Beacon of Truth — Page 302
302 Muslim world collecting Ahadith. Alama Bukhari began learning the u2erances and actions of the Prophet by heart while still a 1ild. His travels in sear1 of more information about them began with a pilgrimage to Mecca when he was 16. He then went to Egypt, and for 16 years he sought out informants from Cairo to Merv in Central Asia. Al-Bukhari was an extremely scrupulous compiler, showing great critical discrimination and editorial skill in his selection of traditions as authentic ones. He was one the greatest compilers and s1olars of Hadith. Of the more than 600,000 traditions al-Bukhari collected, some 7,275 of them were compiled, with full genealogies of transmi2ers stret1ing baF to the prophet, in a work he entitled Kitaab al-Jami as-Sahih 54. Following a theological dispute, al-Bukhari was banished to Kartank, near Samarkand 55 , where he died in 870. His tomb has been the destination of many pilgrimages. As a preliminary to his Sahih, al-Bukhari wrote at- Tarikh al-kabir 56. is the most famous and voluminous book. 54 ______________________________ Arabic: The genuine book 55 Now in Uzbekistan 56 Arabic: The Large history