Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī narrated to me; ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Awwal ibn ʿĪsā narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Anṣārī narrated to us; Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Mahdawī narrated to us. I heard Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Marwazī say, “I heard Abū Sahl Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Marwazī say, ‘I heard Abū Zayd al-Marwazī, the jurist, say:

“I was asleep between the Rukn and the Maqām (the corner of the Kaʿbah and the Station of Abraham) when I saw the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him. He said to me, ‘O Abū Zayd, how long will you keep studying the book of al-Shāfiʿī and yet not study my book?’ I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, what is your book?’ He replied, ‘The Jāmiʿ of Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl.’”’” (1)

I came across a useful note transmitted from Abū al-Khaṭṭāb ibn Dihyah (2) stating that al-Ramlī—the liar—had claimed, “Al-Bukhārī is unknown; no one narrated from him except al-Firabrī.”

Abū al-Khaṭṭāb responded, “By Allah, he has lied outright and spoken wickedly; let him swallow stones! Al-Bukhārī is, in fact, famous for his knowledge and its transmission. The scholarly consensus affirms his unrivalled memorisation and distinction. He travelled far and wide in search of narrations and chains of authority, and a great many scholars reported from him. As for his book, he presented it to the ḥāfiẓ of his age, Abū Zurʿah, who said, ‘Your entire collection is sound except for three ḥadiths.’” (3)

His Worship, Merits, Piety, and Righteousness

Al-Ḥākim said: Muḥammad ibn Khālid al-Muṭṭawwiʿī narrated to us; Musabbiḥ ibn Saʿīd narrated to us