Imam al-Bukhari

Imam al-Bukhari: One of the most influential figures of Islamic civilization

Bukhara is a city in Turkestan on the lower course of the Zarafshan river. The first Muslim armies who appeared before Bukhara in 674 CE, were led by Ubaid bin Ziyad. It was, however, Kutaiba bin Muslim, who in 710 CE put the Muslim presence there on a strong footing. Due to its geographical position, Bukhara was much more closely linked to that other great city of Islam, Merv. It seems that the city experienced a period of splendour in the tenth century. The Great Mosque was near the fortress, and there were numerous smaller mosques, with markets, baths and open squares beyond count, and at the close of the 10th century the Government House stood immediately outside the fortress in the great square called the Rigistan.[1]

Ibn Hawqal gives a detailed account of the chief canals which, starting from the left bank of the Sughd river, watered Bukhara and the gardens in the plain around the city.[2] The city experienced great economic prosperity, and also a great scholarly activity, as will be explored further on. That lasted until the great catastrophe of the Mongol invasion of 1220.

In 1219 onwards, all eastern parts of Ferghana, Khwarizm, Herrat, and other parts were devastated by the Mongols led by Genghis (Ghensi) Khan, every single piece of infrastructure was wiped out, and hundreds of thousands of people (millions altogether) were slaughtered.[3] Marshman says: "From the Caspian to the Indus, more than 1000 miles in extent, the whole country was laid waste with fire and sword by the ruthless barbarians who followed Ghensis Khan. It was the greatest calamity which had befallen the human race since the Deluge, and five centuries have been barely sufficient to repair the desolation."[4] An army under Jenghiz's son Jagtai, captured and sacked Otrar, whilst another under Jenghiz himself, burned Bukhara to the ground, raped thousands of women, and massacred 30,000 men.[5]

Then, fifty years later, just as the city began to regain some semblance of normality, the Mongols struck again. This time, they were the Mongols based in Iran led by Abaka (he had succeeded Hulagu when he died in 1265 [6] and had converted to Christianity or promised to convert to that faith). In May 1267 the Patriarch of Jerusalem wrote again to describe the desolation wrought by sultan Baibars on the crusaders in the plain of Acre, the death of John of Brienne, and the attack on the crusade castle of Safed, asking help from where he could.[7] In August Pope Clement IV wrote to Abaka - the Tartar prince to praise him for a supposed conversion to Christianity,[8] and for assistance against the Mamluks. Abaka, thus, made common cause with the crusaders. Amongst Abaka's targets was Bukhara, which was to suffer immensely on the hands of his general, Nikpai Bahadur, who on 28 January 1273, took the city.[9] For seven days they plundered the city, destroying the whole city by fire and sword, and nearly exterminating the population.[10] From this devastation Bukhara was never to recover again.

Before the Mongol onslaught, Bukhara produced some great minds, the greatest figure from Bukhara, and possibly one of the most influential figures of Islamic civilisation is Imam Al-Bukhari born on 21 July 810 CE at Bukhara. He began at the age of ten to learn by heart the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and he seems to have been a precocious boy, for he is credited to have been able at an early age to correct his teachers.[11] He had a remarkable memory and his companions are said to have corrected hadith following what he recited by heart. At the age of sixteen he made his pilgrimage to Makkah. [12] He attended classes with the most famous teachers of hadith tradition at Makkah and Madinah. Then he travelled to Egypt as a student of knowledge (talib al-ilm) and spent the next sixteen years, five of which at Basra, wandering through all Asia, claiming to have heard tradition from over 1000 shaykhs.[13] He then returned to Bukhara where he died on 31 August 870 CE.

His collection of tradition al-Jami al-Sahih is a work which took him sixteen years to complete.[14] It is said that he selected his tradition from a mass of 600,000 and that he did not insert one tradition in the book without first washing and praying two raka'ahs.[15] To determine the reliability of a given tradition (hadith), the chain of transmission and the text were examined separately, although more attention was given to the individual transmitters and a seemingly reliable text was rejected because of a faulty chain of transmitters.[16] A perfect chain of transmission went back in uninterrupted succession to the Prophet (peace be upon him), each person, or link, in the chain actually heard the text from the person before him. [17] Multiple transmitters in each generation were desirable. Great focus was also placed on the personality of a particular transmitter, his reputation for integrity and piety and his capacity for transmitting accurately.[18] Sahih al-Bukhari is divided into 97 books with 3450 sections, including a total of 2760 hadiths, and contains only hadiths of the highest authenticity.[19]

The greatest contribution of al-Bukhari other than his collection of the Hadith, is that he initiated a tradition, which was to mark Muslim civilisation, and to affect the whole of civilisation and modern science. This was his insistence on the need for rigour. Under Al-Bukhari's influence, Spectorsky insists, strict rules were developed for accurate copying of manuscripts of tradition collections.[20] He insisted that that all texts be reproduced exactly as heard and that doubts about accuracy, textual criticism, and particularly critical comments on content be relegated to glosses and ascribed to the individual collector.[21]

Indeed, referencing today is the proof of accuracy and fidelity to the source, of trust and of advanced scholarship. Before Islam this had never existed in the history of humanity. It is al-Bukhari who set a precedent, and then, his scrupulous manner was followed by every scholar of Islam, often with the referencing being longer than the relevant fact or quotation. The scholars of Islam, followed the tradition, and whether it was Yaqut al-Hamawi, or Ibn Khaldun, or one of the many scientists, none would tolerate anything to enter in their work unless it was fully referenced and proved. Anything they were unsure of, they always rejected, anything not confirmed by reliable sources, they rejected. This is how modern scholarship built possibly the best method for scientific advance, and al-Bukhari's work is a symbol of this approach. His rigour flowed from his deep religious conviction and the dedication to seeking truth above all else which it inspires. This is another good example of how the faith of Islam, directly impacted on the rise of modern science and the scientific method.



End notes

[1] G. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate; Cambridge University Press; 1930; pp. 461-2.
[2] G. Le Strange: The Lands; pp. 461-2.
[3] For the best historical accounts of the Mongol invasions, and their destruction of the Muslim realm, there is nothing better than the following two works:
-Ibn al-Athir:Kitab al-kamil fi'l tarikh (the perfect in history).Edit , J. Tornberg, Leiden, 1851-1876.
- Baron G. D'Ohsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834.
[4] Marshman: History of India; vol I. P. 49. in R. B. Smith: Mohammed and
Mohammedanism; Smith Elder; London; 1875; Note 1; p. 307
[5] W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p.339.
[6] G. D'Ohson: Histoire; op cit; p. 415.
[7] C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund; London; 1897. p.389
[8] C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; p.389
[9] C. Brockelmann: Bukhara; Encyclopaedia of Islam; 1st series; Vol 1; pp. 776-83
[10] C. Brockelmann: Bukhara; pp. 776-83
[11] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: Encyclopaedia of Islam; New Series; Vol 1; pp. 1296-7.p. 1296:
[12] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: p. 1296:
[13] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: 1296:
[14] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: p. 1296:
[15] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: p. 1296:
[16] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; vol 2; pp. 397-9; at p. 398.
[17] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; p. 398.
[18] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; p. 398.
[19] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: Op cit; p. 1296:
[20] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; op cit; p. 398.
[21] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; p. 398.

Source: english.islammessage.com