A Timeline of Imām al-Bukhārī’s Life
Mufti Muntasir Zaman
Few early Islamic scholars have had their lives as extensively documented as Imām al-Bukhārī, both through eyewitness accounts and secondary biographical compilations. Recent scholarship has attempted to visualize al-Bukhārī’s extensive travels through cartographic representations, such as Shawqī Abū Khalīl’s Aṭlas al-Ḥadīth al-Nabawī and ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-ʿAwīd’s ʿUlamāʾ al-Ḥadīth. However, these efforts often suffer from shortcomings in geographical accuracy, chronological coherence, or visual clarity. Given the remarkable breadth of al-Bukhārī’s journeys, balancing historical precision with pedagogical accessibility can be challenging.
As part of an earlier initiative (The Bukhārī Project), I developed an interactive map to trace his movements and scholarly development. Following Aḥmad al-Aqṭash’s landmark study on al-Bukhārī’s life (Markaz Iḥsān, 2024), however, I have since revised and restructured the project into a static map. This format offers improved accessibility, reduced technical lag, and ease of distribution, particularly in instructional settings. The present map presents al-Bukhārī’s life in seven stages, each clearly color-coded and outlined in the accompanying legend. To fully grasp the scope and context of his travels, the map should be consulted alongside the detailed chronological timeline that follows below. I have also written a more comprehensive review of al-Aqṭash’s study, assessing both his sources and methodology, which was recently published in the American Journal of Islam and Society.
