Sahih al-Bukhari 1100
صحيح البخاري#1100Sahihحَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَبَّانُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا هَمَّامٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَنَسُ بْنُ سِيرِينَ، قَالَ اسْتَقْبَلْنَا أَنَسًا حِينَ قَدِمَ مِنَ الشَّأْمِ، فَلَقِينَاهُ بِعَيْنِ التَّمْرِ، فَرَأَيْتُهُ يُصَلِّي عَلَى حِمَارٍ وَوَجْهُهُ مِنْ ذَا الْجَانِبِ، يَعْنِي عَنْ يَسَارِ الْقِبْلَةِ. فَقُلْتُ رَأَيْتُكَ تُصَلِّي لِغَيْرِ الْقِبْلَةِ. فَقَالَ لَوْلاَ أَنِّي رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَعَلَهُ لَمْ أَفْعَلْهُ. رَوَاهُ ابْنُ طَهْمَانَ عَنْ حَجَّاجٍ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ عَنْ أَنَسٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Narrated Anas bin Seereen:We went to receive Anas bin Malik when he returned from Sham and met him at a place called 'Ain at-Tamr. I saw him praying riding the donkey, with his face to this direction, i.e. to the left of the Qibla. I said to him, "I have seen you offering the prayer in a direction other than that of the Qibla." He replied, "If I had not seen Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) doing it, I would not have done it
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Every narration in Sahih al-Bukhari is accepted as Sahih (authentic) by the established status of the book.
In-book reference: 18:20