Al-Imaam Maalik Ibn Anas

Muslims follow four major schools of jurisprudence in matters of legal
and devotional details. Imaam Maalik Ibn Anas, may Allaah have mercy
upom him, comes second in order from a chronological point of view.
ForMaalik ibn Anas, who is known asthe scholar of Madeenah, was born
in Madeenah in the year 93 A.H.
Imaam Maalik's mother advised him to join the first school and
universityin Islam, the Mosque of the Prophet in Madeenah, where he
started by memorizing the Glorious Quran and then the Hadeeth
[traditions of Prophet Muhammad ]. In the age when writing and written
educational material were a rarity, students and scholars had to have
a strong memory to consult and store the knowledge theygained. Imaam
Maalik was not lacking in this special ability. We are told that when
he listened to a teacher narrating Prophetic traditions, Maalik ibn
Anas used to tie a knot for each tradition (Hadeeth). Later, he tried
to recite the traditions to himself in order to make sure that he
retained every single one. Once heattended a session where30 Hadeeths
were narrated and discussed. When the session was over he checked his
retention of those Hadeeths and found that he forgot one of them. Sohe
rushed after his teacher to learn the missing Hadeeth from him, the
teacher listened to him, and taught him the one he had missed.
As an eminent scholar, henot only attended study circles held by no
less than 90 scholars, but throughout his life he discussed different
matters of the faith with his colleagues and the scholars who came to
Madeenah during the Hajj (pilgrimage) season, in addition to
corresponding with well-known authorities in various parts of the
Muslim world. We are told that Maalik ibn Anas started teaching in the
Prophet's Mosque very early in his life (late teensor early twenties),
but hedid not start teaching until his command of religious learning
was witnessed to by no less than seventy of his teachers, some of whom
came to attend the teaching sessions of theirformer student to learn
from him.
As a conservative traditionalist, Imaam Maalik as a teacher in his
mosque had great reverence for the Hadeeths of the Prophet . History
tells us that before Imaam Maalik embarked upon teachingthe Hadeeth,
he would have a bath and wear hisbest clothes, and he would not allow
anyone to raise his voice too high. It is also reported that he would
not ride in Madeenah, saying that hecould not see himself riding in a
town where the Prophet was buried.
Since Imaam Maalik lived ninety years he witnessed the change of the
Umayyad Dynasty to the Abbasid, and he met many a Caliph whose respect
he commanded with his knowledge and sincere advice, in addition to his
dignity as a scholar. We are told that when the famous Caliph Haroon
Ar-Rasheedlearnt about Al-Muwatta' (a book compiled by Imaam Maalik),
he sent his minister to fetch him in order to read the bookto the
Caliph. Imaam Maalik politely answered,"Give my regards to the Caliph,
and tell him that knowledge should be visited, and it should not visit
people. People should come to it, and it should not go to
people."Later, when the Caliph blamed Imaam Maalik fordisobeying him,
he said to the Caliph: "O Leader of the Faithful, Allaah the Almighty
has raised you to this honourable position. Do not be the first one to
lower the place and insult the dignity of knowledge and learning so
that Allaah may not lower your place. I did not really want to disobey
you, but I rather wanted the Leader of the Faithfulto show due respect
to learning in order that Allaah may raise his position." Caliph
Haroun Ar-Rasheed was convinced, and he walked along with Imaam Maalik
to his own house to listen to him and to his readings from his book.
Another quality typical ofthe knowledgeable heroes of Islam, which
Imaam Maalik taught to people through word and action, was humility
and confession to ignorance of matters of which he was not certain. He
emphasized to his students that the most important expression a true
scholar should have the courage to say was, "I do not know." In fact,
we are told that a man came to Imaam Maalik and informed him that he
had travelled for six months to ask him about a certain problem. Upon
hearing the problem Maalik could not find a satisfactory answer. So he
humbly told the man,"I do not know." The manwas surprised, and he
said, "What shall I tell my folk when I go home." Imaam Maalik said:
"Tell them Maalik ibn Anas says he does not know."
It was with this sense of responsibility that ImaamMaalik taught
people andgave his religious verdict (fatwa), despite the fact that he
collected more than 100,000 Prophetic traditions (Hadith) and studied
at the hands of scores of well-known authorities on religious matters.
We read that very often (as a conscientious advisor) hewould ask the
inquirer towait for sometime beforehe gave him the answer to his
question.
Maalik ibn Anas is specially recognized for his voluminous book
'Al-Muwatta', which is said to be the second compilation in Islamic
history of religious teachings. It was compiled, according to some
historians, in 40 years. Today, that book isstill a major guiding
authority for millions of Muslims in Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa,
where the "Maalikite School " is dominant.
Imaam Maalik was a very devout, Allaah-fearing person. He lived a life
of self-denial and abstinence. He often fasted, sometimes about four
days in the week. Hedied in 170 A.H.