Biography of Imam Malik (Malik ibn Anas)

10 - Malik the Imam

Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik the Medinan * may Allah have mercy on him

He is the shaykh of Islam, the hujjah of the ummah, the Imam of the Abode of Hijrah: Abu Abdillah Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi 'Amir ibn 'Amr ibn al-Harith ibn Ghayman ibn Khuthayl ibn 'Amr ibn al-Harith, the latter being Dhu Asbah ibn 'Awf ibn Malik ibn Zayd ibn Shaddad ibn

Zur'ah, who is Himyar al-Asghar the Himyarite, then al-Asbahi, the Medinan, allied to the clan of Taym of Quraysh, for they are the allies of 'Uthman, the brother of Talhah ibn 'Ubaydillah, one of the Ten.

His mother is 'Aliyah bint Shurayk al-Azdiyyah.

His paternal uncles are: Abu Suhayl Nafi', Uways, al-Rabi' and al-Nadr, the sons of Abu 'Amir.

Az-Zuhri narrated from his father Anas, and from his two uncles, Uways and Abu Suhayl, and he said: mawla of the Taymiyyin.

Abu Uways 'Abdallah narrated from his uncle al-Rabi', and their father was among the great scholars of the Tabi'un.

He took from: 'Uthman, and a group.

Malik's birth, on the most correct view: in the year 93, the year of the death of Anas, the servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He grew up in protection, affluence and refinement.

He sought knowledge while still in his early teens, shortly after the death of al-Qasim and Salim.

He took from: Nafi', Sa'id al-Maqburi, 'Amir ibn 'Abdillah ibn az-Zubayr, Ibn al-Munkadir, az-Zuhri, 'Abdallah ibn Dinar, and a group whom we shall mention in the mu'jam; beside each one of them is what he narrated from him in Al-Muwatta, with its exact count.

They are:

Ishaq ibn 'Abdillah ibn Abi Talhah, Ayyub ibn Abi Tamimah as-Sakhtiyani, the scholar of Basra, Ayyub ibn Habib al-Juhani, mawla of Sa'd ibn Malik, Ibrahim ibn 'Uqbah, Isma'il ibn Abi Hakim, Isma'il ibn Muhammad ibn Sa'd, Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dayli, Ja'far ibn Muhammad, Humayd at-Tawil, Humayd ibn Qays al-A'raj, Khubayb ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman, Dawud ibn al-Husayn, Dawud Abu Layla ibn 'Abdillah, in charge of the qasamah, Rabi'ah ar-Ra'y, Zayd ibn Aslam, Zayd ibn Rabbah, Ziyad ibn Sa'd,

Zayd ibn Abi Unaysah, Salim Abu an-Nadr, Sa'id ibn Abi Sa'id, Sumayy mawla of Abu Bakr, Salamah ibn Dinar Abu Hazim, Suhayl ibn Abi Salih, Salamah ibn Safwan az-Zuraqi, Sa'd ibn Ishaq, Sa'id ibn 'Amr ibn Shurahbil, Sharik ibn Abi Namir, Salih ibn Kaysan, Safwan ibn Sulaym, Sayfi mawla of Ibn Aflah, Damrah ibn Sa'id, Talhah ibn 'Abd al-Malik, 'Amir ibn 'Abdillah ibn az-Zubayr, 'Abdallah ibn al-Fadl, 'Abdallah ibn 'Abdillah ibn Jabir ibn 'Atik, 'Abdallah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm, 'Abdallah ibn Yazid mawla of al-Aswad, 'Abdallah ibn Dinar, Abu az-Zinad 'Abdallah ibn Dhakwan, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Sa'sa'ah, 'Abdallah ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman Abu Tawalah, 'Ubaydillah ibn Sulayman al-Agharr, 'Ubaydillah ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Harmalah, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi 'Amrah, 'Abd al-Majid ibn Suhayl, 'Abd Rabbih ibn Sa'id, 'Abd al-Karim al-Jazari, 'Ata' al-Khurasani, 'Amr ibn al-Harith, 'Amr ibn Abi 'Amr, 'Amr ibn Yahya ibn 'Ammar, 'Alqamah ibn Abi 'Alqamah, al-'Ala' ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman, Fudayl ibn Abi 'Abdillah, Qatan ibn Wahb, az-Zuhri, Ibn al-Munkadir, Abu az-Zubayr, Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman, the orphan of 'Urwah, Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Halhalah, Muhammad ibn 'Umarah, Muhammad ibn Abi Umamah, Muhammad ibn 'Abdillah ibn Abi Sa'sa'ah, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ath-Thaqafi, Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn 'Alqamah, Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm, Abu ar-Rijal Muhammad, Musa ibn 'Uqbah, Musa ibn Maysarah, Musa ibn Abi Tamim, Makhramah ibn Sulayman, Muslim ibn Abi Maryam, al-Miswar ibn Rifa'ah, Nafi', Abu

Suhayl Nafi' ibn Malik, Nu'aym al-Mujmir, Wahb ibn Kaysan, Hashim ibn Hashim al-Waqqasi, Hilal ibn Abi Maymunah, Hisham ibn 'Urwah, Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari, Yazid ibn Khusayfah, Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad al-Madani, Yazid ibn 'Abdallah ibn al-Had, Yazid ibn Ruman, Yazid ibn 'Abdallah ibn Qusayt, Yunus ibn Yusuf ibn Himas, Abu Bakr ibn 'Umar al-'Umari, Abu Bakr ibn Nafi', trustworthy in his view, trustworthy.

From all of them together, he narrates 636 hadiths, plus six hadiths from unnamed narrators; there is disagreement on this regarding 71 hadiths.

And among those from whom Malik narrated mawaqit: 'Abd al-Karim ibn Abi al-Mukhariq, Muhammad ibn 'Uqbah, 'Umar ibn Husayn, Kathir ibn Zayd, Kathir ibn Farqad, Muhammad ibn 'Ubaydillah ibn Abi Maryam, 'Uthman ibn Hafs ibn Khaldah, Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sa'd ibn Zurarah, Ya'qub ibn Yazid ibn Talhah, Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Tahlah, Sa'id ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ruqaysh, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Mujabbir, as-Salt ibn Zuyayd, Abu 'Ubayd, chamberlain of Sulayman, Muhammad ibn Yusuf, 'Afif ibn 'Amr, Muhammad ibn Zayd ibn Qunfudh, Abu Ja'far al-Qari', 'Umar ibn Muhammad ibn Zayd, Sadaqah ibn Yasari al-Makki, Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad, 'Umarah ibn Sayyad, Sa'id ibn Sulayman ibn Zayd ibn Thabit, Sa'id ibn 'Amr ibn Sulaym, 'Urwah ibn Udaynah, Ayyub ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Abi Harmalah, Abu Bakr ibn 'Uthman, Jamil ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Mu'adhdhin, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn

'Abdillah ibn 'Abd, and 'Amr ibn 'Ubaydillah al-Ansari, Ibrahim ibn Abi Ablah, 'Abdallah ibn Sa'id ibn Abi Hind, Yazid ibn Hafs, 'Asim ibn 'Ubaydillah, Thabit al-Ahnaf, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Habib, 'Umar ibn Abi Dulaf, 'Abd al-Malik ibn Qurayz, al-Walid ibn 'Abdallah ibn Sayyad, and 'A'ishah bint Sa'd.

Al-Muwatta also contains several mursal hadiths, narrated from az-Zuhri, Yahya al-Ansari and Hisham ibn 'Urwah.

The Imam ad-Daraqutni compiled the atraf of all of that in a large volume, clarifying and explaining it; I myself devoted a large volume to the names of those who narrated from him, numbering around 1400; let us mention their foremost figures:

Among his own shaykhs, those who narrated from him: his uncle Abu Suhayl, Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, az-Zuhri, Yahya ibn Sa'id, Yazid ibn al-Had, Zayd ibn Abi Unaysah, 'Umar ibn Muhammad ibn Zayd, and others.

