The Peak of Baghdad and the Genius of Imam Bukhari

The Abbasid capital Baghdad was once the center of the Islamic world and a precious reservoir of Islamic sciences and arts. This was the era of the immense fame and scholarly acceptance of Sayyid al-Muhaddithin, Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him). Theologians, hadith experts, jurists, and commentators had gathered in Baghdad from all corners of the Islamic world. During this period, Imam Bukhari visited Baghdad. The entire city echoed with his fame. Every mosque, every seminary, and every spiritual center was abuzz with talk of his intelligence, memory, and expertise in hadith. Eventually, some hadith scholars of the capital devised a plan to test him. They mixed the chains of narration (isnads) of 100 hadiths by attaching each isnad to a different matn (text), and distributed these among ten individuals. A public gathering was scheduled for the test. At the appointed time, the whole city gathered. The ten men began reciting the mixed hadiths before the Imam, seeking his judgment. In response to each individual and each hadith, Imam Bukhari kept replying: "La a‘rifuhu" (I do not recognize it). After the recitation of all 100 hadiths, people began whispering among themselves. Some believed the Imam had recognized the trick, while others thought he had surrendered before the scholars of Baghdad. Imam al-Muhaddithin then stood up, turned to the first questioner, and said: "As for your first hadith, the isnad you mentioned is incorrect; its correct chain is this..." He then proceeded to correct all the hadiths recited by the ten individuals, stating the proper isnads in the same order as they had been asked. Witnessing this God-gifted memory and mastery of the science of hadith, the people of Baghdad were astounded, and unanimously acknowledged that in the field of hadith, he had no equal in his time.