194 - 256 AH

A portrait of the imam

Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl was born on the 13^th of Shawwāl 194 AH/810 CE in Bukhara to a scholarly and upper middle-class family. His ancestor Bardizbah (lit. farmer) was a Persian Zoroastrian whose son al-Mughīra accepted Islam at the hands of the governor of Bukhara al-Yamān al-Juʿfī; thus, through conversion-based clientage (walāʾ al-Islām), al-Mughīra’s family took on the Arab affiliation al-Juʿfī. The family spoke Sogdian, an iteration of Persian.

Al-Bukhārī’s father Ismāʿīl was a scholar in his right who met Imām Mālik and Ibn al-Mubārak. Ismāʿīl died when al-Bukhārī was still a child, and bequeathed land and large sums of wealth that helped sustain his family.2 His mother raised him and his older brother Aḥmad.3 As a child, al-Bukhārī lost his sight but through the miraculous supplication of his mother, his sight was restored.

As an adult, he was lean, average height with a beard,4 and wore a turban.5 He was physically fit, an expert archer and participated in defending the frontiers (ribāṭ) of Transoxiana. He was married but left behind no male progeny. After travelling to the major centers of Islamic learning,6 he returned to Transoxiana and passed away in 256 AH/870 CE in Khartenk, outside of Samarqand.
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Part I: Childhood

~ 200 Ah (6)

preparatory school

After his father's passing, al-Bukhārī went to a tutor and preparatory school (kuttāb). 

204 AH (10)

memorizing hadith

Around ten, while he was still in preparatory school, he is inspired to memorize hadith, and completed his preparatory education.

205 AH (11)

first audition

His first audition of hadith begins as he joins the study circles of local scholars like the Ḥanafī Abū Hafs al-Kabīr (d. 217 AH), al-Bīkandī (d. 225 AH), and al-Musnadī (d. 229 AH).

He is familiarized with the local Raʿy tradition of the Ḥanafīs and memorizes the works of Ibn al-Mubārak and Wakīʿ.7 He studies the Jāmiʿ of Sufyān al-Thawrī under Abū Ḥafṣ al-Kabīr (also known as al-Dākhilī).8

He was using his father’s personal copy of the work, and on one occasion, he corrects Abū Ḥafṣ, who praises him for the correction.9

205 AH (11)

Merv

He steps outside the borders of Transoxiana. He travels to Merv to study Islamic law.10

205 - 209 AH (11-15)

Balkh

One of his notable teachers in Balkh was Makkī b. Ibrāhim (d. 215 AH), from whom he relates the largest number of three-link hadith (thulāthiyyāt) in his Ṣaḥīḥ.

209 AH (15)

nishapur

By 209 AH, he arrives in Nishapur for the first time,11 after studying in the nearby regions of Balkh, Herat, Jibāl,12 and the like.13

Part II: Journey to the heartlands

210 AH (16)

departure

Accompanied by his mother and brother, he leaves Bukhara and sets out to perform hajj.

210 AH (16)

Baghdad

He is recorded to have visited the Abbasid capital of Baghdad in this year,14 likely en route to Mecca, where he studied with Muʿallā b. Manṣūr (d. 211 AH).15

Throughout his life, al-Bukhārī visited Baghdad at least eight times. During one of his visits to Baghdad, al-Bukhārī wastested by the local scholars and responded impeccably. His most notable teacher in Baghdad was Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal (d. 241 AH), with whom he developed a close relationship and frequented until his passing.16

In Baghdad, he also met Yaḥyā b. Maʿīn (d. 233 AH), an authority in narrator criticism. He also studies with the renowned philologist Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim b. Sallām (d. 224 AH), whose exegetical and linguistic views are frequently cited in the Ṣaḥīḥ.17

210 AH (16)

basra

He intends to travel south to Yemen to hear hadith from ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Ṣanʿānī (d. 211 AH) but is deterred when he is falsely informed that al-Ṣanʿānī passed away. 

210 AH (16)

mecca

He arrives in Mecca for ḥajj. He then remains in the city to study while his family returns to Bukhara.18

At first, al-Bukhārī was not connected to the hadith networks of Mecca, but through help of the Kufan Shamkhaḍa, he is introduced to the local hadith scholars.19

211 AH (17)

palestine

He visits Muḥammad al-Faryābī (d. 211 AH) in Qaysariyya.20

His study ethic was remarkable and drew the attention of his peers.21

211 AH (17)

kufa

He studies in Kūfa with the likes of Ṭalq b. Ghannām.22

He also studies with the great hadith scholar Abū Bakr Ibn Abī Shayba (d. 235 AH) and Abū Nuʿāym al-Faḍl b. Dukayn (d. 219 AH).

211 AH (17)

wasit

He visits Wāsiṭ where he studies with ʿAmr b. ʿAwn (d. 215 AH).

211 AH (17)

basra

He visits Basra.23 It was in Basra that al-Bukhārī met one of his most impactful teachers ʿAlī b. al-Madīnī (d. 234), the hadith expert known for his knowledge of subtle defects (ʿilal).24

Another important Basran teacher of al-Bukhārī is ʿAmr b. al-Fallās (d. 249 AH) who lauded al-Bukhārī for his scholarship.25

Given the active hadith scene in Basra, it is understandable that it was al-Bukhārī’s most frequented destination after Baghdad and Kufa.26

212 AH (18)

medina

He stays in Medina where he begins compiling the legal verdicts of the Companions and Successors and compiles one of his most notable works, the Tārīkh “ during the moonlit nights by the Prophet's grave (peace be upon him)."

