Imam Bukhari’s Piety, Wealth, and Integrity

The Master of the Hadith Scholars, the Leader of the Pious, the Devotee of the Prophetic Traditions—Imam Bukhari (رحمہ اللہ)—inherited substantial wealth from his noble father, Maulana Muhammad Ismail (رحمہ اللہ). He invested this pure wealth in a business partnership (muḍārabah), allowing him to remain free from the distractions of commerce and dedicate himself wholeheartedly to the service of the Hadith of the Prophet (ﷺ), to whom he offered his life and soul.

Through this trade, Allah granted him financial independence. Despite this, during his student days, he endured extreme poverty, never abandoning patience and gratitude. According to Waraq Bukhari, once Imam Bukhari went to his teacher Adam bin Abi Iyas to seek Hadith, but his provisions had run out, and he survived for three consecutive days eating only grass and leaves. Eventually, a stranger appeared and gifted him a pouch containing dinars.

Hafs bin Umar al-Ashqar, his fellow student in Basrah, narrated that Imam Bukhari once missed several days of classes due to a lack of money. He was so destitute that he had to sell his own clothes. His companions collected donations and bought clothes for him, allowing him to resume attending lessons.

Abu al-Hasan Yusuf bin Abi Dharr Bukhari narrated that due to such severe poverty, Imam Bukhari once fell ill. When the physicians examined his urine sample, they concluded it resembled that of ascetic dervishes who live without gravy or meat, surviving only on dry bread. Upon inquiry, it was revealed that for the past forty years, Imam Bukhari had subsisted solely on dry bread. When the doctors advised him to eat something with broth for treatment, he refused. When his teachers insisted, he finally agreed to eat bread with sugar.

A noble scholar named Abu Hafs, a close student of Imam Bukhari’s father, once presented him with some merchandise. Coincidentally, that evening, some merchants offered Imam Bukhari a profit of five thousand dinars to buy the goods. He replied that he would finalize the deal in the morning. The next morning, another group of merchants came and offered ten thousand in profit. Imam Bukhari replied, “Last night I had already made the intention to sell it to the earlier group for five thousand. I do not wish to break my intention.” He thus rejected the higher offer and sold the goods to the first group for the originally intended amount.