Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī

Interpretation of God's attributes

In Sahih al-Bukhari, in the book entitled "Tafsir al-Qur'an wa 'ibaratih" [i.e., Exegesis of the Qur'an and its expressions], surat al-Qasas, verse 88: "kullu shay'in halikun illa Wajhah" [the literal meaning of which is "everything will perish except His Face"], he said the term [illa Wajhah] means: "except His Sovereignty/Dominance". And there is [in this same chapter] other than that in terms of ta'wil (metaphorical interpretation), like the term 'dahk' (Arabic: ضحك, lit. 'laughter') which is narrated in a hadith, [which is interpreted by] His Mercy.

School of thought

Many are of the opinion that Bukhari was a mujtahid with his own school of jurisprudence.

Bukhari has however been claimed as a follower of the Hanbali school, although members of the Shafi'i and Ẓāhirī schools levy this claim as well. JRD Mughal and Munir Ahmad assert that historically most jurists considered him to be a muhaddith and not a jurist, and that as a muhaddith they thought that he followed the Shafi'i school. However, both go on to evidence the opinion that he was an absolute scholar of independent reasoning (Mujatahid Mutlaq).
Scott Lucas argues that Bukhari's legal positions were similar to those of the Ẓāhirīs and Hanbalis of his time, suggesting Bukhari rejected qiyas and other forms of ra'y completely. He makes comparisons between Bukhari's positions and those of Ibn Hazm