In the Name of Allah, The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, may the blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, the last of Prophets, on his family, and all his companions.
Dear brothers and sisters! Our dear Shaikh Ahmad Yahya an-Najmi said:
“The mother is the first school. If she is righteous, the progeny becomes righteous.” [Fathur-Rabbul-Wadud, volume 2, page 256]
The statement “The mother is the first school a child attends” is true and it means that a mother serves as a child’s primary educator, shaping their foundational learning, values, and social skills from birth through her words, actions, and care, laying the groundwork for the child’s lifelong development. For example:
● A mother is the first person to teach a child basic skills like walking, talking, and self-care.
● Mothers are crucial in teaching children empathy, morality, and how to behave, influencing their values and outlook on the world.
● A mother provides the initial experience of safety and love, which shapes the child’s sense of trust and security.
● Mothers create a comfortable and safe environment to encourage learning, fostering a child’s motivation and reducing anxiety in learning activities.
● In some contexts, mothers also guide their children in religious and cultural practices, sharing stories and traditions that form part of their education.
Respected brothers and sisters! Many centuries ago, a woman married a man named Isma‘il who, having studied under the tutelage of Imam Malik. He became a venerable scholar in his own right. One of the fruits of their blessed marriage was the birth of a son, whom they named Muhammad. Shortly afterwards, Isma‘il died, leaving behind a great deal of wealth for his wife and young son. The mother then took up the full responsibility of giving her son a good Islamic upbringing. She might have had ideas about her son becoming a noble scholar, but sadly, there was a barrier preventing that from happening, as the boy was blind.
The time we live in, it is perhaps not so impossible for someone who is blind to pursue a higher education. Yet in those days, in order to become a scholar one had to travel from country to country and from scholar to scholar, something that was of course difficult for a blind person. Yet the mother did not lose hope, she would sincerely and constantly invoked Allah for help. Then one night, whilst she was sleeping, she saw the Prophet Ibrahim (may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in a dream. He said to her:
“Indeed, because of your many Du’a (supplications), Allah has returned your son’s sight back to him.”
The woman woke up with a start, went to her son and saw that the dream had come true. Allah blessed her son Muhammad Ibn Isma‘il Al-Bukhari with the ability to see again, the mother set him on a course of studying and learning. Later in his life, that boy (Muhammad) grew up to compile a book that is the second most authentic book in the world (the most authentic book that is without error is the noble Qur’an).
The name of the book that Muhammad Ibn Isma‘il Al-Bukhari compiled is known as Sahihul-Bukhari.
Fellow brothers and sisters! This story shows us just how much Imam Bukhari was blessed, not only has Allah given him a lofty position within the religion in that he is rewarded every time someone learns or acts upon a Hadith that was collected by him, but that he was also someone that no one would imagine any future for due to his blindness, yet Allah blessed him with the ability of sight to do an immense job for the Ummah until the end of time.
Respected brothers and sisters! In the book, ‘Al-Fawa’id Ad-darari’, Imam Al-Ajluni related that Imam Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) once travelled by boat on a journey to seek out knowledge and that he had taken with him one-thousand dinar. One of his fellow travellers ingratiated himself with Imam Al-Bukhari, outwardly showing him love and admiration. During the sea-voyage, the man often made it a point to sit in his company. On long journeys, friendships develop faster than normal, and during the course of the time they spent together, Imam Al-Bukhari informed the man that he had one-thousand dinar with him.
In the morning after Imam Al-Bukhari spoke about the money, the man woke up and began to cry, scream, rip his clothing apart, and slap his own face, as if he had just been afflicted with a great loss. His fellow shipmates asked him what was wrong, and he refused to answer at first, as if he was still in a state of shock and could not bring himself to speak about his situation. After they continually insisted that he tell them what the matter was with him, he finally said:
“I had a bag that contained one-thousand dinars, and I lost it.”
The crewmen who were in charge of the ship began to search the passengers. One by one everyone was being searched, and upon realising what was happening, Imam Al-Bukhari, making sure that no one was looking, threw his bag of money over the side of the ship. When it was his turn to be searched, nothing was found. When the entire ship and all of its passengers were searched, and when no bag of money was found, those in authority on the ship went back to the man who had made up the story and chastised him for making a false claim and for putting them through so much trouble. As soon as the ship finally reached shore, the passengers began to disembark; meanwhile, Imam Al-Bukhari’s old friend went to him and asked him what he had done with the bag of money.
“I threw it into the sea,” Imam Al-Bukhari matter-of-factly replied.
“And you are patiently accepting the fact that you have just lost such a huge sum of money?” the man asked in bewilderment.
“O ignorant one,” Imam Al-Bukhari said:
“Do you not know that I have spent my entire life gathering the Hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) and that the world now acknowledges my trustworthiness. Would it then have been befitting for me to subject myself to the accusation of theft? And shall I lose the precious pearl (i.e my knowledge and achievements as a scholar) that I have earned over a lifetime over a limited number of dinars?”
Dear servants of Allah! This story of Imam Al-Bukhari teaches us the value of honour and how the Imams and Islamic scholars of the past would act so that their honour would never be compromised, even when they had done no wrong. This was for a number of reasons, one of the main ones being that if the character and honour of Islamic scholars came under scrutiny the work that they had done could also come under scrutiny, and as we know Imam Al-Bukhari’s work (Sahihul-Bukhari) was one of the most important in the history of Islam.
Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa bara ka tuh
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Prayers, peace and mercy are upon our beloved master, Muhammad, the son of Abdullah (Peace be upon him), his family and Companions.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761 or +2348024192217.
