Criticism existed even in the era of consensus; al-Bukhari himself criticized the hadith of the soil found in Sahih Muslim.

The questioner : ... regarding this point, O Shaykh, and regarding their claim of consensus, and that those who criticized only came after the era of consensus, is it not possible to say that al-Bukhari himself criticized hadiths in Sahih Muslim, and indeed classified the hadith of the soil as a denounced narration, even though it is in Sahih Muslim?

The Shaykh : And that is the case; this is the reality. Ibn Hibban, in the biographies of some of his reliable narrators, criticizes al-Bukhari when he cites from some of those whose memorization was questioned, though not their truthfulness, such as Abu Bakr ibn 'Iyash. Ibn Hibban wonders how al-Bukhari cites Abu Bakr ibn 'Iyash as evidence while leaving out the evidence of Hammad ibn Salama, who was an imam in hadith and the Sunnah, and a fighter against innovators, the Mu'tazilah, and their like. The discussion regarding some of al-Bukhari's narrators is well known from the great early scholars of hadith, and it leads to the criticism of some of the hadiths that appeared in Sahih al-Bukhari.