Imam Malik

IMAM MALIK – THE SCHOLAR OF MADINAH
 Early life and Education
Imam Malik was born in Madinah, 79 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬.
Live a 86 years old life from 93 AH until 179 AH. His father and grandfather had studied
religious knowledge under the companions of the Prophet and Imam Malik was raised in
the Islamic environment by learning from his father and grandfather. In effect, the teachers
of Imam Malik were first or second generation Muslims, some of whom had knowledge
freshly acquired from those who lived at the time of Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬.
 The scholar of Madinah
In his 20’s and 30’s, Imam Malik had an immense amount of study in Islamic
teaching, making him to be known as the most knowledgeable man in Madinah during
that time. He had decided to be a teacher and had attracted a huge number of students
from all over the world including Imam Al-Shafi’e, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad al-
Shaybani (these two are Abu Hanifah’s most important student as well). He used to
have his lecture in Masjid Al-Nabawi, Madinah with Quran on one hand and a
collection of hadith in one hand and offer legal rulings and opinion based on that two.
The most unique aspect of Imam Malik’s methodology in fiqh was his reliance
on the practice of Madinah’s people during that time. The Quran and hadith had always
been his primary in conducting rule, he also sees that the practices of the people of
Madinah is one of the important sources. He believed that the environment of Madinah
at that time was not far differ from the Madinah during Prophet’s ‫ ﷺ‬time. The people
of Madinah at that time had been taught by their ancestors who had been the
Companions or students of the Companions. Thus, he reasoned that if all the people of
Madinah practice a particular action that is not contradict to the shari’ah, then it can be
taken as a source. This makes him unique among the four great scholars.
His first book is the al-Muwatta in order to ease the study of fiqh and hadith.
Thi is the first book that attempted to compile only sound and reliable sayings of the
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬into one book. He had been showing his book to seventy great scholars and
all of them approved it, thus giving the name of the book as al-Muwatta which means
“The Approved”.
Al-Muwatta was a landmark book at that time which helped in the established
of the science of hadith, particularly in the judging of the chain of narrations for hadith.
He was so thorough in his selection of hadith that he has been placed on the same level
of the works of Imam Bukhari and Muslim. Even Imam Shafi’e had stated that there is
no book in Quran that is more authentic after the Quran.
Other than that, al-Muwatta was very influential at that time that the caliph,
Harun Ar-Rashid demanded that the book to be mass-printed and made as the official
book of fiqh for the Abbasis Empire. But he had refused to do so because he knew that
there was no perfection or all-encompassing of anyone’s interpretation of Islamic law.
Even under the threat of persecution and imprisonment he still refused to do so.
Imam Malik’s seminal work, al-Muwatta
 The Character of Imam Malik

Imam Malik was incredibly humble and a meticulous Muslim. Due to his respect
towards Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬, he will never recite hadith while walking. Instead,
when being asked about hadith he would stop, sit down and give the hadith the attention
it deserved. He also refused to ride any animal in Madinah, that he would walked the
same dust that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬had walked on.
Among Imam Malik’s sayings are:
“The Sunnah is the ark of Nuh. Whoever boards it is saved, and whoever remains away
perishes.”
“Knowledge does not consist in narrating much. Knowledge is but a light which Allah
places in the heart.”
“None renounces the world and guards himself without then ending up speaking
wisdom.”
When Imam Malik embarked on the study of Islamic sciences with a teacher, his mother
advised him to “learn from your teacher his manners before you learn from him his
knowledge.”
Imam Malik ideology on Fiqh was further developed into the Malike madhab.
As wish by Imam Malik, it was not imposed as the only one school of Islamic law.
Instead, it complemented the other three schools; Shafi’e, Hanbali and Hanafi that took
the priority in the Sunni Muslim world. The Maliki madhab become very popular in
North and West Africa and remained to be the main madhab there.
AL-Khateeb, F. (2013, February 15). Lost Islamic History | Imam Malik – The Scholar of
Madinah. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://lostislamichistory.com/

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IMAM MALIK – THE SCHOLAR OF MADINAH

 Early life and Education

 The scholar of Madinah

Imam Malik’s seminal work, al-Muwatta

 The Character of Imam Malik

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