Imam Bukhari's Intensity in Worship and Devotion to the Sunnah

Such was Imam Bukhari's absorption in worship that once he was invited to a garden. After completing the Zuhr prayer, he began his voluntary prayers. When he finished, he lifted the hem of his shirt and asked someone to check if there was any harmful creature inside, as he had felt something. Upon inspection, it was discovered that a hornet had stung him in seventeen places, causing swelling. When asked why he had not abandoned the prayer after the first sting, he replied that he had begun reciting a Surah that he could not bear to cut short midway.

He regularly offered thirteen rak‘ahs of prayer every night and never neglected the Tahajjud prayer, strictly following the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him). During Ramadan, after completing Tarawih, he would recite the Qur’an in solitude from midnight until dawn, completing the Qur’an every third night. He would then supplicate, saying that a supplication made at each completion of the Qur’an is certainly accepted.

His passion for following the Sunnah was such that he practiced archery solely with the intention of emulating the noble example of the Prophet (peace be upon him). His aim was so precise that he was never seen to miss a target. On one occasion, his arrow struck a peg on a bridge, damaging it. Imam Bukhari requested the bridge owner, Hamid ibn Al-Akhdar, to either allow him to repair the damage or accept compensation for it so that he could make amends. The owner responded with great reverence, saying Imam Bukhari was in no way at fault and that he would sacrifice all his wealth for him. Upon hearing this, Imam Bukhari narrated five hundred Hadiths and distributed three hundred dirhams among the poor as charity. [Muqaddimah Fath al-Bari]