Credibility of Imam Bukhari's Traditions

It is related by Abu Abdullah Al-Humaidi in his Jadhwatua’l Muqtabis and by Khatib in his History of Baghdad, that when Al-Bukhari arrived at that city the Traditionists, hearing of his arrival, assembled and having selected one hundred Traditions, they applied to the text of each a wrong Isnaad (claim of narrators), and gave them by tens of different person whom they directed to attend the conference held by Al-Bukhari and submit to him these traditions. When the appointed day came, a great number of tranditionists from Khurasan proceeded with those of Baghdad to the meeting. The assembly having taken their places, one of the men came forward and questioned Al-Bukhari on one of these traditions. This doctor i.e. Al-Bukhari, answered that he was not acquainted with it, and the other proceeded to ask his opinion on the remaining nine, which he submitted to hi, successively. As Al-Bukhari continued to answer, “I am not acquainted with it.” The jurisconsults who were present at the meeting began to turn from one to another and say: “The man knows what he is about.” But those who opposed this view were led to conclude that he was a man of great incapacity and slight information and low understanding. Another of the ten men then came forward and having proposed in a similar manner his ten altered traditions, he obtained the same answer as his predecessor. The eight others advanced successively, but the result was always the same. When Al-Bukhari perceived that they had done, he turned to the first man and said, “Thy first Tradition should be so and so; thy second so and so,” repeating them till he came to the last and prefixing to the text of each the Isnaad (references to the persons who quoted the traditions) which belonged to it. He then commenced with the second man, answering him to the same way, and he continued till he ended by the tenth. The whole assembly then acknowledged his ability as a Hafiz (who memorizes the Quran), and admitted his superior merit. When Ibn Said spoke of Al-Bukahri he called him the butting-ram (whom none could withstand). Muhammad ibn Yusuf relates that he heard al-Bukhari say: “I never inserted a tradition in my Al-Sahih till after I have made an ablution and offered up a prayer of two genuflexions.