Imam Malik: The Founder of the Maliki School of Thought

Malik bin Anas, known as Imam Malik, is a prominent name in Islamic history. He was not only a great scholar of Hadith, but also a jurist after whom was founded one of the four Islamic schools of Islamic jurisprudence: the Maliki school.

He was 13 years younger to Imam Abu Hanifa and 103 years elder to Imam Bukhari. He compiled the first compendium of Hadith named Al-Muwatta. He was the most leading personality of his time in Madinah and was called Imam Darul Hijrah due to his remaining in Madinah the majority of his life.

He was born in Madinah to Anas ibn Malik and Aaliyah bint Shurayk Al-Azdiyya in 93 AH. His family was originally from the Al-Asbahi tribe of Yemen, but his great grandfather Abu 'Amir came to Madinah in 2 AH, embraced Islam and settled down there.

Born into a well-to-do family, Malik did not need to work for a living. He was highly attracted to the study of Islam, and ended up devoting his entire life to the study of Hadith and Fiqh.

Living in Madinah gave him access to some of the most learned minds of early Islam. He memorized the Holy Qur'an in his youth. He studied under various famous scholars like Hisham ibn Urwah, Ibn Shihab Al-Zuhri, Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq — one of the descendants of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Malik lived with the immediate descendants and the followers of the Companions of the Prophet (pbuh). Imaam Zahabi said: "There remains no scholar in Madinah after the Tabi'een comparable to Imam Malik's knowledge, jurisprudence, eminence, and memorization." Thus, Imam Malik became the Imam of Madinah, and one of the most renowned scholars of Islam.

He learned Hadith from Abdur Rahman ibn Harmuz, Nafi ibn Zakwan and Yahya ibn Saeed.

Imam Malik said: "I did not start to give lecture in Fiqh and Hadith until I was declared eligible to do so by 70 teachers of Hadith and Fiqh."

Imam Malik believed that fatwa is a sensitive, precise and important action that can have far-reaching results, and was extremely careful about giving it to the extent that if he was not sure about a matter, he would not speak about it.

While narrating Hadith, he used to wear elegant and expensive clothing, usually wearing white and frequently changing them.

Imam Malik had great love and respect for Madinah. He remained in Hijaz throughout his life and never traveled outside. He went for Haj only once while fearing that he might die outside Madinah and be deprived of its blessings. Even when he attained old age and became very weak, he never rode on any mount in Madinah. He felt that it was against respect to ride on the very land where the Prophet (pbuh) is buried.

Imam Malik compiled Al-Muwatta in forty years. It is the first legal work to incorporate and join Hadith and Fiqh together and was received with wide praise. Imam Bukhari said that the soundest of all chains called the 'Golden Chain of Narrators' of Hadith transmission was "Malik, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar."

Imam Malik's teachings were not essentially different from those of Imam Abu Hanifa. His main sources were primarily the Holy Qur'an, and then the Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) of which he preferred those which had been collected and narrated by the scholars of Hadith of Madinah. Next, he would refer to Ijma' (consensus), and then Ta'amul i.e. customs of the people of Madinah such as practices of the Sahabah that represent the true spirit of Islam. Lastly, he relied on 'Qiyas' (analogy) and 'Istislah' (public interest).

It is reported that Imam Malik wrote 100,000 Hadiths by his hand. Imam Malik said: "I showed my book to 70 scholars of Madinah and every single one of them approved it, so I named it 'Muwatta' (The Approved One)."

It is the first Hadith work arranged into juristic sections and organized accordingly.

According to some of the great scholars of the past, Imam Malik was widely regarded as the scholar of Madinah. The Prophet (pbuh) had said: "Soon people will beat the flanks of camels seeking knowledge, and they shall not find a single person more knowledgeable than the erudite scholar of Madinah

. (Jami Al-Tirmidhi).

Imam Malik was held high in the eyes of other great scholars, such as, Imam Abu Hanifah, who said, "My eyes have never fallen on anyone faster in understanding, correct in answering, and examining as Imam Malik."

Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal said, "I have compared Imam Malik to Awza'i, Hammaad, Aal-Hakim, Thawri, Laith, in knowledge, but he is the leader in Hadith and Fiqh."

The number of Imam Malik's students was in the thousands. Qazi Iyadh has mentioned that over 1300 narrated Hadith for the great Imam.

Some of the most famous teachers whom he studied with were: Mohammed bin Shihaab Al-Zuhree; Ja'far ibn Mohammed Al-Sadiq; Nafi' ibn Sarjis Al-Daylami; Mohammed ibn Munkadir and Ayyoub Al-Sakhtiyani.

