5 lessons from the life of Imam Bukhari
Behind many great men is a great woman
Mausoleum of Imam Bukhari
Absolute statements like “behind every successful man is a great woman” are hard to verify unless you claim a comprehensive list of all the great men who walked this earth. The modified version you see above in the heading is closer to the truth. If you scratch the surface, you will indeed find a woman behind many a great man. Generally, these gems of women remain hidden, veiled by the towering statures of the very men they brought into the spotlight.
One such example is the mother of Imam Bukhari. His father passed away when he was a child leaving a young mother alone to raise their two sons. To add to her woes, her youngest son, Muhammad, had gone blind. She took him to the most eminent physicians of the time but to no avail. After exhausting all available treatments, they gave up and said that nothing could be done for him.
But she refused to give up. She turned to Allah until du‘a’s for her son were on her tongue night and day. After crying her heart out to Allah one night, she fell asleep and saw the partriarch Prophet, Ibrahim (peace be upon him), in her dream who said to her, “Allah has returned your son’s sight by your fervent duas.”
Everyone knows Imam Bukhari but who ever heard of the mother whose duas helped return his sight.
Lesson: the number of righteous scholars has waned in the last century.
But why?
At one time, motherhood was a privileged status and a civic duty. Mothers raised their children with an idea to imbue good qualities and shape them into hardworking and righteous individuals who lived to serve others. Armed with a healthy upbringing, these children blossomed into great and illustrious workers of the deen.
Arches of ancient city of Bukhara
Then a time came not so long ago when motherhood became a burden and the responsibility placed by Allah on the mother’s shoulders was passed on to certified strangers (i.e., school teachers). Motherhood became stigmatized and womenfolk were repurposed into cash cows for a capitalist system whose main motive was and is only profit.
On one side is the mother of Imam Bukhari who dedicated her life to raising her son—an investment that paid off years later. Now she reaps the eternal rewards for the huge, everlasting contribution of her illustrious son to this deen.
On the other is a career-driven mother whose son is raised primarily by the public school system. She reaps little benefit from a child who grows up being prepped to join the rat race of this dunya.
At first, he is nursed by the toys of fun and entertainment until he develops a taste for the bling of this world, which provides the impetus to strive for a successful career so he can attain more bling.
Since motherhood lacks any value or status in a capitalist society, a mother is a liability who can conveniently be deposited in communal institutions such as a nursing home when she is no longer ‘profitable’ to herself or anyone else.
Just as she submitted her child to a set of certified strangers, she too will be handed to a team of certified strangers.
Despite zero earnings and a lofty objective, Imam Bukhari kept his mother with him on his long and arduous journeys across the Muslim world and served her until she died even while he collected hadith and wrote his Sahih.
A budding author in Madina Munawwara
Imam Bukhari authored his first book at the age of eighteen. But he didn’t start writing al-Tareekh al-Kabeer until he was in Madina Munawwara hoping to increase the chances of his book being accepted by Allah. According to Mulla Ali Qari, “He wrote his al-Tareekh al-Kabeer on the Pure Soil in the moonlit nights.”
He also wrote the hadith for his Sahih al-Bukhari sitting in Masjid Haram. He says, “And I did not incorporate but authentic hadith though the number I excluded is larger; this was to avoid the book being too lengthy; and I wrote it in al-Masjid al-Haram.”
Just to be clear, he only inaugurated his books in the holy cities but did not complete them there. His work on Sahih Bukhari spanned a period of 16 years most of which was written in different places at different times.
Lesson: There is no authentic hadith to prove that one should travel or prolong one’s stay in Makka or Madina Munawwara just to start up a good deed in the two holy cities.
But Imam Bukhari still did.
The idea that we need authentic hadith to support every good deed that is borne out of reverence for Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) is an innovation.
Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would touch the place where the Prophet (peace be upon him) sat on the minbar and rub it over his face. Imam Malik never rode any mount in the blessed city his entire life (al-Shifa; 2/57). The examples of love and reverence for Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) among the predecessors are endless.
These are manifestations of love for Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him), which are only encouraged by the deen. The objection of bid’a is valid only when such acts of love are intended as injunctions of deen.
If they are not, they can be used as means of getting closer to Allah.
A Sunna tradition before accepting hadith
Imam Buhkari created a two-step process for accepting hadith into his Sahih: first he bathed and then he performed two rak‘a of salat.
Lesson: The Prophet (peace be upon him) turned to Allah and sought His help and acceptance in all matters, and advised his umma to do the same even for something as small as breaking a shoelace (Tirmidhi). His du‘a for every occasion and turn of life indicate his perpetual consiousness of Allah throughout the night and day.
The habit of turning to Allah in all our affairs, major and minor, worldly or religious was a hallmark of our predecessors. We often ignore how effective this turning to Allah with a short du‘a/two rak‘a of salat can warm our frigid relationship with Allah in a way that is beyond the scope of words or even meaning to understand.