Among his contemporaries: Ma'mar, Ibn Jurayj, Abu Hanifah, 'Amr ibn al-Harith, al-Awza'i, Shu'bah, ath-Thawri, Juwayriyah ibn Asma', al-Layth, Hammad ibn Zayd, and a great number, Isma'il ibn Ja'far, Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, 'Abdallah ibn al-Mubarak, ad-Darawardi, Ibn Abi az-Zinad, Ibn 'Ulayyah, Yahya ibn Abi Za'idah, Abu Ishaq al-Fazari, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan the jurist, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mahdi, Ma'n ibn 'Isa al-Qazzaz, 'Abdallah ibn Wahb, Abu Qurrah Musa ibn Tariq, an-Nu'man ibn 'Abd as-Salam, Waki', al-Walid ibn Muslim, Yahya al-Qattan, Ishaq ibn Sulayman ar-Razi, Anas ibn 'Iyad al-Laythi, Damrah ibn Rabi'ah, Umayyah ibn Khalid, Bishr ibn as-Sariyy

al-Afwah, Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid, Bakr ibn ash-Sharud as-San'ani, Abu Usamah, Hajjaj ibn Muhammad, Rawh ibn 'Ubadah, Ashhab ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, Abu 'Abdillah al-Shafi'i, 'Abdallah ibn 'Abd al-Hakam, Ziyad ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman Shabtun al-Andalusi, Abu Dawud at-Tayalisi, Abu Kamil Muzaffar ibn Mudrik, Abu 'Asim an-Nabil, 'Abd ar-Razzaq, Abu 'Amir al-'Aqadi, Abu Mushir ad-Dimashqi, 'Abdallah ibn Nafi' as-Sa'igh, 'Abdallah ibn 'Uthman al-Marwazi 'Abdan, Marwan ibn Muhammad at-Tatari, 'Abdallah ibn Yusuf at-Tinnisi, 'Abdallah ibn

Maslamah al-Qa'nabi, Abu Nu'aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn, Mu'alla ibn Mansur ar-Razi, Mansur ibn Salamah al-Khuza'i, al-Haytham ibn Jamil al-Antaki, Hisham ibn 'Ubaydillah ar-Razi, Asad ibn Musa, Adam ibn Abi Iyas, Muhammad ibn 'Isa ibn at-Tabba', Khalid ibn Makhlad al-Qatawani, Yahya ibn Salih al-Wuhadhi, Abu Bakr and Isma'il, the two sons of Abu Uways, 'Ali ibn al-Ja'd, Khalaf ibn Hisham, Yahya ibn Yahya at-Tamimi, Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi, Sa'id ibn Mansur, Yahya ibn Bukayr, Abu Ja'far an-Nufayli, Qutaybah ibn Sa'id, Mus'ab ibn 'Abdillah az-Zubayri, Abu Mus'ab az-Zuhri, Ahmad ibn Yunus al-Yarbu'i, Suwayd ibn Sa'id, Muhammad ibn Sulayman Luwayn, Hisham ibn 'Ammar, Ahmad ibn Hatim at-Tawil, Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i the martyr, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Azraqi, Ibrahim ibn Yusuf al-Balkhi al-Makiyani, Ibrahim ibn Sulayman az-Zayyat al-Balkhi, Isma'il ibn Musa al-Fazari, Ishaq ibn 'Isa ibn at-Tabba', brother of Muhammad, Ishaq ibn Muhammad al-Farwi, Ishaq ibn al-Furat, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Hunayni, Bishr ibn al-Walid al-Kindi, Habib ibn Abi Habib, Malik's scribe, al-Hakam ibn al-Mubarak al-Khashti, Khalid ibn Khidash al-Muhallabi, Khalaf ibn Hisham al-Bazzar, and Zuhayr

ibn 'Abbad ar-Ru'asi, and Sa'id ibn 'Ufayr al-Misri,

and Sa'id ibn Dawud az-Zubayri, and Sa'id ibn Abi Maryam, and Abu ar-Rabi' Sulayman ibn Dawud az-Zahrani, and Salih ibn 'Abdillah at-Tirmidhi, and 'Abdallah ibn Nafi' ibn Thabit az-Zubayri, and 'Abdallah ibn Nafi' al-Jumahi, and 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Amr al-Bajali al-Harrani, and 'Abd al-A'la ibn Hammad an-Narsi, and 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Yahya al-Madani, and Abu Nu'aym, and 'Ubayd ibn Hisham al-Halabi, and 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Hamid al-Ma'ni, and 'Utbah ibn 'Abdillah al-Yahmadi al-Marwazi, and 'Amr ibn Khalid al-Harrani, and 'Asim ibn 'Ali al-Wasiti, and 'Abbas ibn al-Walid an-Narsi, and Kamil ibn Talhah, and Muhammad ibn Mu'awiyah an-Naysaburi, and Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Waqidi, and Abu al-Ahwas Muhammad ibn Hibban al-Baghawi,

and Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Warkani, and Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Abi Sukaynah, and Mansur ibn Abi Muzahim, and Mutarrif ibn 'Abdillah al-Yasari, and Muhriz ibn Salamah al-'Adani, and Muhriz ibn 'Awn, and al-Haytham ibn Kharjah, and Yahya ibn Qaza'ah al-Madani, and Yahya ibn Sulayman ibn Nadlah al-Madani, and Yazid ibn Salih an-Naysaburi al-Farra'.

And the last of his companions to die: the transmitter of Al-Muwatta, Abu Hudhayfah Ahmad ibn Isma'il as-Sahmi, who lived eighty years after Malik.

He had performed Hajj long ago and had joined 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah. Mus'ab az-Zubayri said:

I heard Ibn Abi az-Zubayr say: Malik narrated to us and said:

I saw 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah enter the mosque, grasp the finial of the minbar, then face the qiblah.

Ma'n, al-Waqidi and Muhammad ibn ad-Dahhak said: Malik's mother carried him for three years.

And from al-Waqidi, who said: she carried him for two years.

Malik sought knowledge while still in his early teens, qualified himself for fatwa and sat to teach at the age of 21. A group was already narrating from him while he was young and in the prime of life; students of knowledge came to him from the horizons at the end of the reign of Abu Ja'far al-Mansur and after that, and they crowded around him under the caliphate of ar-Rashid, until his death.

Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Ghani al-Mu'addal informed us; 'Abd al-Latif ibn Yusuf informed us; Ahmad ibn Ishaq informed us; Muhammad ibn Abi al-Qasim al-Khatib informed us, and the two said:

Abu al-Fath Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Baqi informed us; 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Anbari informed us; 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abdillah ibn Mahdi informed us; Muhammad ibn Makhlad informed us; Abu Yahya Muhammad ibn Sa'id ibn Ghalib al-'Attar narrated to us: Ibn 'Uyaynah narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Abu az-Zubayr, from Abu Salih:

from Abu Hurayrah, who raises it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: "The people will beat the breasts of camels seeking knowledge, and they will not find a scholar more knowledgeable than the scholar of Medina."

And by another chain, up to Ibn Makhlad: Layth ibn al-Faraj narrated to us; 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mahdi narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Ibn Jurayj, from Abu az-Zubayr, from Abu Salih, from

Abu Hurayrah, who said:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "A time will come upon the people when they will beat the breasts of camels..." and he mentioned the hadith.

This is a hadith with a pure isnad and a rare matn.

It was narrated by several, from Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah.

In one wording: "It is near that the people will travel the flanks of camels seeking knowledge."

In one wording: "a scholar in Medina."

In one wording: "more versed in fiqh than the scholar of Medina."

It was narrated by al-Muharibi, from Ibn Jurayj, as mawquf (stopped at the Companion), and it is narrated from Muhammad ibn 'Abdillah al-Ansari, from Ibn Jurayj, as marfu' (raised to the Prophet).

An-Nasa'i narrated it, saying: 'Ali ibn Ahmad narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Kathir narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Abu az-Zinad, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "They will beat the breasts of camels, and they will not find a scholar more knowledgeable than the scholar of Medina."

An-Nasa'i said: "This is a mistake; the correct version is: from Abu az-Zubayr, from Abu Salih."

Ma'n ibn 'Isa, from Abu al-Mundhir Zuhayr at-Tamimi, who said:

'Ubaydillah ibn 'Umar said, from Sa'id ibn Abi Hind, from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, who said:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "People will set out from the East and the West seeking knowledge, and they will not find a scholar more knowledgeable than the scholar of Medina."

And it is narrated from Ibn 'Uyaynah, who said:

I used to say: it is Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, until I said: in his time there were Sulayman ibn Yasar, Salim ibn 'Abdillah, and others besides them.

Then today I have come to say: it is Malik; no equal to him remains in Medina.

Qadi 'Iyad said: "This is what is correct from Sufyan."

Ibn Mahdi, Ibn Ma'in, Dhu'ayb ibn 'Imamah, Ibn al-Madini, az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar and Ishaq ibn Abi Isra'il all narrated it from him; they all heard Sufyan interpret it as Malik, or say: "I think it is he," "I believe it is he," "it seems to me it is he," or they considered it so.

Abu al-Mughirah al-Makhzumi mentioned that its meaning is: as long as the Muslims seek knowledge, they will not find anyone more knowledgeable than a scholar in Medina.

On this reading it would be Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, then after him whoever was among Malik's shaykhs, then Malik, then whoever after him carried on his knowledge and was the most knowledgeable of his companions.

