Arabic Beyond the Arabs
al-Bukhari: his distant ancestor died a Magian
البخاريّ: جدُّه الأعلى مات على المجوسيّة
Among al-Bukhari's forebears is a man named Bardizbah, a Persian farmer of Bukhara who died in the Magian (Zoroastrian) faith. His son al-Mughira became Muslim at the hands of al-Yaman al-Juʿfi, governor of Bukhara, and was attached to him by clientage, which is why al-Bukhari is also called al-Juʿfi. Three generations later Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil took up hadith and compiled al-Jamiʿ al-Sahih in Arabic, the most famous of the hadith books.
- In brief
- From a Persian family of Bukhara, author of al-Jamiʿ al-Sahih
- Outside Arabic
- al-Bukhārī · al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ
«محمد بن إسماعيل بن إبراهيم بن مغيرة بن بردزبه البخاري، وبردزبه مجوسي مات عليها، والمغيرة بن بردزبه أسلم على يدي يمان البخاري والي بخارى.»
Ibn ʿAdi, of the generation after al-Bukhari, says only «Magian»; «Persian» comes from al-Bukhari's commentators (Ibn al-Mulaqqin, al-Tawdih 1/54: «Persian in origin, he lived and died a Magian»), and «a farmer» from Ibn al-Munayyir's al-Mutawari, quoting the History of Baghdad.
Click a card to see it full size; each has a download button for sharing.
Sources
Spotted a mistake, or have something to add?
Your note comes to us only; it is not published here. We read it, and if it holds we correct the card.