It must be experienced.
The term for turning to Allah is known as inabah. You probably know someone by the name Muneeb (a). Same root word. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was praised for this quality in the Quran. Allah says, “Indeed, Ibrahim was forbearing, grieving, and ever-turning to Allah” (11:75).
Next time you plan for umra, pray two rak‘a and ask Allah to accept your trip and make it a means of gaining closeness to Him.
You are on the fence about a job offer. You turn to Allah, make du‘a and seek guidance in the matter.
You are about to leave the house. You ask Allah to protect you against all forms of harm until you return home. You can repeat this process in everything.
Imam Bukhari did much the same praying two rak‘a before he included any hadith in his Book, which contains about 2600 non-repetitive hadith.
Imagine the number of times he turned to Allah. Now we know why his Book gained such widespread acceptance throughout the ages.
Knowledge is for those who seek it
Imam Bukhari was open to teaching hadith to any seeker. They could come at any time of the day or night to the masjid, or even his house, and he would sit them down and narrate hadith to them.
He had only one condition: they had to prove they were seekers. They must come to him and not expect him to come to them.
Once, the governor of the city, Khalid bin Muhammad al-Huzali, who was gracious toward Imam Bukhari, requested he visit the government palace and teach him a few authentic hadith.
Imam Bukhari refused and said to the messenger, “Say to him, ‘I do not cheapen the knowledge, nor do I take it to the doors of the sultans. Whoever needs to learn should come to my masjid or my home; and if you do not like this, then you are the governor, prohibit me from holding the gatherings of knowledge so I have good reason before Allah on the Day of Judgment [i.e., I was prohibited from spreading the sacred knowledge. But I will never degrade it by taking it to anyone]. For I cannot and will not conceal the hadith from anyone who seeks it.’”
In another narration, he said, “The sacred knowledge is for one who comes to it and not for the one who desires that it come to him.”
Lesson: a thirsty person goes to the well; the well does not come to the thirsty person.
Imam Bukhari taught through example that the same rule applies to the sacred knowledge. Those who use their knowledge to seek status and wealth are degrading the knowledge of deen. Those who sacrifice for the knowledge by seeking it wherever it is to be found truly acquire the knowledge of the deen. Those who want it easy without effort by watching it on YouTube may gain information about the deen, but will be deprived of the true knowledge.
The difference between raw information and true knowledge is that information does not foster any positive change in thought or practice that brings one closer to Allah while true knowledge revives the Sunna and strengthens our connection with Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Don’t degrade the pious
The said governor expected Imam Bukhari to pay him a visit at the palace, but Imam Bukhari saw it as a crumby exchange of his Akhira for the base dunya and an abasement of the sacred knowledge. The governor was enraged that Imam Bukhari dared stand against him, and he began inciting the scholars of Bukhara against him. These sold-out scholars schemed and signed a collective fatwa against him, which the governor used as a pretext to demand Imam Bukhari leave the city, or otherwise face the consequences.
When the order was served, Imam Bukhari raised his hands and made du‘a, “O Allah, show them the outcome of their evil intentions against me to them, their offspring, and their families.”
Before a month had passed, the khalifa issued a proclamation for the governor to be defaced, placed on a donkey and paraded around the city in disgrace. Thereafter, he was arrested and sent to prison where he remained until his death. According to the narration, “Every single person who sided with the governor against Imam Bukhari was struck with severe tribulation.”
Lesson: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said in a hadith of Bukhari, “Whoever declares war against My wali (friend), I declare war on him.”
Because we live in an egocentric world, the social hierarchy established on the basis of taqwa, knowledge, and sacrifice in Islam has collapsed on its foundation. There is respect today, but it is reciprocal and insincere.
Respect for elders, parents, and honoring the people of knowledge and taqwa is all gone with the wind. What is holding modern society up now is the basest form of respect that is reciprocated for ulterior reasons like the excellent customer service you receive for being a customer at a store.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) prophesized the collapse of this social hierarchy in which none will recognize the rights or status of anyone else. He said, “A time will come when the last of this umma will degrade its first” (Ibn Maja; man su’ila ‘an ‘ilmin).
And yet, the pious ones hide in our midst. They are the sadiqeen whom Allah refers to in the ayah, “O you who believe, fear Allah, and be in the company of the truthful” (9:119), who will live in every era and time.
They will hail from different backgrounds and walks of life. There is no way of determining who is and who isn’t among the sadiqeen, which is why it is better to keep our tongues tied about every believer. We don’t know who we may slight among the auliya of Allah and cause problems for ourselves with Allah without even realizing it.
Maybe we already are.
May Allah protect us all.
*All quotes in this article are taken from the introduction of Mirqat al-Mafatih