I say: the scholar of Medina in his time, after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his two companions, was Zayd ibn Thabit and 'A'ishah, then Ibn 'Umar, then Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, then az-Zuhri, then 'Ubaydillah ibn 'Umar, then Malik.

And from Ibn 'Uyaynah, who said: Malik is the scholar of the people of the Hijaz, and he is the proof of his time.

Al-Shafi'i said, and he spoke truly and rightly: "When scholars are mentioned, Malik is the star."

Az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar said, concerning the hadith: "The people will beat the breasts of camels...":

During Malik's lifetime, when Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah narrated this hadith, he would say: "It seems to me it is Malik."

He kept to that for a while, then later changed and said: "It seems to me it is 'Abdallah ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-'Umari the ascetic."

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr and others said: al-'Umari is not one who matches Malik in knowledge and fiqh, even though he was noble, dignified and devout.

Ahmad ibn Abi Khaythamah said: Mus'ab narrated to us, saying: Sufyan informed us: "We hold that this hadith refers to Malik," and Sufyan used to ask me about reports concerning Malik.

I say: this 'Umari had knowledge, good fiqh and merit; he spoke the truth firmly, enjoined the recognized good custom ('urf), kept apart from people, and he would urge Malik, when alone with him, toward detachment from the world, withdrawal and seclusion; may Allah have mercy on them both.

Section.

After the Tabi'un, there was no scholar in Medina comparable to Malik in knowledge, fiqh, majesty and memorization. After the Companions, Medina had the likes of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, the seven jurists, al-Qasim, Salim, 'Ikrimah, Nafi' and their peers; then Zayd ibn Aslam, Ibn Shihab, Abu az-Zinad, Yahya ibn Sa'id, Safwan ibn Sulaym, Rabi'ah ibn Abi 'Abd ar-Rahman and their peers. When they had passed away, Malik's fame spread there, along with Ibn Abi Dhi'b, 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn al-Majishun, Sulayman ibn Bilal, Fulayh ibn Sulayman, ad-Darawardi and their contemporaries. Malik was then, without qualification, the foremost of them, the one to whom the flanks of camels were traveled from the horizons; may Allah, the Most High, have mercy on him.

There has reached me, among his continuous chains of transmission, the Al-Muwatta of Abu Mus'ab. And in that chain,

there is an ijazah (authorization), and there have reached me, from the top of his chain of transmission, in an unbroken way, forty hadiths from the Mi'ah ash-Shurayhiyyah, the Juz' of Biyba, the Juz' of al-Baniyasi and the al-Mahamiliyyat volumes. Among them is the following:

Abu al-Ma'ali Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Hamdani informed us, saying:

Abu al-Mahasen Muhammad ibn Hibatillah ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ad-Dinawari informed us in Baghdad in the year 621; my paternal uncle Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz informed us in the year 539; 'Asim ibn al-Hasan informed us; 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad al-Farisi informed us; al-Husayn ibn Isma'il, the qadi, narrated to us; Ahmad ibn Isma'il al-Madani narrated to us; Malik narrated to us, from 'Abdillah ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Ansari, from Abu Yunus, mawla of 'A'ishah, from 'A'ishah:

a man said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), while he was standing at the door and I myself was listening: "O Messenger of Allah! I wake up in a state of major ritual impurity (junub) and I intend

to fast; may I perform ghusl and fast that day?"

He replied: "I too wake up in a state of major ritual impurity and I intend to fast; so I perform ghusl and fast that day."

The man said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! You are not like us; Allah has forgiven your past and future sins."

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) became angry and said: "By Allah, I hope to be the one among you who fears Allah most and who is most knowledgeable about what he guards against."

This is a sahih (authentic) hadith.

Abu Dawud cited it, from al-Qa'nabi, from Malik; and an-Nasa'i narrated it in his Musnad of Malik, from Muhammad ibn Salamah, from 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim the jurist, from Malik.

And an-Nasa'i narrated this same text in a similar chain, from Ahmad ibn Hafs an-Naysaburi, from his father, from Ibrahim ibn Tahman, from Hajjaj ibn Hajjaj, from Qatadah, from 'Abd Rabbih, from Abu 'Iyad, from 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith, from Nafi', mawla of Umm Salamah, from Umm Salamah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

This is thus a rare and precious isnad: five Tabi'un follow one another in it, some narrating from others, and given their number it is as if I had shaken hands with an-Nasa'i through it.

Ibn Abi 'Arubah also narrated it, from Qatadah, with his isnad; but he did not name Nafi' in it, rather he said: from the mawla of Umm Salamah, from her.

And the hadith of 'A'ishah is in the Sahih of

Muslim, by way of Isma'il ibn Ja'far, from 'Abdillah ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman, that is, Abu Tawalah.

Al-Bukhari did not cite anything from Abu Yunus, as far as I know, and Allah knows best.

Abu 'Abdillah al-Hakim said, after mentioning the leading imams of the Tabi'un in Medina, such as Ibn al-Musayyib and those after him: "The breasts of camels were never traveled from all directions toward any one of them over the others, until they passed away and their era ended. Then came the likes of Ibn Shihab, Rabi'ah, Yahya ibn Sa'id, 'Abdillah ibn Yazid ibn Hurmuz, Abu az-Zinad and Safwan ibn Sulaym; all of them gave fatwa in Medina, yet not one of them was singled out as the one to whom the breasts of camels were traveled. That era passed, and the interpretation did not come true, in their time, in the scholar of the people of Medina."

Then Malik narrated after them and was their mufti; the breasts of camels were traveled toward him from the horizons, and this rank was acknowledged to him. Imams older than him narrated from him, such as al-Layth, the scholar of the people of Egypt and the Maghrib, al-Awza'i, the scholar of the people of Sham and their mufti, ath-Thawri, the foremost in Kufah, and Shu'bah, the scholar of the people of Basra.

Up to his saying: Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari had taken from him before them, when Abu Ja'far appointed him to the supreme judiciary; he asked Malik to write for him one hundred hadiths when he set out for Iraq, and Ibn Jurayj had already taken from him.

Abu Mus'ab: I heard Malik say:

I entered upon Abu Ja'far, the Commander of the Faithful, who had alighted upon a likeness of himself, meaning his couch, and on his carpet were two creatures that neither copulate nor urinate, and a boy came who would go out and then return. He said to me: "Do you know who this is?"

I said: "No."

He said: "This is my son; he startles only because of your awe-inspiring presence."

Then he questioned me about matters, some lawful and some unlawful, and then he said to me: "You are, by Allah, the most reasonable of people and the most knowledgeable of people."

I said: "No, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful!"

He said: "Yes, but you conceal it."

Then he said: "By Allah, if I remain in power, I will write down your words as the Scriptures are written, and send them to the

horizons, and compel them to act upon them."

Al-Hasan ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Jarawi: 'Abdillah ibn Yusuf narrated to us, from Khalaf ibn 'Umar, who heard Malik say:

I never answered in fatwa until I asked one who was more knowledgeable than me: "Do you see me as fit for that?" I asked Rabi'ah and I asked Yahya ibn Sa'id, and they both directed me to do it.

And it was said: "And if they had forbidden you?"

He said: "I would have abstained. It is not fitting for a man to give of himself until he has asked one who is more knowledgeable than he."

Khalaf said: I entered upon him, and he said: "What do you see?"

Whenever there was a dream, some of his brothers would send it to him. He says: "I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in a dream, in a mosque where the people had gathered, and he said to them:

I have hidden under my minbar perfume or knowledge, and I have commanded Malik to distribute it among the people." The people went away saying: "Then Malik will carry out what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded him." Then he wept, and I rose and left him.

Ahmad ibn Salih: I heard Ibn Wahb say:

Malik said: "I heard many hadiths from Ibn Shihab that I have never narrated and that I do not narrate."

Nasr ibn 'Ali al-Jahdami: Husayn ibn 'Urwah narrated to me and said:

Al-Mahdi arrived and sent to Malik two thousand dinars, or rather, he said, three thousand dinars. Ar-Rabi' then came to him and said:

"The Commander of the Faithful would like you to go and join him in the City of

Peace." He said:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Medina is better for them, were they to know," and the money stays with me as it is.

Mahmud ibn Ghaylan: Isma'il ibn Dawud al-Mikhraqi narrated to us; I heard Malik say:

Rabi'ah ar-Ra'y took my hand and said: "By the Lord of this place, I have never seen an Iraqi of sound mind." And I heard Malik say: "'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah was weak of mind."

Yasin ibn 'Abd al-Ahad: 'Umar ibn al-Muhabbir ar-Ru'ayni narrated to me and said:

Al-Mahdi arrived in Medina and sent for Malik, who came to him. He said to Harun and Musa: "Listen to him, both of you."

