The Depiction of Al-Bukhārī’s travels in classical Islamic literature

Travel (riḥla) after the death of the Prophet Muḥammad, and the geographically disparate locations of his companions made travelling for the acquisition of knowledge, and for the attainment of reliable ḥadīṯh an absolute necessity and it was regarded as a key component in the acquisition of this sacred knowledge. The present paper thus, investigates al-Bukhārī as a major figure in ḥadīṯh compilation. Furthermore, it discusses more specifically how he is perceived and exemplified in biographical literature (ṭabaqāt/tarājim). It subsequently, analyses the historical references (kutub al-tārīkh), in search of any possible subsidiary details. Finally, by providing a chronological listing of these sources and looking at the included and excluded details, also the possible and acceptable explanations of any incongruities befallen, the present paper will determine whether the information provided is consistent or if it is the subject of embellishment.


Introduction
When one engages in the study of Islamic history and civilisation, one will find exemplary individuals who have contributed to society and civilisation as a whole. As an example, one could perhaps mention 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwān (d.86/705)  Thus, travelling in classical Islamic thought and tradition is to provide the traveler with enlightenment whilst contributing to his/her intellectual abilities and improving his/her knowledge and insight to higher stages (Gellens,1990), a notion which is also attended to and underlined in certain verses of the Qur'ān such as in the following: For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious (The Holy Qur'ān,9:122).
From the perspective of ḥadīth, there are many instances, such as the following, where the idea of travelling in search of knowledge is referred to and advocated: "One who treads a path in search of knowledge has his path to Paradise made easy by God" (Ibn Māja, 1998) The above-mentioned quotes from the Qur'ān and the ḥadīth reflect the importance that Islam places on knowledge, its virtues and travelling in the pursuit of knowledge, which has consequently, led the idea to become a central and dominating theme and practice in Islam presenting the Islamic Civilization with its unique aspects and characteristics (Netton,1995). The merit of knowledge and its acquisition via travelling is particularly underscored in the collections of ḥadīth where separate chapters are devoted by the compilers to the notion of knowledge/'ilm and its magnitude.
The motive of travels as such however, goes beyond just the compilation of ḥadīth. It encompasses vaster domains and further, contributes to the materialization of such issues as those mentioned below: 1. Acquisition of ḥadīth /Taḥṣīl al-ḥadīth.

Discussions with researchers and scholars regarding the critiques and defects of ḥadīth/
The intense and somewhat passionate interest in travelling for the purpose of scholarship in ḥadīth literature makes it a normative feature in Muslim education. Despite the influential and manipulative power of the local and regional traditions over the religious and intellectual life of people, early Muslims continue to foster their zeal and expand their As for the portrayal and implementation of al-Bukhārī's scholarly travels and expeditions in the early sources, the present study focuses on selecting the most popular and common sources amongst the biographical dictionaries chronologically, and on including other sources in different genres in order to identify and avoid any possible exaggerations and / or inconsistencies in the information accessed. As mentioned earlier, the sources directly related to al-Bukhārī and his works and educative travels are myriad, vast and varied, which makes the present article limit itself to those commonly known as the most popular ones and that are mainly oriented towards the biographical dictionaries and history (al-ṭabaqāt wa altarājim wa al-tārīkh), as well as to the sources which focus on ḥadīth transmitters (kutub alrijāl), and ḥadīth commentaries (shuruḥ al-ḥadīth).
A biographical dictionary in a general term could be described as a prose work and a type of encyclopaedic primarily structured over a series of biographies, and which is limited to biographical information regardless of their order of succession (Qādī,1995). Based upon this definition, the works that fall into the category of biographical dictionaries in the Arabic Islamic library are to be one of the two following kinds. The first one is the General  to the narrators and transmitters of al-Bukhārī known as kutub al-rijāl (Cooperson, 2000, p.3).
Thus far, in each of the two genres of history and commentary, there are books that provide information on al-Bukhārī's travels, and books that pass by the issue entirely perhaps to avoid repetitions. It must be underlined that the information recounted in the related books is precisely identical and each author seems to have copied exactly the same information into his work. Furthermore, the details provided on the travels of al-Bukhārī do indeed stipulate the towns and the cities he visits to collect ḥadīth, as discussed already.
As to the ongoing activities and events in those towns however, the sources in the said genres encompass no details but make a wealth and plethora of information available to the readers regarding al-Bukhārī himself. What is also distinctive in each genre is that each author in that genre provides his own specific chain of transmission or isnād with relatively an identical report which reinforces and contributes to the validity of the information provided. when for instance narrating the trips which certain scholars and intellectuals undertake in the pursuit of knowledge, and the extent to which the intellectual movement in various Islamic cities are spread. The greatest significance of Tārīkh Baghdād without doubt lies in the field of ḥadīth. In this book, al-Baghdādī recounts the biographies of a plethora of ḥadīth narrators from more than seven thousand biographies and details them alphabetically (Brown, 2015, p.227).
In the fragment devoted to al-Bukhārī, al-Baghdādī after presenting his genealogy, provides his chain of transmission and states the following lines on the travels of al-Bukhārī:   1966,253).

Conclusion
To sum up, it can be underlined that travel or riḥla from the early days of Islam has In this tapestry, al-Bukhārī as a prominent scholar in the field of ḥadīth, stands out. This is mainly and mostly due to the attention paid to him in the course of Islamic history, and the discussion materialised upon his life and works by the researchers and authors in different genres, whether history or commentary and science of ḥadīth, to portray his personality and merits as an intellectual and a scholar of ḥadīth.
Interestingly, the information provided by historians and commentators on al-Bukhārī's genealogy and hagiography, and in this context his travels, is comprehensive, concrete and substantial. However, when it comes to the details of his travels the information presented is often unspecific, relatively limited and at times scarce in comparison.
Although al-Bukhārī's travels and the cities and places he has passed through for the sake of his ḥadīth compilation are reported in various sources, the details of his activities and the happenings in those places are left unattended and remain thus, obscure.
It is worth noticing that the collectors who make allusions to al-Bukhārī and his travels, regardless of the genre they belong to, often heavily rely on one another in the information they provide, and in fact the similarity of the accounts narrated suggest strongly that they have copied them from each other, which indeed exclude them from being genuine and reduces their value for being questionable first-hand materials.
Furthermore, the descriptions related to al-Bukhārī and his travels in the genres of history and commentary also riḥla fī ṭalab al-ḥadīth are sometimes thorough and in-depth and other times brief and blurred. The chains of transmission however, is mentioned in each genre which is a unifying factor of the sources included in that genre and if followed up and compared in various sources, can in fact contribute to the corroboration of the reports presented in those sources. The latter issue however, demands further studies and investigation in the chains of transmission, which is beyond the immediate scope of the present article.
Al-Bukhārī's stepping back in time travels in the genre of riḥla fī ṭalab al-ḥadīth is a domain which has not yet been fully explored and merits many more detailed comparative studies. In this orbit the most thorough work amongst the available sources so far is Tārīkh Baghdād (The History of Baghdad), complied by Aḥmad b. 'Alī al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī. In providing information on al-Bukhārī, all the sources that follow al-Baghdādī's Tārīkh