Imam Malik the renowned scholar

والصَّلَاةُ والسَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ أَشْرَفِ اْلمُرْسَلِيْنَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ الطَّيّبِيْنَ الطَّاهِرِيْن

Imam Malik is a renowned scholar and the founder of one of the four major schools of jurisprudence, which is esteemed and widely disseminated throughout Muslim countries. He authored the first compilation of hadiths, meticulously organised into chapters and integrated with jurisprudential laws.

 His birth 

He is famously known as Abu ^Abdi l-Lah and referred to as Malik, son of Anas, son of Malik, son of Abu ^Amir Anas, son of Al-Harith, son of Ghayman Al-‘Asbahiyy Al-Madaniyy. His noble lineage extends back to Ya^rab, son of Yashjab, son of Qahtan. Notably, his grandfather, Malik son of Anas, was a distinguished successor of the Companions, renowned for helping to carry the body of the Caliph ^Uthman Ibnu ^Affan to its final resting place at night, as recounted by Al-Qushayriyy.

His great-grandfather, the esteemed companion Abu Malik, stood valiantly in every battle alongside the Messenger of Allah. Imam Malik's mother, Al-^Aliyah, was the daughter of Sharik, son of ^Abdu r-Rahman Al-‘Asdiyah. Imam Malik blessedly fathered three sons: Yahya, Muhammad and Hammad.

Imam Malik stands as the esteemed founder of one of the four schools of jurisprudence, a legacy that has endured through preservation, renown, and dissemination across Muslim countries.

Imam Malik was born in the illustrious city of Medina in 95 AH. From a young age, he displayed remarkable diligence in acquiring knowledge and transmitting hadith. He studied under a vast array of scholars, numbering in the hundreds, who were successors of the companions and the successors of the successors of the companions. Among his notable teachers were Nafi^, the freed slave of ^Umar's son, Ibnu Shihab Az-Zuhriyy, Abu z-Zinad, ^A'ishah bintu Sa^d ibni Abi Waqas, and Yahya ibnu Sa^id Al-‘Ansariyy.

He was, may Allah have mercy on him, the Imam of the Land of Emigration, Medina. His knowledge spread to different regions His profound knowledge radiated beyond the confines of his city, reaching distant regions. Renowned far and wide, he attracted seekers of knowledge from various lands, who journeyed to him to benefit from his wisdom and expertise.

Imam Malik's dedication to teaching began even before he reached the age of seventeen. He continued to dispense jurisprudential insights and educate others to such an extent that several of his esteemed mentors later reported from him. This indicates that although they initially imparted knowledge to him, Imam Malik further enriched his understanding by learning from additional sources, subsequently transmitting this knowledge back to his teachers.

Notable among those who reported the hadith from Imam Malik were Muhammad Ibnu Shihab Az–Zuhriyy, Rabi^ah Ibnu ‘Abi ^Abdi r-Rahman, a distinguished jurist of Medina, Yahya Ibnu Sa^id Al-‘Ansariyy, and Musa Ibnu ^Uqbah.

Many scholars reported the hadith from Imam Malik to the extent that Qadi ^Iyad compiled a book listing One Thousand Three Hundred names of those who transmitted the hadith from him. Among the most well-known were Sufyan Ath-Thawriyy, Imam Mujtahid Muhammad Ibnu Idris Ash-Shafi^iyy, and ^Abdu l-Lah Ibnu l-Mubarak.

Al-Muwatta' his famous book

The Arabic term "muwatta'" signifies that which is facilitated or made easy. This seminal book was the first to organise hadiths into chapters while integrating legal principles systematically. He dedicated forty years to meticulously researching and compiling this comprehensive book. It contains numerous chains of transmission that the experts in hadith, known as muhaddith, have deemed to be the most authentic. Ash-Shafi^iyy extolled this book, declaring, "There has not appeared on earth, after the book of Allah - the Qur'an - a book more authentic than the book of Malik."

The knowledge of Imam Malik

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, when queried about learning religious knowledge, remarked, 'It is indeed highly commendable, but first consider what you need from the moment you get up until you reach the evening and that is what you have to focus on.' He emphasised the significance of prioritising foundational subjects in the science of religion that are relevant to everyday life.

May Allah have mercy on him, Imam Malik was among those who held religious knowledge in such high esteem that he would perform wudu', groom himself, and wear perfume before transmitting hadith. His pursuit of knowledge was driven by seeking the acceptance of God.