He sent them to him, but Malik did not answer them; they informed al-Mahdi, who spoke to him about it, and Malik said: "O Commander of the Faithful! Knowledge is taken from its people."

He said: "Malik has spoken truly. Go to him."

When they reached him, their tutor said to him: "Read to us."

He said: "The people of Medina are the ones who read before the scholar, as children read before their teacher; if they make a mistake, he issues the fatwa to them."

They returned to al-Mahdi, who sent for Malik again, spoke to him, and Malik said:

I heard Ibn Shihab say: "We gathered this knowledge in the Rawdah from men who are, O Commander of the Faithful: Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Abu Salamah, 'Urwah, al-Qasim, Salim, Kharjah ibn Zayd, Sulayman ibn Yasar, Nafi' and 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Hurmuz; then after them: Abu az-Zinad, Rabi'ah, Yahya ibn Sa'id and Ibn Shihab. Of all these, it is before them that one reads,

and they do not read."

He said: "In these there are models to follow. Go to him and read before him." So they did.

Qutaybah: Ma'n narrated to us, from Malik, who said:

Harun arrived, setting out for Hajj, and with him was Ya'qub Abu Yusuf. Malik came to the Commander of the Faithful, who brought him near and honored him. When he sat down, Abu Yusuf turned to him and asked him a question, but he did not answer; he tried again and asked him, but he did not answer; he tried a third time and asked him, and Harun said:

"O Abu 'Abdillah! This is our qadi Ya'qub asking you."

Malik turned to him and said: "O you! When you see me sitting for the people of falsehood, come along: I will answer you along with them."

As-Sirraj: Qutaybah narrated to us:

Whenever we entered upon Malik, he would come out to us adorned, with kohl and perfume, wearing his finest clothes; he would take his place at the head of the circle of learning, call for fans, and give each of us one.

Muhammad ibn Sa'd: Muhammad ibn 'Umar narrated to me and said:

Malik used to come to the mosque, attend the prayers, the Friday prayer and funerals, visit the sick, and sit in the mosque where his companions would gather around him. Then he gave up sitting: he would pray and leave. He stopped attending funerals, then gave up all of that, including the Friday prayer; the people bore all of that and were content with it as it was. He was sometimes spoken to about it, and he would say: "Not everyone is able to state his excuse."

He would sit in his house on his bedding, with cushions laid out on the right and left for those who came to him from Quraysh, the Ansar and the people.

His assembly was one of dignity and forbearance.

He said: He was an imposing and noble man; in his assembly there was no disputing or idle talk, and no raising of voices. Strangers would ask him about hadith, and he would not answer except concerning one hadith after another.

At times he permitted some of them to read before him. He had a scribe who had copied out his books, called Habib; he would read for the assembly, and no one looked into the book, out of awe for Malik and veneration for him. When Habib read and erred, Malik would open [the book] before him, and that was rare.

Ibn Wahb: I heard Malik say: "No one ever talked much and succeeded."

Harmalah: Ibn Wahb narrated to us; Malik said to me:

Knowledge decreases and does not increase; since the prophets and the Scriptures, knowledge has never stopped decreasing.

Ahmad ibn Mas'ud al-Maqdisi: Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Hunayni narrated to us, saying:

Malik used to say: "By Allah, I never entered upon a king of these kings, not even to reach a kinsman of his, but Allah stripped his awe from my breast."

Harmalah: Ibn Wahb narrated to us: I heard Malik say:

I know that it is a great corruption for a person to speak of everything he hears.

Harun ibn Musa al-Farwi: I heard Mus'ab az-Zubayri say:

Harun ar-Rashid asked Malik, while he was at home and his sons were with him, to read before them.

Malik said: "I have not read before anyone for a long time; it is before me that one reads."

Ar-Rashid said: "Send the people out, so that it is I who read before you."

Malik said: "When the common people are barred for the sake of some of the elite, the elite derive no benefit."

And he ordered Ma'n ibn 'Isa, and he recited to him.

Isma'il ibn Abi Uways said: I asked my maternal uncle Malik about an issue. He said to me: "Quiet!" Then he performed ablution, then he sat on the couch, then he said: "There is no might nor power except with Allah."

He would not issue a fatwa until he had said those words.

Ibn Wahb said: I heard Malik say:

I did not learn knowledge except for myself, and I did not learn it so that people would need me; and such indeed were the people.

Isma'il al-Qadi said: I heard Abu Mus'ab say:

Malik did not attend the congregational prayer for twenty-five years. He was told: what prevents you?

He said: the fear of seeing something wrong and then having to change it.

Ibrahim al-Hizami: Mutarrij ibn Abdallah narrated to me:

Malik said to me: what do people say about me?

I said: the friend praises you, and the enemy belittles you. He said: people

have always been like that; but we seek refuge with Allah from the fluctuation of all tongues.

Ahmad ibn Sa'id ar-Ribati said: I heard Abd ar-Razzaq say:

Sandal asked Malik about an issue, and he answered him; Sandal said: you are a human being: at times you err, and at times you are right.

He said: you have spoken the truth; such are people.

It was said to Malik: did you not grasp what he said to you?

He grasped its meaning and said: I have known the scholars, and they do not speak like this; I am only answered in the manner of ordinary people.

Harmala: Ibn Wahb narrated to us: I heard Malik say:

This kind of disputation is no part of the religion.

Ibn Wahb, from Malik, who said:

I entered upon al-Mansur; the Hashimites would enter upon him, kissing his hand and his foot, may Allah protect me from that.

Al-Harith ibn Miskin: Ibn al-Qasim informed us and said:

Malik was asked: why did you not take knowledge from Amr ibn Dinar?

He said: I went to him and found people taking from him standing. It seemed unworthy to me to take the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) standing.

Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir: Ma'n and others narrated to us, from Malik, who said:

Knowledge is not to be taken from four (types of) men: the fool who displays his folly, even if he is the most eloquent of people; the follower of an innovation who calls to his own desire; the liar about people's reports, even if I do not suspect him in

hadith; and the righteous, devout, virtuous man when he does not memorize what he narrates.

Asbagh: Ibn Wahb narrated to us, from Malik, who was asked about praying behind the people of the qadari innovation and others, and said: I do not see that one should pray behind them.

It was said: what about the Friday prayer?

He said: the Friday prayer is an obligation; and it happens that something is reported about a man while it is not true of him.

It was said to him: what if I am certain of it, or someone I trust informs me of it, should I then not pray the Friday prayer behind him?

He said: if you are certain.

As if he said: if that certainty is lacking, praying behind him remains within (permissible) latitude.

Abu Yusuf Ahmad ibn Muhammad as-Saydalani said: I heard Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybani say:

I was with Malik. He looked at his companions and said: hold the people of the East, when they narrate to you, in the station of the People of the Book: neither affirm them nor deny them.

Then he turned, saw me, and as if embarrassed said: O Abu Abdallah! I dislike that this becomes backbiting; this is how, I was told, our companions used to say it.

I say: the Imam said this only because he did not concern himself with the condition of some of those men, nor with their biographical notices; and that is scrupulous piety. Do you not see that as soon as he learned the condition of Ayyub as-Sakhtiyani, the Iraqi, he argued by him; and likewise Humayd at-Tawil and all those from whom he narrated?

The people of Iraq, meanwhile, are like everyone else: among them are the trustworthy pillar of proof, the truthful, the jurist, the master reciter, the worshipper; and among them are the weak, the abandoned, the suspect. In the two Sahihs there is a great deal of narration from the Iraqis, may Allah have mercy on them.

And among the Successors they include: Alqama, Masruq, Abida, al-Hasan,

Ibn Sirin, ash-Sha'bi, Ibrahim, then al-Hakam, Qatada, Mansur, Abu Ishaq, Ibn Awn, then Mis'ar, Shu'ba, Sufyan, the two Hammads, and figures of their stature, may Allah have mercy on them all.

This account was narrated by al-Hakim, from an-Najjad, from Hilal ibn al-Ala, from as-Saydalani.

The physical description of Imam Malik

'Isa ibn Umar said: I never saw a whiteness or a rosiness more beautiful than the face of Malik, nor clothing of a purer white than Malik's.

More than one (scholar) transmitted that he was tall, corpulent, with an imposing head, fair, with white hair and beard, full-bearded, bald; he did not trim his mustache and considered that a disfigurement.

It is also said that he had blue eyes; part of this was transmitted by Ibn Sa'd, from Mutarrij ibn Abdallah.

Muhammad ibn ad-Dahhak al-Hizami said: Malik wore pure, fine garments and changed his clothes frequently.