Imam Malik protected the Shariah and courageously upheld it. When the governor of Madinah demanded and forced people to take oath of allegiance to Khalifah Al-Mansour Abbasi, Imam Malik issued a fatwa that such an oath was not binding because it was given under coercion. He based this opinion on the Hadith: "The divorce of the coerced does not take effect." He gave unbiased decisions and never bowed to political authorities. He supported Muhammad Zakia Alawi by issuing a Fatwa against the Abbasid Caliph Mansoor, for which he was arrested and was publicly flogged seventy times by Ja'far, the brother of Caliph Mansoor. When Mansoor heard about this, he asked Imam Malik to visit Iraq and to forgive him for the incident. Later, Imam Malik forgave him because of the Caliph's relationship with the Prophet (pbuh).

Once Caliph Haroon Rasheed invited him to his court to read his Muwatta but he declined to go and politely advised that "my regards to the Caliph, knowledge should be visited and not that it should visit the people". Later the Caliph, with his sons, came to his mosque and attended the discourse like others.

The Imam died at the age of 86. He was buried in the famous cemetery of Madinah, Jannatul-Baqee, near his tutor Nafi' Maula Ibn Umar (R.A.). He had left behind three sons, Yayha, Muhammad and Hammad.

May Almighty Allah reward him for his great services to the Ummah Islamiah.

(Arab News.Com / 07 May 2012)

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99 Islamic Legal Maxims

Muslim Jurists have grouped questions of jurisprudence under certain general rules each one of which embraces a large number of questions. These general rules are taken in the treatises on jurisprudence, as justification to prove these question. (These preliminary study of these rules facilitates the comprehension of the questions and serves to fix them on the mind.) Consequently the ninety-nine (99) rules of jurisprudence have been collected together ... Although a few of them, taken alone, admit of certain exceptions, their general application is in no way invalidated thereby, since they are closely interrelated.

The original Arabic is basically quoted from the original Arabic text by Mahmasani.

The English translation is from the translation by Farhat J. Ziadeh.

Article 1: "Matters are determined according to intention"

Article 2: "In contracts effect is given to intention and meaning and not words and forms"

Article 3: "Certainty is not dispelled, (does not dispel caused), by doubt."

Article 4: "It is a fundamental principle that a thing shall remain as it was originally."

Article 5: "Things which have been existence from time immemorial shall be left as they were."

Article 6: "Injury cannot exist from the time immemorial."

Article 7: "Freedom from liability is a fundamental principle."

Article 8: "Non-existence is a fundamental presumption attached to intervening (transitory) attributes."

Article 9: "Judgment shall be given in respect to any matter, which has been proof at any particular time, unless the contrary is proved"

Article 10: "It is a fundamental principle that any new event shall be regarded as happening at the time nearest to the present."

Article 11: "In principles, word shall be construed according their real meaning."

Article 12: ""No attention shall be paid to inferences (implication) in the face of an explicit statement."

Article 13: "Where there is a text there is no room for interpretation."

Article 14: "A thing established contrary to the Qiyas can not be used as an analogy for other things."

Article 15: "One legal interpretation does not destroy another."

Article 16: "Hardship begets facility".

Article 17: "Latitude should be afforded in the case of difficulty."

Article 18: "Injury may not be met by injury."

Article 19: "Injury is to be repaired."

Article 20: "Necessity renders prohibited things permissible."

Article 21: "Necessity is determined by the extent thereof."

Article 22: "Whatever is permissible owing to some excuse ceases to be permissible with the disappearance of that excuse."

Article 23: "When a prohibition is removed the thing to which such prohibition attaches reverts to its former status of legality."

Article 24: "An injury cannot be removed by a similar injury."

Article 25: "A private injury is tolerated in order to ward off a public injury."

Article 26: "Severe injury is removed by lesser injury."

Article 27: "In the presence of two evils, the one whose injury is greater is avoided by the commission of the lesser."

Article 28: "The lesser of evils is preferred."

Article 29: "Repelling an evil is preferable to securing benefit."

Article 30: "Injury is removed as far as possible."

Article 31: "Need, whether a of a public or private nature, is treated as necessity."

Article 32: "Necessity does not invalidate the right of another."

Article 33: "When it is forbidden to take a thing it is also forbidden to give it."

Article 34: "When it is forbidden to perform an act it is also forbidden to request to its performance."

Article 35: "Custom is authoritative."

Article 36: "Public usage is conclusive and action must be taken accordance therewith."

Article 37: "A thing that is customary to regard as impossible is considered to be impossible in fact."

Article 38: "It is undeniable that rules of law vary with change in time."

Article 39: "The original (real) meaning is to be regarded in favor of that established by custom."

