Author: al-Imām al-Dhahabī (rahimahullah)
Source: Siyar
Translator: Hisham Abouzeid
Muhammad Ibnu Abi Haatim Al-Warraaq said: I heard Muhammad Ibnu Isma'eel [Al-Bukhaari] saying: When I entered Basrah, I went to the gathering of Bundar. And when his eyes fell on me, he said:
"Where is the young man from?"
I replied: "From the people of Bukhara."
He said: "How is Abu Abdillah doing [i.e. Al-Bukhaari]?"
So I stayed silent.
So [those present] said to him: "May Allah have mercy on you, he [the young man you're speaking to] is Abu Abdillah".
So, he got up and took me by the hand and hugged me, then said:
"Welcome to the one I've been boasting about for years [now]".
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Translator's Note: Bundar is from the most outstanding scholars of hadith and his narrations are found in the six books of the Sunnah. He heard of the young scholar who was more than 25 years his junior, Al-Bukhaari, for years yet he never saw him. Nonetheless, he continually spoke most highly of him based on that which used to reach him.