Al-Walid ibn Muslim said: Malik wore white; and I saw him, like al-Awza'i, wearing sijan cloth (a Madinan fabric).

Ashhab said: when Malik was in ihram, he placed part of it under his chin and let one of its ends hang between his shoulders.

Khalid ibn Khidash said: I saw on Malik a taylasan (turban) and fine Marw garments.

Ashhab also said: when he applied kohl out of necessity, he would stay seated in his house.

Mus'ab said: he wore garments of Aden and used perfume.

Abu Asim said: I never saw a narrator of hadith with a more handsome face than Malik.

It is also said: he was of intense whiteness tinged with yellow, with well-defined eyes, a fine nose; he let his forelock hang over his brow and curled his mustache upward in the manner of Umar's twist.

Ibn Wahb said: I saw Malik dyed with henna once.

Abu Mus'ab said: Malik was among the most handsome of people in face, the most majestic in gaze, the purest in whiteness, the most complete in stature, in a body of fine constitution.

Al-Waqidi said: he was of medium height; he never dyed (his hair) and never entered the bathhouse.

Bishr ibn al-Harith said: I entered upon Malik and saw him wearing a taylasan worth five hundred (dirhams), its two ends falling over his eyes, something befitting kings.

Ashhab said: when Malik was in ihram, he placed part of it under his jaw and cast its end behind him; and he perfumed himself with musk and other (scents).

The qadi Iyad cited, among other (reports), the beauty of the Imam's attire and the abundance of his adornment.

Regarding Malik's lineage there is divergence:

While they agree that he was an Arab of Dhu Asbah, it was said of his highest ancestor: Awf ibn Malik ibn Zayd ibn Amir ibn Rabi'a ibn Nabt ibn Malik ibn Zayd ibn Kahlan ibn Saba ibn Yashjub ibn Ya'rub ibn Qahtan; and all of Yemen traces back to Qahtan.

They do not differ that the Asbahis belong to Himyar, and Himyar belongs to Qahtan.

However, there is divergence about the ancestor Ghayman, with a dotted ghayn, then (the names) to the end as most famously reported.

It is said: Uthman, on the direct line; but this is not verified.

Khuthayl, with an emphatic kha' then a tha';

this is the view of Ibn Sa'd and others.

Isma'il ibn Abi Uways and ad-Daraqutni said: Juthayl, with a jim then a tha'.

It is also said: Hanbal.

It is also said: Hisl; both are scribal errors.

The qadi Iyad said: the lineage of Dhu Asbah has been disputed at great length.

His birth

It was mentioned earlier that it was the year 93.

This is the view of Yahya ibn Bukayr and others.

It is said: the year 94.

This is the view of Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Abd al-Hakam and Amara ibn Wathima, among others.

It is said: the year 97; this is an anomalous report.

Khalifa ibn Khayyat and Isma'il ibn Abi Uways said: Dhu Asbah was from Himyar.

It is related from Ibn Ishaq that he claimed Malik and his family were clients of Banu Taym; he was mistaken, and that was the strongest cause of Imam Malik's declaring him a liar and criticizing him.

Malik was an authority in the criticism of men, a precise and rigorous memorizer.

Bishr ibn Umar az-Zahrani said: I asked Malik about a man, and he said: have you seen him

in my notebooks?

I said: no.

He said: had he been trustworthy, you would have seen him in my notebooks.

This statement shows you that he only narrated from someone he considered trustworthy; it does not follow from that that he narrated from every trustworthy man; nor does it follow from what he said that everyone from whom he narrated, and whom he considered trustworthy, was trustworthy in the eyes of the other memorizers, for the condition of a shaykh may conceal from one what it reveals to another. In any case, he was exceedingly careful in criticizing men, may Allah have mercy on him.

Ibn al-Barqi: Uthman ibn Kinana narrated to us, from Malik, who said:

Sometimes the old man would sit with us and talk most of the day, and we would not take a single hadith from him. We did not suspect him; he simply was not one of the people of hadith.

Isma'il al-Qadi: Atiq ibn Ya'qub narrated to us: I heard Malik say:

Ibn Shihab narrated to us 45 hadiths, then said: repeat them to me; and I repeated to him 40 of them.

Nasr ibn Ali said: Husayn ibn Urwa narrated to us, from Malik, who said:

az-Zuhri came to us; we went to him, with Rabi'a among us, and he narrated to us 49 hadiths. The next day we went to him, and he said:

Look for a notebook, so that I may dictate from it. What of what I narrated to you yesterday: how much of it do you have in hand?

Rabi'a said: here is one who will give you back what you narrated yesterday.

He said: who is he?

He said: Ibn Abi Amir.

He said: bring him.

He recited to him from memory 40 of those hadiths.

Az-Zuhri said: I did not think anyone other than me remained who had memorized this.

Al-Bukhari said, from Ali ibn Abdallah: Malik had close to a thousand hadiths.

I say: he meant what became famous of his in the Muwatta and elsewhere; otherwise he possessed much that he did not permit himself to narrate.

Ali ibn al-Madini narrated, from Sufyan, who said:

may Allah have mercy on Malik; how severe was his criticism of men!

Ibn Abi Khaythama: Ibn Ma'in narrated to us; Ibn Uyayna said:

It was not that we were with Malik; rather we followed Malik's tracks: we examined the old man; if Malik had written from him, we wrote from him.

Tahir ibn Khalid al-Ayli narrated, from his father, from Ibn Uyayna, who said:

Malik would not transmit any hadith except sound ones, and would not narrate except from a trustworthy man. I foresee that Madinah will be laid waste after his death, meaning in knowledge.

At-Tahawi: Yunus narrated to us: I heard Sufyan, and he mentioned a hadith; they said to him: Malik contradicts you in it.

He said: do you pair me with Malik? Between him and me is what Jarir said:

The son of Labun, even when allied to a tribe, cannot withstand the assault of the Qana'is shields.

Yunus then said: I heard ash-Shafi'i say:

Malik and Ibn Uyayna are the two greats; were it not for Malik and Ibn Uyayna, the knowledge of the Hijaz would have vanished.

Wahb ibn Jarir and others, from Shu'ba, who said:

I came to Madinah a year after the death of Nafi', and Malik ibn Anas already had his study circle.

Hammad ibn Zayd said: Ayyub narrated to us and said:

Malik already had a circle in the lifetime of Nafi'.

Ashhab said: I asked al-Mughira ibn Abd ar-Rahman about Malik and Ibn al-Majishun; he preferred Malik and said: none was ever more balanced in knowledge than he.

Ibn al-Madini said: I heard Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mahdi say:

Wuhayb, who was among the most perceptive of men in hadith and in the knowledge of men, informed me that he came to Madinah and said:

I saw no one who both accepted and rejected (hadiths) except Malik and Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari.

Abd ar-Rahman said: in the soundness of hadith, I prefer no one to Malik.

Ibn Lahi'a said: I said to Abu al-Aswad: who holds judgment in Madinah after Rabi'a?

He said: the young man of the Asbah.

Al-Harith ibn Miskin: I heard Ibn Wahb say:

had I not lived to know Malik and al-Layth, I would have gone astray.

Harun ibn Sa'id: I heard Ibn Wahb speak of the divergence of hadiths and reports, then say:

had I not met Malik, I would have gone astray.

Yahya al-Qattan said: among these people none has sounder hadiths than Malik; he was an authority in hadith.

He said: and Sufyan ath-Thawri is above him in everything.

Ash-Shafi'i said: Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said:

I stayed with Malik three years and more, and heard from his mouth more than 700 hadiths. When Muhammad narrated from Malik, his house would fill up; when he narrated from others of the Kufans, only a few would come.

Ibn Abi Umar al-Adani said: I heard ash-Shafi'i say:

Malik is my teacher; from him I took knowledge.

It is also reported from ash-Shafi'i: when he doubted a hadith, he discarded it entirely.

Abu Umar ibn Abd al-Barr: Qasim ibn Muhammad narrated to us, Khalid ibn Sa'd narrated to us,

Uthman ibn Abd ar-Rahman narrated to us, Ibrahim ibn Nasr narrated to us: I heard Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Abd al-Hakam: I heard ash-Shafi'i say:

Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said to me: our master knows more than your master, meaning Abu Hanifa and Malik. Yet it did not befit your master to speak, nor ours to stay silent.

I became angry and said: I adjure you by Allah: who knows the Sunnah better, Malik or your companion?

He said: Malik; but our companion is more astute in argument.

I said: indeed; and Malik knows the Book of Allah better, its abrogating and abrogated (verses), and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) than Abu Hanifa. Whoever knows the Book and the Sunnah better is more entitled to speak.

