IMAM-I BUHARI              

 

       The real name of Imam-ı Buhari, who was born in Buhara in 810, is Muhammad bin Ismail, birth name being Ebu Abdullah. Buhari, who lost his father in his little ages, had his primary education in Buhara. He started to take lessons from hadith scholars when he was 10. He memorized seventy thousand hadiths when he was 15. He went to perform his pilgrimage with his mother and brother when he was 16. His family turned back to Buhara after Pilgrimage but he stayed in Mecca and carried on hadith-collection work.

 

       He gathered the fetwas of disciples of Muhammad and their successors until he was 18. He wrote his book named Tarîhü'l-Kebîr by the tomb of our Prophet. He strolled the scientific centers of his times apart from Mecca and Medina like Baghdad, Basra, Kûfe, Cairo, Nişabur, Belh, Merv, Askalan, Dımeşk, Hums and Rey and learned hadith and other religious knowledge from more than one thousand hadith scholars.

 

       Imam Buhari, who had a very good memory, turned back to Buhara and began teaching after his education. It is reported that he educated more than 70 thousand students. Among his students are Tirmizi, Nesei, Ebu Zur, who became well-known in Islam world afterwards.

 

       It is said that the term governor of Buhara wanted Imam Buhari to give private hadith lessons to his children. The governor and Buhari were on strained terms because he rejected this will. Samarkand people, hearing this event, called him and wanted him to give his lessons in their city.

 

       Imam Buhari found out that some of Samarkand people did not want him after he departed. He turned back to Harkent village without going to Samarkand. This event which took place in Ramadan hurt Buhari. After his night prayer, he prayed "My Lord, this world got narrow with all of its wideness. Take me!"

 

       Buhari, staying in Harkent for about one month, passed away at night of the Ramadan Festival in 870. Imam Buhari describes his famous book named Sahîh-i Buhârî, which he wrote at Kaba as follows: I selected the book Câmiu's-Sahîh (Sahîh-i Buhârî) among 600 thousand hadiths. I performed ablution of whole body and performed two rek'ahs of prayer and slept for dream. I placed a hadith it into the book only after that. I did not place any hadiths within this book without doing these. I completed this book containing 7252 hadiths in 16 years. Imam-ı Buhari has 16 more books regarding science of canon jurisprudence of Islam and life of the disciples as well as reporters of the hadiths and their lives.