Article 40: "Effect is only given to custom where it is of regular occurrence or when universally prevailing."

Article 41: "Effect is given to what is of common occurrence, not to what happens infrequently."

Article 42: "A matter recognized by custom is regarded as if stipulated by agreement."

Article 43: "A matter recognised customary amongst merchant is regarded as if agreed upon between them."

Article 44: "A matter established by custom is like a matter established by a legal text."

Article 45: "When prohibition and exigency conflict, preference is given to prohibition."

Article 46: "An accessory which is attached to an object in fact is also attached to it in law."

Article 47: "An accessory to an object cannot be dealt with separately"

Article 48: "The owner of a thing held in the absolute ownership is also the owner of the things indispensable to the enjoyment of such thing."

Article 49: "If the principle fails, the accessory also fails."

Article 50: "A thing which has been discharged or annihilated cannot be restored."

Article 51: "When a thing becomes void, the thing contained in it also becomes void."

Article 52: "When the original fails it is restored to its substitute."

Article 53: "A thing which is not permissible in itself, may be permissible as an accessory."

Article 54: "A thing which is not permissible by way of commencement may be permissible by way of continuance."

Article 55: "Continuance is easier than commencement."

Article 56: "A gift becomes complete by delivery."

Article 57: "Management of citizen's affairs is dependent upon public welfare."

Article 58: "Private trusteeship is more effective than public trusteeship."

Article 59: "A word should be construed as have some meaning, rather than disregarded."

Article 60: "When the real meaning cannot be applied, the metaphorical sense may be used."

Article 61: "If no meaning can be attached to a word it is regarded altogether."

Article 62: "A reference to a part of an indivisible thing is regarded as a reference to the whole."

Article 63: "The absolute is construed in its absolute sense, provided that there is no proof of a restricted meaning either in the explicit text or by implication."

Article 64: "A description with reference to a thing present is of no consequence, but the contrary is the case if such thing is not present."

Article 65: "A question is considered to have been repeated in the answer."

Article 66: "No statement is imputed by to a man who keeps silence, but silence is tantamount to a statement where there is a necessity for speech."

Article 67: "In obscure matters the proof of a thing stands in the place of such a thing."

Article 68: "Correspondence resembles conversation."

Article 69: "The recognized signs of a dumb person take the place of a statement by word of mouth."

Article 70: "The word of an interpreter is accepted in every respect."

Article 71: "No validity is attached to conjecture which obviously tainted by error."

Article 72: "No argument is admitted against supposition based upon evidence."

Article 73: "No weight is attached to fancy."

Article 74: "A thing established by proof is equivalent to a thing established by visual inspection."

Article 75: "The burden of proof is on him who alleges; the oath on who denies."

Article 76: "The object of evidence is to proof what is the contrary to the apparent fact."

Article 77: "Evidence is an absolute proof in that it affects third person; admission is relative proof in that it affects only the person making such admission."

Article 78: "A person is bound by his own admission."

Article 79: "Contradiction and proof are incompatible, but this does not invalidate a judgment."

Article 80: "Failure to establish the principal claim does not imply failure to establish a claim subsidiary thereto."

Article 81: "Anything dependent upon a condition precedent is established on the happening of the condition."

Article 82: "A condition must be fulfilled as far as possible."

Article 83: "Promises dependent upon a condition precedent are irrevocable."

Article 84: "The enjoyment of a thing is the compensating factor for any liability attaching thereto."

Article 85: "Remuneration and liability do not run together."

Article 86: "Liability is an obligation accompanying gain.

(That is to say, a person who enjoys the benefits of a thing must submit to the disadvantage attaching thereto.)"

Article 87: "The burden is in proportion to the benefit and the benefit to the burden."

Article 88: "The responsibility for an act falls upon the author thereof; it does not fall upon the person ordering such act, provided that such person does not compel the commission thereof."

Article 89: "In the presence of the direct author of an act and the person who is the cause thereof, the first alone is responsible therefor."

Article 90: "Legal permission is incompatible with liability."

Article 91: "Liability lies on the direct author of an act, even though acting unintentionally."

Article 92: "No liability lies on a person who is the cause of an act unless he has acted intentionally."

Article 93: "No liability attaches in connection with injury caused by animals of their own accord."

Article 94: "Any order given for dealing with the property of others is void."

Article 95: "No person may deal with the property of another without such person's permission."

Article 96: "No person may take another person's property without legal cause."

Article 97: "Any change in the cause of the ownership of a thing is equivalent to a change in that thing itself."

Article 98: "Any person, who hastens the accomplishment of a thing before its due time, is punished by being deprived thereof."

Article 99: "If any person seeks to disavow any act performed by himself, such attempt is disregarded."

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