Yunus ibn Abd al-A'la said: ash-Shafi'i said to me:

One day I debated with Muhammad ibn al-Hasan; our discussion and disagreement went so far that I saw his cheeks flushing and the buttons of his garment about to burst. I said: I adjure you by Allah, do you know that our master knew the Book of Allah better?

He said: yes, by Allah.

I said: and was he knowledgeable of the disagreements of the Companions?

He said: yes.

Ibn Mahdi said: the imams of the people in their time were four: ath-Thawri, Malik, al-Awza'i and Hammad ibn Zayd.

He also said: I never saw anyone more intelligent than Malik.

Yunus ibn Abd al-A'la: Ibn Wahb narrated to us: I heard Malik, whom Ibn al-Qasim had told: after the people of Madinah, none knows sales better than the people of Egypt. Malik said: from whom did they learn that?

He said: from you, O Abu Abdallah.

He said: I myself do not know it, so how would they know it through me?

Malik also said: the scholar's shield is "I do not know"; when he abandons it, he is struck at his vital points.

Mus'ab ibn Abdallah said: in the time of Rabi'a, Malik's circle equaled Rabi'a's and surpassed it; and he issued fatwas alongside him before the ruler.

Az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar: Mutarrif narrated to us, Malik narrated to us and said:

When I resolved to leave Rabi'a's circle, Sulayman ibn Bilal and I sat in a corner of the mosque. When Rabi'a rose, he came to us and said:

O Malik, you are toying with yourself, you have strayed, and Sulayman applauded you; have you come to set up a circle of your own? Return to your place.

Al-Haytham ibn Jamil said: I heard that Malik was asked 48 questions and answered, for 32 of them: "I do not know."

Khalid ibn Khidash said: I came to Malik with 40 questions, and he answered me on only five of them.

Ibn Wahb, from Malik, who heard Abdallah ibn Yazid ibn Hurmuz say:

It behooves the scholar to instill in his companions the saying "I do not know", until it becomes a refuge to which they have recourse.

Ibn Abd al-Barr said: it is authentically reported from Abu ad-Darda that "I do not know" is half of knowledge.

Muhammad ibn Rumh said: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in a dream and said to him:

O Messenger of Allah, Malik and al-Layth differ; from which of the two shall I take?

He said: "Malik, Malik".

Ashhab, from Abd al-Aziz ad-Darawardi, who said:

I entered the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and found him delivering a sermon. Malik came in; when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw him he said: "To me, to me".

He came near until he was close to him, and he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) removed his ring from his little finger and placed it on Malik's little finger.

Muhammad ibn Jarir: al-Abbas ibn al-Walid narrated to us, Ibrahim ibn Hammad az-Zuhri narrated to us: I heard Malik say:

Al-Mahdi said to me: write, O Abu Abdallah, a book upon which I shall carry the ummah.

I said: O Commander of the Believers, as for this region, gesturing to the Maghrib, you have been spared its trouble; as for Syria, there is among them one whom you know, meaning al-Awza'i; as for Iraq, they are the people of Iraq.

Ibn Sa'd: Muhammad ibn Umar narrated to us: I heard Malik say:

When al-Mansur performed the pilgrimage, he summoned me; I entered upon him, conversed with him, he asked me and I answered him. He said:

I have resolved to order that this book of yours, meaning the Muwatta, be copied out in many copies, then to send a copy to every province of the provinces of the Muslims, commanding them to act by what is in it and to abandon all other newly introduced knowledge; for I consider the root of knowledge to be the transmission of the people of Madinah and their learning.

I said: O Commander of the Believers, do not do so: people have already had statements conveyed to them, have heard hadiths, have transmitted reports; every people took hold of what reached them, acted by it, and made it their school, given the disagreements of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and others; and turning them back from what they hold would be very hard. So leave the people to what they are upon and to what the people of each land have chosen

for themselves.

He said: by my life, had you complied with me, I would have ordered that.

Az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar: Ibn Miskin and Muhammad ibn Muslim narrated to us:

We heard Malik recount his entry upon al-Mansur, and his words on the copying of his books and making the people carry them; I said:

What the people of every land adopted and acted upon has become firmly rooted in their hearts, and turning the common people away from such a thing is difficult.

Al-Waqidi said: Malik would sit in his house on mattresses and cushions laid out to the right and left in the rest of the room for whoever came; his session was one of dignity and forbearance; he was awe-inspiring and noble; in his session there was nothing of wrangling or idle chatter. Foreigners would ask him about hadith after hadith, and he would sometimes permit one of them, who would then recite to him. He had a scribe called Habib, who copied out his books and read to the assembly; if he erred, Malik would correct him, and that was rare.

Abu Zur'a: Abu Mushir narrated to us: Malik said to me:

Abu Ja'far said to me: O Abu Abdallah, the people have gone; only you and I remain.

Ibn Wahb, from Malik:

I entered upon Abu Ja'far and saw more than one of Banu Hashim kissing his hand; I was invited to it, but I did not kiss his hand.

The trial

Muhammad ibn Jarir said: Malik was beaten with lashes, and the cause of that is disputed. Al-Abbas ibn al-Walid narrated to me, Ibn Dhakwan narrated to us, from Marwan

at-Tatari:

that Abu Ja'far forbade Malik to narrate the hadith: "The coerced is not divorced"; then he secretly sent someone to ask him, and he related it to him before the people, so he had him beaten with lashes.

Al-Abbas narrated to us, Ibrahim ibn Hammad narrated to us:

He used to look at Malik when he rose from his session, supporting one hand with the other.

Ibn Sa'd: al-Waqidi narrated to us and said:

when Malik was summoned, consulted, listened to, and his word accepted, he was envied, and people showed him hostility in every way. When Ja'far ibn Sulayman was appointed over Madinah, they schemed against him before him and kept denouncing him to him, saying:

He sees no good in this pledge of allegiance of yours, and he holds to a hadith he transmitted from Thabit ibn al-Ahnaf concerning the divorce of the coerced: that it is not valid in his view.

He said: Ja'far became angry, summoned Malik, argued against him on the basis of what had been conveyed to him about him, ordered that he be stripped and beaten with lashes, and his arm was pulled until it was dislocated from

his shoulder, and a grave matter was committed against him. By Allah, Malik remained thereafter in loftiness and eminence.

I say: this is the fruit of the praiseworthy trial: it raises the servant in the eyes of the believers. In any case, it is the result of what our hands have earned, and Allah pardons much: "he for whom Allah wills good, He afflicts him".

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "every decree that befalls the believer is good for him".

And Allah, Exalted, said: "And We will surely test you until We make evident those who strive among you and those who are patient" (Muhammad, 31).

And He revealed, Exalted, on the occasion of Uhud, His saying: "Why, when a disaster struck you, though you had struck with one twice its measure, did you say: from where is this? Say: it is from yourselves" (Al Imran, 165).

And He said: "And whatever disaster strikes you is for what your hands have earned; and He pardons much" (Ash-Shura, 30).

The believer, when tested, is patient, takes heed, and seeks forgiveness, and does not busy himself with blaming the one who took revenge on him, for Allah is a just Judge; then he praises Allah for the safety of his religion and knows that the punishment of this world is lighter and better for him.

The qadi Iyad said: a number of scholars compiled works on the merits of Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, among them:

the qadi Abu Abdallah at-Tustari al-Maliki, in three volumes; Abu al-Hasan ibn Fihri the Egyptian; Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Firyabi the qadi; Abu Bishr ad-Dulabi the memorizer; az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar; Abu Ulatha Muhammad ibn Abi Ghassan,

Ibn Habib; Abu Muhammad ibn al-Jarud; Ahmad ibn Rishdin; Abu Amr al-Mughanni; al-Hasan ibn Isma'il ad-Darrab; Abu al-Hasan ibn Muntab; Abu Ishaq ibn Sha'ban; Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Yaqtini; the memorizer Abu Nasr ibn al-Jabban; Abu Bakr ibn Rawzaba ad-Dimashqi; the qadi Abu Abdallah az-Zankani; Abu al-Hasan ibn Ubaydallah az-Zubayri; Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Marwan ad-Dinawari; the qadi Abu Bakr al-Abhari; the qadi Abu al-Fadl al-Qushayri; Abu Bakr ibn al-Labbad; Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Zayd; the memorizer Abu Abdallah al-Hakim; Abu Dharr Abd ibn Ahmad al-Harawi; Abu Umar at-Talamanki; Abu Umar ibn Hazm as-Sadafi; Abu Umar ibn Abd al-Barr; the qadi Abu Muhammad ibn Nasr; Ibn al-Imam at-Tutili; Ibn Harith al-Qarawi; the qadi Abu al-Walid al-Baji; Abu Marwan ibn Asbagh.

