Muhammad al-Bukhari facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī |
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| محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري | |
al-Bukhārī's name in Arabic calligraphy.
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| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Personal | |
| Born | 21 July 810 C.E. 13th Shawwal 194 A.H. Bukhara, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Died | 1 September 870 (aged 60) C.E. 1 Shawwal 256 A.H. Khartank, Samarkand, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Resting place | Khartank (Samarkand, Uzbekistan) |
| Senior posting | |
| Title | Imam al-Bukhari Amir al-Mu'minin fi al-Hadith |
| Influenced | Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Ibn Abi Asim |
| Imam al-Bukhārī | |
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Imam al-Bukhārī's mausoleum near Samarkand, Uzbekistan
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| Hadith Traditionalist | |
| Venerated in | Sunni Islam |
| Major shrine | Khartank (Samarkand, Uzbekistan). |
Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (Persian: بخاری, ) (19 July 810 – 1 September 870), commonly referred to as Imam al-Bukhari or Imam Bukhari, was a Persian Islamic scholar who was born in Bukhara (the capital of the Bukhara Region (viloyat) of what is now in Uzbekistan). He compiled the hadith collection known as Sahih al-Bukhari, regarded by Sunni Muslims as the most authentic (sahih) hadith collections. He also wrote other books such as Al-Adab al-Mufrad.
Contents
Biography
Birth
Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil al-Bukhari al-Juʿfi was born after the Jumu'ah prayer on Friday, 21 July 810 (13 Shawwal 194 AH) in the city of Bukhara in Transoxiana (in present-day Uzbekistan).
His father, Ismail ibn Ibrahim, a scholar of hadith, was a student and associate of Malik ibn Anas. Some Iraqi scholars related hadith narrations from him.
Lineage
Imam Bukhari's great-grandfather, al-Mughirah, settled in Bukhara after accepting Islam at the hands of Bukhara's governor, Yaman al-Juʿfi. As was the custom, he became a mawla of Yaman, and his family continued to carry the nisbah of "al-Juʿfi".
Al-Mughirah's father, Bardizbah, is the earliest known ancestor of Bukhari according to most scholars and historians. Bardizbah was a Zoroastrian Magi, and died as such. As-Subki is the only scholar to name Bardizbah's father, who he says was named Bazzabah (Persian: بذذبه). Little is known of either Bardizbah or Bazzabah, except that they were Persian and followed the religion of their people. Historians have also not come across any information on Bukhari's grandfather, Ibrahim ibn al-Mughirah.
Hadith studies and travels
The historian al-Dhahabi described his early academic life:
He began studying hadith in the year 205 (A.H.). He memorized the works of [‘Abdullah] ibn al-Mubaarak while still a child. He was raised by his mother because his father died when he was an infant. He traveled with his mother and brother in the year 210 after having heard the narrations of his region. He began authoring books and narrating hadith while still an adolescent. He said, “When I turned eighteen years old, I began writing about the Companions and the Followers and their statements. This was during the time of ‘Ubaid Allah ibn Musa (one of his teachers). At that time I also authored a book of history at the grave of the Prophet at night during a full moon.
At the age of sixteen, he, together with his brother and widowed mother, made the pilgrimage to Mecca. From there he made a series of travels in order to increase his knowledge of hadith. He went through all the important centres of Islamic learning of his time, talked to scholars and exchanged information on hadith. It is said that he heard from over 1,000 men, and learned over 600,000 traditions.
After sixteen years absence, he returned to Bukhara, and there he drew up his al-Jami' as-Sahih, a collection of 7,275 tested traditions, arranged in chapters so as to afford a basis for a complete system of jurisprudence without the use of speculative law.
His book is highly regarded among Sunni Muslims, and considered the most authentic collection of hadith, even ahead of the Muwatta Imam Malik and Sahih Muslim of Bukhari's student Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. Most Sunni scholars consider it second only to the Quran in terms of authenticity. He also composed other books, including al-Adab al-Mufrad, which is a collection of hadiths on ethics and manners, as well as two books containing biographies of hadith narrators (see isnad).
Last years
In the year 864/250, he settled in Nishapur. It was in Nishapur that he met Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. He would be considered his student, and eventually collector and organiser of hadith collection Sahih Muslim which is considered second only to that of al-Bukhari. Political problems led him to move to Khartank, a village near Samarkand where he died in the year 870/256.
Mausoleum
Today his tomb lies within the Imam al-Bukhari Complex, in Hartang Village, 25 kilometers from Samarkand. It was restored in 1998 after centuries of neglect and dilapidation. The mausoleum complex consists of Imam al-Bukhari's tomb, a mosque, a madrassah, library, and a small collection of Qurans. The modern ground level mausoleum tombstone of Imam Bukhari is only a cenotaph, the actual grave lies within a small burial crypt below the modern structure.
Writings
Below is a summary of the discussion of Bukhari's available works in Fihrist Muṣannafāt al-Bukhāri by Umm 'Abdullāh bint Maḥrūs, Muḥammad ibn Ḥamza and Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad.
Works describing narrators of hadith
Bukhari wrote three works discussing narrators of hadith with respect to their ability in conveying their material: the "brief compendium of hadith narrators," "the medium compendium" and the "large compendium"
- Al-Tarikh al-Kabīr (Eng: The great history) known as al-Tarīkh al-Ṣaghīr, and al-Tarīkh al-Awsaţ). The large compendium is published and well-identified. The medium compendium was thought to be the brief collection and was published as such. The brief compendium has yet to be found. Another work, al-Kunā, is on patronymics: identifying people who are commonly known as "Father of so-and-so". Then there is a brief work on weak narrators: al-Ḍu'afā al-Ṣaghīr.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukharī & extant hadith
Two of Bukhari's works on hadith survive:
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukharī – full title, al-Jāmi’ al-Musnad al-Sahīh al-Mukhtaṣar min umūr Rasûl Allāh wa sunnanihi wa ayyāmihi – "Collection of Selected True Reports of the Prophet, his Practices and Times"); al-Bukharī's famous magnum opus. [Note: these al-Musnad are reports with chains of narration that go back to the Prophet.]
- Al-Adab al-Mufrad; hadith on respect and propriety.
Theological Views
Bukhari was a follower of early Sunni theologian (mutakallim) Ibn Kullab in creed, preaching that one's recitation of the Qur'an is created, whilst the Qur'an itself is uncreated. Reacting to such teaching, the hadith scholars of Baghdad warned the people of Nishapur against him, had him imprisoned and then drove him out of the city. Other followers of Ibn Kullab, such as Harith al-Muhasibi, were also criticised and made to relocate.
Away from discussions relating to God's speech, Bukhari also repudiated rejection of Qadar (the divine decree) in his Sahih by quoting a verse of the Quran implying that God had already determined all human acts with a precise determining. According to Ibn Hajar, Bukhari signified that if someone was to accept autonomy in creating his acts, he would be assumed to be playing God's role and so would subsequently be declared a polytheist. In another chapter, Bukhari refutes the creeds of the Kharijites, and according to al-Ayni, the heading of that chapter was designed not only to refute the Kharijites but also any who held similar beliefs.
See also
In Spanish: Muhammad Ibn Ismail Al-Bujari para niños
