Memorial Complex
of Imam Al-Bukhari
iMAM AL-bUKHARI complex
Imam Al Bukhari had a remarkable memory and memorized a hundred thousand hadiths true accounts of things Prophet Muhammad once said or did. His work resulted in a summation of hadiths – the “Al-Djami as-Sahih”, which had been canonized by the 10th century as a major hadith anthology in the Sunni tradition. The tomb of the outstanding Sunni scholar Imam Al Bukhari is located near Samarkand, 25 km north of the city in Khoja Ismail village. In the 16th century, a small mausoleum was raised above the tomb of Imam al-Bukhari. Also, a mosque was constructed.
Today, the entire Muslim world lives by his hadiths, while in his native land, the rules of al-Bukhari have been made into law. His name appeared only when a well-known Lebanese writer in 1958 visited the USSR, reported that he wanted to visit the tomb of a well-known seminary student. His request caused alarm among Communist Party officials. The inquiry was made to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan, and from there – to the Academy of sciences. Day and night they searched for the tomb of Al Bukhari, and finally located it near Samarkand, close by barely perceptible ruins of an ancient village.
For the 1225th anniversary of Imam al-Bukhari in 1998 at the place of the old mausoleum by the government of Uzbekistan has been decided to build a new memorial complex. The modern memorial complex consists of a mausoleum, mosque, office building and other structures around the courtyard. The height of the mausoleum dome is 17 m.
The walls are decorated with light green, blue, and white glazed tiles, marble, onyx and granite. In the center of the mausoleum is a tombstone coated with light blue onyx. Four-century old palm trees have been preserved in the yard. Behind the mausoleum is an educational center for hadith study. On the left side of the memorial ensemble mechanism with a mosque, an adjoining gallery with an area of about 800 square meters can accommodate more than one and a half thousand believers performing prayer. On the right side, there is a museum with a unique collection of handwritten books, which set forth the word of God addressed to devout Muslims.
