Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (12/463)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

I said: Whether the two of them did or did not abandon his narrations, al-Bukhari is a reliable, trustworthy authority whose hadiths are cited throughout the Muslim world.

His Ordeal with the Governor of Bukhara

Ahmad ibn Mansur al-Shirazi narrated: I heard some of our companions say: When Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Bukhari arrived, ceremonial pavilions were pitched for him a farsakh outside the city. The entire populace turned out to greet him—there was no notable person who failed to come—and gold dinars, silver dirhams, and large amounts of sugar were showered over him. This continued for several days.

He went on: After that, Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Dhuhli wrote to Khalid ibn Ahmad, the governor of Bukhara, saying, “This man has displayed opposition to the Sunnah.” The governor read the letter aloud to the people of Bukhara, but they declared, “We will never leave him.” The governor therefore ordered him to leave the city, and he departed (1).

Ahmad ibn Mansur said: One of our companions related to me from Ibrahim ibn Ma‘qil al-Nasafi, who said: I saw Muhammad ibn Isma‘il on the day he was expelled from Bukhara. I approached him and asked, “O Abu ‘Abd Allah, how does this day strike you compared with the day when all that wealth was scattered over you?” (2)

He replied, “I do not mind, so long as my faith remains unharmed.”

He added: Then he set out for Bikand, and the people accompanied him in two parties: one with him and one against him,

Among such examples is Ibn Abi Hatim’s statement in al-Jarh wa-l-Taʿdil about al-Bukhari: “Abu Zurʿa and Abu Hatim abandoned him because of the wording (lafz) issue.” By Allah, O Muslims—can anyone say that al-Bukhari is to be discarded, when he is the standard-bearer of the science and the leading authority of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamaʿa? Again, by Allah, O Muslims—will you turn his virtues into vices? On the lafz question the truth is with him, for no rational being can doubt that one’s utterance is among one’s contingent actions, created by Allah Most High; Imam Ahmad rejected the phrase only because of its offensive wording. (1) The report is cited in the introduction to Fath al-Bari, p. 494. (2) The word “ʿalayka” is repeated in the original.

قُلْتُ: إِنْ تركَا حَدِيْثَهُ، أَوْ لَمْ يَتْرُكَاهُ، البُخَارِيُّ ثِقَةٌ مَأْمُوْنٌ مُحتجٌّ بِهِ فِي العَالَمِ. ذِكْرُ مِحْنَتِهِ مَعَ أَمِيْرِ بُخَارَى رَوَى أَحْمَدُ بنُ مَنْصُوْرٍ الشِّيرَازيُّ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ بَعْضَ أَصْحَابِنَا يَقُوْلُ: لَمَّا قَدِمَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللهِ بُخَارَى نُصِبَ لَهُ القبَابُ عَلَى فرسخٍ مِنَ البلدِ، وَاسْتقبلَهُ عَامَّةُ أَهْلِ البلدِ حَتَّى لَمْ يَبْقَ مَذْكُوْرٌ إِلاَّ اسْتَقبَلَهُ، وَنُثِرَ عَلَيْهِ الدَّنَانِيْرُ وَالِدَرَاهِمُ وَالسُّكَّرُ الكَثِيْرُ، فَبقيَ أَيَّاماً. قَالَ: فَكَتَبَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ مُحَمَّدُ بنُ يَحْيَى الذُّهْلِيُّ إِلَى خَالِدِ بنِ أَحْمَدَ أَمِيْرِ بُخَارَى: إِنَّ هَذَا الرَّجُلَ قَدْ أَظهرَ خِلاَفَ السُّنَّةِ. فَقَرَأَ كِتَابَهُ عَلَى أَهْلِ بُخَارَى، فَقَالُوا: لاَ نُفَارِقُهُ، فَأَمرَهُ الأَمِيْرُ بِالخُرُوجِ مِنَ البلدِ، فَخَرَجَ (١) . قَالَ أَحْمَدُ بنُ مَنْصُوْرٍ: فحَكَى لِي بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ بنِ مَعْقِلٍ النَّسفيِّ قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ مُحَمَّدَ بنَ إِسْمَاعِيْلَ فِي اليَوْمِ الَّذِي أُخرِجَ فِيْهِ مِنْ بُخَارَى، فَتقدَّمْتُ إِلَيْهِ، فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللهِ، كَيْفَ تَرَى هَذَا اليَوْمَ مِنَ اليَوْمِ الَّذِي نُثِرَ عَلَيْكَ (٢) فِيْهِ مَا نُثِرَ؟ فَقَالَ: لاَ أُبَالِي إِذَا سَلِمَ دينِي. قَالَ: فَخَرَجَ إِلَى بِيْكَنْد، فَسَارَ النَّاسُ مَعَهُ حزبينِ: حزبٌ مَعَهُ، وَحزبٌ عَلَيْهِ،

= ومن أمثلة ذلك قول ابن أبي حاتم في الجرح والتعديل في البخاري: تركه أبو زرعة وأبو حاتم من أجل مسألة اللفظ، فيا لله والمسلمين، أيجوز لأحد أن يقول: البخاري متروك؟ ؟ ! وهو حامل لواء الصناعة، ومقدم أهل السنة والجماعة. ثم يا لله والمسلمين! أتجعل ممادحه مذام؟ ! فإن الحق في مسألة اللفظ معه، إذ لا يستريب عاقل من المخلوقين في أن تلفظه من أفعاله الحادثة التي هي مخلوقة لله تعالى، وإنما أنكرها الامام أحمد ﵁ لبشاعة لفظها. (١) الخبر في " مقدمة الفتح ": ٤٩٤. (٢) تكررت كلمة " عليك " في الأصل.