212 AH (18)

mecca

In Mecca, he joins the lectures of al-Ḥumaydī, from whom he later transmits the famous hadith on intention (innamā al-aʿmāl bi-l-niyyāt), the first hadith in his Ṣāḥīḥ.

212 AH (18)

Homs

He goes to the city of Homs in the Levant.

217 AH (23)

askalan

He travels to Askalan, Palestine, and studies with ʿAlī b. Ḥafṣ, a student of Ibn al-Mubārak.27

217 AH (23)

egypt

He visits Egypt where he studies with Aḥmad b. Ishkāb, from whom he transmits the final hadith in his Ṣaḥīḥ (i.e., kalimatān ḥabībatān).  In Egypt, he meets Nuʿaym b. Ḥammād (d. 228AH), who influences his perception of the Ahl al-Raʾy (read: Ḥanafīs).  The scholars of Egypt are highly impressed by his knowledge and feel his absence when he leaves.

~218 - 220 AH (24-27)

damascus

He reportedly travelled to Damascus. 28

~218 - 220 AH (24-27)

upper mesopotamia

He reportedly travelled to upper Mesopotamia.29

220-222 AH (27-29)

basra

In 220 AH, he is in Basra where he witnesses the cruel flogging of Imam Aḥmad due to the Quranic inquisition.30

In 222 AH, he relates a comment from Bishr b. Marḥūm in Basra.

222-225 AH (29-32)

nishapur

He travels eastward to Nishapur. He meets Isḥāq b. Rahawayh, who is impressed with al-Tārīkh al-kabīr and shows it to the Tahirid emir ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir (r. 215–230 AH).

234 - 240 AH (41-47)

nishapur

In 234 AH, he attends the funeral of Aḥmad b. Ḥarbin Nishapur.33

In 237 AH, while in the gathering of Isḥāq b. Rahawayh, the idea of compiling the Ṣaḥīḥ is planted in his heart.34

234 - 240 AH (41-47)

baghlan

In Baghlān,35 Qutayba b. Saʿīd (d. 240 AH) is asked a legal question but gestured to al-Bukhārī to answer and says that al-Bukhārī is an amalgam of “Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, Isḥāq b. Rāhawayh, and ʿAlī b. al-Madīnī.”36

Around 240 AH, he is joined by Abū Jaʿfar al-Warrāq as a scribe and aid.37 It was around this time that Abū ʿĪsā al-Tirmidhī studied with al-Bukhārī, and relayed valuable hadith related information from him.38

244–248 AH (51–55)

basra

After his eastern sojourn, he returns to the heartlands of the Muslim world. He spends five years in Basra working on his oeuvre and performs hajj every year.

In 246, he dictates al-Tārīkh al-kabīr in Basra.39

248 AH (55)

baghdad

He makes his final visit to Baghdad where a large group of students transcribe hadith from him, among whom was the Judge Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Maḥāmilī.40 His lectures in Baghdad attract thousands of students and require multiple “repeaters” mustamlīn due to the large size.

~ 249 AH (56)

rayy

On his way back to the East, he makes a stop in Rayy.41 He is welcomed by the renowned Rāzī family, Abū Ḥātim and Abū Zurʿa, who benefit from al-Bukhārī knowledge of narrator criticism.

Part III: The Final Homecoming

250–253 AH (56–59)

nishapur

In 250 AH, he arrives in Nishapur.42

He is welcomed by the local scholars, including the famed hadith expert Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-Dhuhlī. In 252 AH, he attends the funeral of Saʿīd b. Marwān which was led by al-Dhuhlī. This followed by an exchange that resulted in the souring of their relationship. Al-Dhuhlī writes letters about his negative view of al-Bukhārī to other scholars like the Rāzīs, resulting in a shift in scholarly perception of al-Bukhārī. 

Despite the heated atmosphere, Imām Muslim continues to frequent the lectures of al-Bukhārī,43 and ultimately sides with him on the debate.44

253 AH (59)

merv

Coupled with a controversial exchange regarding the createdness of the Quran, al-Bukhārī is forced to leave Nishapur. He passes through Merv where he meets Aḥmad b. Sayyār with whom he discusses the occurrence in Nishapur, but he is unable to stay due to the likelihood public dissent.45

253–255 AH (59–61)

farAbr

By this time, he finishes the compilation of the Ṣaḥīḥ and relocates to the city of Farbr. Here, he is closely accompanied by Muḥammad b. Yūsuf al-Farabrī, who studies the Ṣaḥīḥ with him for three years.46

Farabr was a frontier and entry point for potential invasions, al-Bukhārī was actively engaged in defending the city. He was expanding the section of tafsīr in his Ṣaḥīḥ during this time.

In 255, he receives news of that his teacher, the hadith master of Samarqand, ʿAbd Allāh al-Dārimī passed away.

In a rare occasion, he uttered words of poetry as elegy: “If you survive, you will sufferthe loss of your loved ones; your own death—mark my words—is far worse!”47

256 AH (62)

bukhara

In response to the controversy on the createdness of the Quran, al-Bukhārī pens a theological tract Khalq afʿālal-ʿibād.48
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He returns home to Bukhara, but a misunderstanding with the local Ṭāhirid emir Khālid b. ʿAbd Allāh and a legal disagreement with the local Ḥanafīs force him to leave.49

It is possible that at this stage, he pens his two tracts on raising the hands in prayer and reciting behind the imām.50

256 AH (62)

bikand

He goes to the nearby town Bīkand where he transmits his books.51