Life and Travels of Imam Bukhari

Syed al-Muhaddithin, Ameer al-Mu'mineen fil-Hadith Imam Bukhari (رحمہ اللہ) set out for Hajj in the 16th year of his life (210 AH) along with his respected mother and honorable brother Ahmad, reaching Makkah al-Mukarramah. In this center of Islam, he met great scholars and hadith narrators, and with his mother's permission, he settled in Makkah after Hajj to pursue the knowledge of Hadith. At that time, Makkah was home to prominent figures such as Abdullah bin Yazid, Abu Bakr Abdullah bin Zubair, Abu al-Waleed Ahmad bin al-Azraqi, and Allama Humaydi.

He stayed in Makkah for two full years, attaining both external and internal excellence, and then traveled to Madinah al-Munawwarah in 212 AH where he benefited from the renowned muhaddithin like Mutarrif bin Abdullah, Ibrahim bin Mundhir, Abu Thabit Muhammad bin Ubaidullah, and Ibrahim bin Hamzah.

His stay in the lands of Hijaz lasted six years. He then turned towards Basrah and later set out for Kufah. Sayyiduna Waraq Bukhari narrated Imam Bukhari's statement about Kufah and Baghdad: “I cannot count how many times I entered Kufah and Baghdad accompanied by hadith scholars.”

Since Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, it had become a hub of knowledge and sciences where many of the era’s leading figures gathered. This is why Imam Bukhari repeatedly traveled to Baghdad. Among the hadith scholars there, the name of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (رحمہ اللہ) is especially notable. When Imam Bukhari was leaving Baghdad for the last time on his eighth visit, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (رحمہ اللہ) said in a deeply emotional tone, “Will you leave the people, this era of Baghdad, and its centers of knowledge and sciences to return to Khurasan?” During the difficult times in Bukhara, when its ruler had turned against him, Imam Bukhari used to remember these heartfelt words of Imam Ahmad (رحمہ اللہ) quite often.