Imam al-Tirmidhi

Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi was born around 824 in Termez (English sources also name the village of Bugh; some give 825). He is also known by the nisbas al-Sulami and al-Bughi, and late in life, when he lost his sight, was called ad-Darir, "the Blind".

He spent his youth in Termez, where he received his first schooling, and then travelled through Khurasan, Iraq, the Hijaz and other lands to study hadith. His teachers included al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Qutayba ibn Said and Ali ibn Hujr. Uzbek sources say he met al-Bukhari in Nishapur and studied beside him for some years.

His main work, al-Jami (also called Sunan al-Tirmidhi or Jami al-Tirmidhi), is one of the six canonical Sunni hadith collections. Its hadiths are arranged by chapter and graded; Russian-language sources credit him with formulating the categories hasan ("good") and gharib.

His other works include ash-Shama'il an-Nabawiyya, on the appearance and character of the Prophet, al-Ilal (on defects in hadith), Kitab az-Zuhd, Kitab al-Asma wa-l-Kuna and at-Tarikh. Part of his writings has not survived.

Al-Tirmidhi died in 892 (279 AH) in the village of Bugh, now in the Sherobod district, and was buried there; his tomb is a pilgrimage site, and locals call him "Termez Ota". The memorial complex was renovated in 2016–2017; in 1990 the 1,200th anniversary of his birth was widely marked in Uzbekistan.