Imam Mâlik (radiya-llâhu ^anhu)
His great grandfather, ‘Abű ^Aamir, was a great Companion who attended all the battles of Prophet Muhammad (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam), except for Badr. His grandfather Mâlik ibn ‘Abî ^Aamir, was one of the great tâbi^is and one of a scholar among them; he was one of those who had the priviledge of taking the body of caliph ^Uthmân ibn ^Affân at night to be buried. His father was also a scholar.
Imam Mâlik was born in the year 93 of Hijrah and his mother carried him for three years. He was tall, mjestic, almost bald, his beard was white and he was fair skinned. He had children whose names were Yahyŕ, Muhammad, Hammâd and 'Ummu 'Abîhâ.
Outstanding in Imam Mâlik’s legacy is his book of hadîths, alMuwatta’. It was the first major book of hadîths. Beforehand hadîths were transmitted orally and learned by heart until the learned started to fear the disappearance of knowldege with the death of the greatest scholars. Thus ^Umar ibn^Abdil^Azîz ordered one of the scholars of his time to put in writing the Sunnah and hadîths of the Messenger of Allâh (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam). Mâlik reported this and said the calif ordered the rest of the scholars in all parts of the islamic world to write down the knowledge they had too.
During the era of the tâbi^is hadîths started to be classified and the Sunnah began to be written in collections. This happened while there was a great number of scholars in towns. There were also many heretics sur as the Khawârij, Qadaris and Chiites. Among the first to have put together information about the Sunnah in compendiums was arRabî^ ibn Sabîh but they wrote chapters without any particular order until scholars the second half of the century started to really organise hadîths according to fiqh or Sharî^ah sections.
In this context Imam Mâlik wrote alMuwatta’ which he filled with the most reliable hadîths reported by the Hijâz scholars. He added to it many quotes from the Companions and fatwŕs from the Tâbi^is. Eventually some imams authored books which only dealt with prophetic hadîths around the end of the second century.
AlMuwatta’ was judged to be the most reliable book of hadîths until imam alBukhâriyy wrote his Sahîh with only contains prophetic hadîths. Scholars say that imam Mâlik wrote about ten thousand hadîths and gradually selected the most reliable over 40 years, which is why he called it “alMuwatta’”, i.e. “the one which was done slowly”.
^Umar ibn ^AbdilWâhid, one of the Imam al’Awzâ^iyy’s disciples said: “We recited alMuwatta’ in the presence of Imam Mâlik for 40 days in order to learn it. Then he told us: “This is a book which I wrote over 40 years andwhich you studied and learned in 40 days, you only understand very little of it…”
Speaking of his childhood, Imam Mâlik said : “I said to my mother, allow me to go and seek knowledge”. He lived then in Madinah, the town of the Prophet (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam), where he could have gone to any mosque to find scholars. His mother who was a wise and pious woman told him: “Come, I shall dress you like people of knowledge”. Then she put a turban on his head and said: “go now and write down!”. She used to say often to him: “Go at Rabî^ah’s (i.e. at the home of imam Rabî^atu rRa’i).
Imam Mâlik narrated: “I had a brother of the same age as imam ibn Shihâb azZuhriyy (azZuhriyy was the sehikh of imam Mâlik). One day our father asked us a question in the field of Sharî^ah. My brother gave a correct answer whereas I made a mistake. My father told me afterwards: “Did pigeons preocupy you so mauch that you forgot to seek knowledge?”. I was upset and decided to devote my effort to learn from Ibn Hurmuz. This lasted for seven years during which I was only reporting through him. I used to put dates in my sleeve which I would give out to his children and say to them: “if somebody asks you where the sheikh is, tell them he is busy”.”
Our master Mâlik was gifted with an extraordinary memory, as the following incident he told shows: “One day, Ibn Shihâb recited for me forty hadîths and more. Among these were very longs hadîths. I memorised them and saked him to read again for me those on top of the forty. He refused so I told him: “If you were in my place, wouldn’t you like for them to be repeated to you?”. He agreed and repeated them and this is how I found that all I had memorised was correct.”
He also said: “People have a bad memory now. I used to go at Sa^îd ibn alMusayyib’s, ^Urwah’s, AlQâsim’s, 'Abű 'Usâmah’s, Hâmid’s, Sâlim’s and others’. I would see all of them and learn from each 50 to 100 hadîths and I never mixed the narrations of one with that of another.”
Allâh ta^âlŕ said in the Qur’ân (what means): “Indeed We sent the revelation down and We are its protector” for God protected our religion with men like Mâlik (radiya-llâhu ^anh) had a deep respect for the Prophet (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam) and his word. It is reported that when people came to his house he would send his servant who would ask: “The sheikh is asking you whether you are seeking hadîths or answers to questions”. If they said “we want to ask him questions”, he would come out and give fatwŕ. On the other hand if they said: “We are seeking hadîths”, he would make them sit down, then he would have a bath, put perfume on, dress with clean clothes and put his turban on. A chair was brought for him, facing people, he would then arrive filled with the fear of Allâh. Incense was burned till he had finished.
Once, imam ^Abdullâh ibn alMubârak said : “I was at imam Mâlik’s when he was reciting hadîths to us and I noticed a scorpion was stung him repeatedly, sixteen times. His complexion changed, he became yellow but never stopped the hadîth of the Prophet (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam). When he finished and people had gone I went to tell him : « Abű ^Abdillâh ! I haveseen something astounding today !”. “He said: “Yes, I endured it because of the respect for the words of the Prophet (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam).
One of the Imam’s disciples related, “We use to ask questions to Imam Mâlik. He would answer the one who asked : « go until I have thought about the answer”. He used to hesitate before answering. We asked him about that so he started to cry and said: “I fear to have to anser many questions on the Day which will not be like another day”.
The Imam used to say too : “Whoever likes to answer questions on religion, let him keep in mind that he exposes himself either o Paradise or to Hell and let him think on how to get safely through the Last Day, afterwards let him answer. There is noting harder for me than to answer a question on the halâl or harâm for it is a statement on one of Allâh’s laws and I knew men of knowledge in our country (this was Madinah) for whom answering about the halâl and harâm was as terrible as death”. Imam Mâlik started to feel comfortable performing ijtihâd after 80 of the contemporary scholars told him he was now a mujtahid.
Nevertheless, as astoundingly knowledgeable, intelligent and saintly as Imam Mâlik was (radiya-llâhu ^anh), when on one occasion he was asked 48 questions, he answered 6 ans said about the rest: “I do not know”.
Imam Mâlik was so impressively majestic that he was compared to a sultan for he was much listened to. His humility was such that he accused himself of lack of sincerity after he had written alMuwatta’. He said, “I shall put it in water and if it gets wet, it will show I am not sincere and I shall not have it back”, he then put it in water and it was not wet.
In the year 169 he fell ill and died twenty two days afterwards on Sunday, Rabî^u l’Awwal 11th.