The memorizer Abu Bakr al-Khatib also compiled a large book on the narrators from Malik, and some of their narration from him.

I say: the memorizer Abu Nu'aym has a long biography of Malik in the Hilya.

Among those who compiled works on his narrators: Imam Abu Abdallah ibn Mufarrij, Imam Abu Abdallah ibn Abi Dulaym, and Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Bakri.

Iyad said: we drew this book of ours on the accounts of Malik from the works of the hadith scholars:

such as the books of al-Bukhari, az-Zubayr, Ibn Abi Hatim, the qadi Waki', ad-Daraqutni, Ibn Jarir at-Tabari, as-Suli, Ahmad ibn Kamil, Abu Sa'id ibn Yunus as-Sadafi, Abu Umar al-Kindi, Abu Umar as-Sadafi al-Qurtubi, Abu Abdallah ibn Harith al-Qarawi, Abu al-Arab at-Tamimi, Abu Ishaq ibn ar-Rafiq the secretary, Abu Ali ibn al-Basri on the Qarawiyyin, and the history of Abu Bakr ibn Abdallah al-Maliki on the Qarawiyyin.

And the histories of al-Andalus, such as the book of Abu Abdallah ibn Abd al-Barr, the Ihtifal of Abu Umar ibn Afif, the Intikhab of Abu al-Qasim ibn Mufarrij, the history of Abu Muhammad ibn al-Faradi, and the histories of Abu Marwan, Ibn Hayyan, and ar-Razi, and the book of Ahmad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mudahir.

And what reached me of the history of al-Khatib on the Baghdadis, the book of Abu Nasr al-Amir, the classes of Abu Ishaq ash-Shirazi, and the book of Ibn Abd al-Barr on the three imams and their narrators.

The qadi said: we verified those who transmitted the Muwatta from Malik and those expressly named by the scholars of tradition and the critics: Ibn Wahb, Ibn al-Qasim, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, al-Ghaz ibn Qays, Ziyad Shabatun, ash-Shafi'i, al-Qa'nabi, Ma'n ibn 'Isa, Abdallah ibn

Yusuf, Yahya ibn Yahya at-Tamimi, Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi, Yahya ibn Bukayr, Mutarrif ibn Abdallah al-Yasari, Abdallah ibn Abd al-Hakam, Musa ibn Tariq, Asad ibn al-Furat, Muhammad ibn al-Mubarak as-Suri, Abu Mushir al-Ghassani, Habib the scribe of al-Layth, Qara'us ibn al-Abbas, Ahmad ibn Mansur al-Harrani, Yahya ibn Salih al-Wuhadhi, Yahya ibn Mudar, Sa'id ibn Dawud az-Zubayri, Mus'ab ibn Abdallah az-Zubayri, Abu Mus'ab az-Zuhri, Suwayd ibn Sa'id, Sa'id ibn Abi Maryam, Sa'id ibn Ufayr, Ali ibn Ziyad at-Tunisi, Qutayba ibn Sa'id ath-Thaqafi, Atiq ibn Ya'qub az-Zubayri, Muhammad ibn Sharus as-San'ani, Ishaq ibn 'Isa ibn at-Tabba', Khalid ibn Nizar al-Ayli, Isma'il ibn Abi Uways and his brother Abu Bakr, 'Isa ibn Shajara al-Maghribi, Barbar the singer, father of az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar, and Abu Hudhafa Ahmad ibn Isma'il as-Sahmi.

Conclusion of those who narrated from him: it is said that Zakariyya ibn Duwayd al-Kindi met Malik, but he was a liar; he lived until the year 269, and al-Khatib built on him in the book of the Preceding and the Following. Then Khalaf ibn Jarir al-Qarawi, Muhammad ibn Yahya as-Saba'i, Muhraz ibn Harun, Sa'id ibn Abdus, Abbas ibn Nasih, Ubayd ibn Hayyan ad-Dimashqi, Ayyub ibn Salih ar-Ramli, Hafs ibn Abd as-Salam and his brother Hassan, Yahya and Fatima, the children of Malik, Sulayman ibn Bard, Abd ar-Rahman ibn

Khalid, Abd ar-Rahman ibn Hind, Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abdallah al-Andalusi.

It is also said that the qadi of Basra, Muhammad ibn Abdallah al-Ansari, transmitted the Muwatta from Malik by license (ijaza).

It is said that Abu Yusuf the qadi transmitted it from a man, from Malik; and the scholars, ancient and modern, have never ceased to take the fullest care with the transmission of the Muwatta, its knowledge and its acquisition.

Isma'il al-Qadi compiled the hadiths of the Muwatta from its men, from Malik, along with all the hadith of Malik he possessed.

Qasim ibn Asbagh the memorizer compiled the hadith of Malik, as did Abu al-Qasim al-Jawhari; and Abu al-Hasan al-Qabisi produced the Mukhtasar (abridgment), which many students memorized.

Abu Dharr al-Harawi compiled the Musnad of the Muwattat, and Abu Bakr al-Qabbab compiled the hadith of Malik.

Abu al-Hasan ibn Habib as-Sijilmassi has a Musnad of the Muwatta; so too a certain al-Mutarraz, Abu Abdallah al-Jizzi, Ahmad ibn Bundar al-Farisi, Abu Sa'id ibn al-A'rabi, and Ibn Mufarrij.

An-Nasa'i compiled a Musnad of Malik, as did Abu Ahmad ibn Adi, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn Jami' as-Sukkari, Ibn Ufayr, Abu Abdallah an-Naysaburi as-Sarraj, Abu Bakr ibn Ziyad an-Naysaburi, Abu Hafs ibn Shahin, Abu al-Arab at-Tamimi, Yahya ibn Sa'id, the memorizer Abu al-Qasim al-Andalusi, and Abu Umar ibn Abd al-Barr with his Taqassi, and Muhammad ibn Ayshun at-Tulaytuli.

Those who compiled a Musnad of Malik: Abu al-Qasim al-Jawhari, other than what is in (

the Muwatta); the memorizer Abd al-Ghani ibn Sa'id al-Azdi; Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Isa al-Hadrami; and Abu al-Fadl ibn Abi Imran al-Harawi.

Ad-Daraqutni produced the book of the divergences of the Muwatta.

Da'laj as-Sijzi compiled the rare reports in the hadith of Malik, as did Ibn al-Jarud and Qasim ibn Asbagh.

Ad-Daraqutni also compiled the hadiths in which Malik was contradicted.

Abu Bakr al-Bazzar also has a work on this.

Muhammad ibn al-Muzaffar, the hafiz, compiled what Malik transmitted outside his Muwatta.

Abu 'Umar ibn Nasr at-Tulaytuli composed (the Musnad al-Muwatta), and likewise: Ibrahim ibn Nasr, Ahmad ibn Sa'id ibn Fardakh al-Ikhmimi, the hadith scholar Abu Sulayman ibn Zabr, Usama ibn 'Ali al-Misri, Musa ibn Harun al-Hammal the hafiz, and the qadi Abu Bakr ibn as-Salim, who compiled separately what is not found in (al-Muwatta).

Abu al-Hasan ibn Abi Talib al-'Abir composed the book (Muwattat al-Muwatta).

Ad-Daraqutni the hadith master compiled (the Atraf al-Muwatta).

A commentary on it was made by Yahya ibn Mazin the jurist, who also has a book on its men (narrators).

Ibn Wahb has a commentary on it, and so do 'Issa ibn Dinar, 'Abdallah ibn Nafi' as-Sa'igh, Harmala, Ibn Habib and Muhammad ibn Sahnoun.

Muslim has a work on Malik's senior teachers.

Al-Barqi has (the Rijal al-Muwatta), as do at-Talamanki and Abu 'Abdallah ibn al-Hadhdha',

and Abu 'Abdallah ibn Mufarrij, and Ahmad ibn 'Imran al-Akhfash on its rare terms (gharib).

There are also al-Barqi, al-Ghassani al-Misri, Abu Ja'far ad-Dawudi, Abu Marwan al-Qanaz'i and Abu 'Abd al-Malik al-Buni.

Ibn Jawsha combined in (the Muwatta) the transmission of Ibn Wahb and that of Ibn al-Qasim, and others have combined the transmission of Yahya ibn Yahya with that of Abu Mus'ab.

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr made two commentaries, (at-Tamhid) and (al-Istidhkar), and he also has the book (Ma rawahu Malik kharija al-Muwatta).

On (the Muwatta) Abu al-Walid al-Baji wrote the book (al-Iman) and the book (al-Muntaqa), and he wrote the book (al-Istifa'), very long, which he did not finish.

