seen anyone like himself."

Look, Subhan Allah, at the humility of Al-Bukhari and also the humility of Ali ibn al-Madini (RH).

Al-Bukhari says: The companions of 'Amr ibn 'Ali al-Fallas mentioned a hadith to me, and I said: I do not know it.

They were pleased by that and went to 'Amr — meaning, as one would say colloquially,

they were delighted — as if they had found a mistake on Imam al-Bukhari.

When they mentioned it to him, he said he did not know it — for it was well known that there was no hadith al-Bukhari did not know.

So when he said he did not know it, they were pleased and went to 'Amr and said to him:

We mentioned a hadith to Muhammad ibn Isma'il and he did not know it.

'Amr said: A hadith that Muhammad ibn Isma'il does not know is not a hadith!

Allahu Akbar! Look — SubhanAllah — the trust that the scholars had in this giant among the giants of knowledge.

Yahya ibn Ja'far al-Baykandi says:

If I could add from my own lifespan to the life of Muhammad ibn Isma'il, I would have done so.

Allah is the greatest! He says, "If I could add to the life of Muhammad ibn Isma'il from my own, I would have done so,

for my death is the death of one man, but the death of Muhammad ibn Isma'il would mean the loss of knowledge itself.

Abu Sahl said, "I heard more than thirty scholars of Egypt say:

Our only wish in this world is to look at Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari."

As for the Imam of Imams, Abu Bakr ibn Khuzaymah (RH):

"There is no one under the canopy of heaven who knows Hadith better than Muhammad ibn Isma'il."

Al-Tirmidhi, author of al-Jami', Abu 'Isa (RH), says, "I have not seen anyone more knowledgeable about defects and chains of transmission than Muhammad ibn Isma'il."

This is why al-Tirmidhi would frequently ask al-Bukhari.

And whenever you come across a statement in Jami' al-Tirmidhi...

...where he says, "I asked Muhammad," he means Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari.

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RH), the author of Fath al-Bari, says:

"Were I to open the door of the Imams' praise for him

among those who came after his era, the paper would be exhausted,

and breaths would run out, for that is an ocean with no shore.”

My brothers and sisters, I think time has caught up with us, and perhaps I will stop here,

And in the next session, I will point to the other side,

especially the trials that Imam Al-Bukhari was exposed to,

to join this unique necklace of prophets, scholars, and righteous ones whom Allah ﷻ tested in this world.

Wait for me, so you may learn about some of the momentous events that may be hidden from all of us.

We only know Al-Bukhari and Sahih Al-Bukhari,

but the life of Al-Bukhari was not paved with roses, nor was it a life of luxury.

Rather, it was a life filled with struggle, hardship, and toil.

Until that meeting, I entrust you to Allah ﷻ.

May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.