It was also commented on by Abu al-Walid ibn as-Saffar in a book named (al-Mu'ib), which he did not finish.

And there is the book (al-Muhalla fi Sharh al-Muwatta) by the qadi Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Khalifa.

Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm has a commentary on it.

Abu Bakr ibn Sa'iq has one.

Ibn Abi Safra has one.

The qadi Abu 'Abdallah ibn al-Hajj has one.

Our shaykh Abu al-Walid ibn al-'Awwad has (the Jam' bayn at-Tamhid wa-l-Istidhkar), to the extent it was completed.

Abu Muhammad ibn as-Sid al-Batalyawsi has a large commentary on it.

Ibn 'Ayshun has (the Tawjih al-Muwatta).

'Uthman ibn 'Abd Rabbih al-Ma'afiri ad-Dabbagh has something on this, arranged according to the chapters of (the Muwatta).

Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Jadd has (the Ikhtisar at-Tamhid).

Hazim ibn Muhammad ibn Hazim has the book (as-Safir 'an athar al-Muwatta).

And (the Tafsir al-Muwatta) is by Abu al-Hasan al-Ishbili.

There is also a Tafsir by Ibn Sharahil.

At-Talamanki has a Tafsir, which was not completed.

And (the Sharh Musnad al-Muwatta) is by Yunus ibn Mughith.

Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Safra has one on this as well.

And so does his brother Abu 'Abdallah.

The qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-'Arabi has the book (al-Qabas fi Sharh al-Muwatta).

Abu Muhammad ibn Yarbou' the hafiz has a book for knowing the men (narrators) of (the Muwatta).

Al-'Asim the grammarian has a short commentary, never completed.

Abu Bakr ibn Mawhab al-Qiri has (the Sharh al-Mukhtasar), in several volumes.

Chapter

Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, has a treatise on the Decree (al-Qadar), which he wrote to Ibn Wahb; its chain of transmission is authentic.

He also has a work on the stars and the lunar mansions, transmitted by Sahnoun from Ibn Nafi' as-Sa'igh from him; it is famous.

And a treatise on judicial decisions, in one volume, by the transmission of Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Matruh, from 'Abdallah ibn 'Abd al-Jalil.

And a treatise addressed to Abu Ghassan Muhammad ibn Mutarrif.

And a treatise of counsel (adab) addressed to ar-Rashid; its chain is discontinuous: Isma'il al-Qadi and others rejected it, and it contains hadiths that are not known.

I say: this treatise is forged (mawdu').

Al-qadi al-Abhari said: it contains hadiths such that, had Malik heard anyone narrating them, he would have disciplined him.

He also has a volume on Tafsir, transmitted by Khalid ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Makhzumi; al-qadi 'Iyad transmits it from Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Sa'id, from Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Qari', from Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Masisi, from his father, with its chain.

And the book (as-Sirr), by the transmission of Ibn al-Qasim from him; al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-'Uthmani transmitted it from Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Wazir al-Jarawi, from al-Harith ibn Miskin, from him.

I say: it is a single volume. Abu Muhammad an-Nahhas al-Misri heard it from Muhammad ibn Bishr al-'Akki; Miqdam ibn Dawud ar-Ru'ayni narrated to us: al-Harith ibn Miskin and Abu Zayd ibn Abi al-Ghamr narrated to us, both saying: Ibn al-Qasim narrated to us.

He said: and a treatise addressed to al-Layth on the consensus of the people of Medina, well known.

As for what his senior companions transmitted from him of questions, fatwas and benefits, it is abundant.

Among the treasures of that: (al-Mudawwana), (al-Wadiha), and other things.

A Maliki said: ijtihad has become rare today and difficult to attain; Malik is the best to follow, so he favored following him (in taqlid).

A shaykh said: the imam, for whoever commits himself to following him, is like the Prophet with his community: opposing him is not permitted.

I say: his saying, "opposing him is not permitted," is mere claim and thinking without knowledge. On the contrary, he may leave his imam for another imam whose proof is stronger in that question; rather, he must follow the proof in whatever it establishes for him, unlike the one who makes an imam his school, and then, as soon as something matching his desire appears, acts on it from whichever school it comes. And whoever tracks the dispensations of the schools and the slips of the mujtahids has thinned his religion, as al-Awza'i or someone else said: whoever takes the saying of the Meccans on mut'a, that of the Kufans on nabidh, that of the Medinans on singing, and that of the Syrians on the infallibility of the caliphs, has gathered evil.

Likewise, whoever takes, in usurious sales, the one who circumvents them, and, in divorce and the tahlil marriage, the one who is expansive in it, and the like of that, has exposed himself to dissolution; we ask Allah for well-being and success.

Rather, the seeker's duty is to study first a work of fiqh; once he has memorized it, examined it, and read through the commentaries, if he is intelligent and becomes a jurist in his own right, and sees the proofs of the imams, let him be conscious of Allah and take precautions for his religion, for the best of religion is piety (wara'), and whoever leaves aside doubtful matters,

has cleared his religion and his honor; and the protected one is he whom Allah protects.

Those who may be followed are the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, on condition that a chain of transmission is established up to them; then the imams of the Successors, such as 'Alqama, Masruq, 'Ubayda as-Salmani, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Abu ash-Sha'tha', Sa'id ibn Jubayr, 'Ubaydallah ibn 'Abdallah, 'Urwa, al-Qasim, ash-Sha'bi, al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin and Ibrahim an-Nakha'i.

Then such as az-Zuhri, Abu az-Zinad, Ayyub as-Sakhtiyani, Rabi'a and their peers.

Then such as Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Awza'i, Ibn Jurayj, Ma'mar, Ibn Abi 'Aruba, Sufyan al-Thawri, the two Hammads, Shu'ba, al-Layth, Ibn al-Majishoun and Ibn Abi Dhi'b.

Then such as Ibn al-Mubarak, Muslim az-Zanji, the qadi Abu Yusuf, al-Hiql ibn Ziyad, Waki', al-Walid ibn Muslim and their peers.

Then such as al-Shafi'i, Abu 'Ubayd, Ahmad, Ishaq, Abu Thawr, al-Buwayti and Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba.

Then such as al-Muzani, Abu Bakr al-Athram, al-Bukhari, Dawud ibn 'Ali, Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi, Ibrahim al-Harbi and Isma'il al-Qadi.

Then such as Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Abu Bakr ibn Khuzayma, Abu al-'Abbas ibn Surayj, Abu Bakr al-Mundhir, Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi and Abu Bakr al-Khallal.

Then, after this type, ijtihad dwindled, abridgements were composed, and the jurists inclined to taqlid, without regard for who was most knowledgeable, but according to agreement, personal preference, veneration, habit and locality.

If a seeker today wanted to follow the school of Abu Hanifa in the Maghreb, it would be hard for him, just as if he wanted to follow that of Ibn Hanbal

in Bukhara and Samarkand: it would be difficult for him; from there comes no Hanbali, from the Maghreb no Hanafi, and from India no Maliki.

In any case: the endpoint is the fiqh of Malik; most of his opinions are on target, and even if he had nothing but his decisive handling of the material of legal stratagems (hiyal) and his regard for objectives (maqasid), it would have sufficed him. His school has filled the Maghreb and al-Andalus, much of the lands of Egypt, part of al-Sham, the Yemen, the Sudan, and likewise Basra, Baghdad, Kufa and part of Khurasan.

Likewise, the school of al-Awza'i was famous for a time, then its adherents faded away and dispersed.

Likewise the school of Sufyan and others of those we have named; today nothing remains but these four schools.

Few rise to knowing them as they should, let alone becoming a mujtahid.

The followers of Abu Thawr ceased after the year three hundred, and the companions of Dawud all but a few, while the school of Ibn Jarir lasted until after the year four hundred.

The Zaydis have a school in the branches of law, in the Hijaz and the Yemen, but it is counted among the doctrines of the people of innovation, like the Imamiyya; the school of Dawud, however, is unobjectionable, containing good positions and adherence to the texts, even though a group of scholars do not count his disagreement as authoritative, and he has oddities in questions that marred his school.

As for the qadi, he mentioned what indicates the lawfulness of following them by consensus, for he named the four schools, plus the Sufiyaniyya (school of Sufyan), the Awza'iyya (school of al-Awza'i) and the Dawudiyya (school of Dawud).

Then he said: these are those upon whose following the people's consensus fell, despite their differing as persons, and the scholars' agreement to follow them, model themselves on their schools, study their books, master their sources and branch off on their foundations, to the exclusion of others among those who preceded them or were contemporaries of theirs; and this for the reasons we mentioned.

The people have come today, in this world, to five schools; the fifth is the school of the Dawudiyya.

It is therefore the duty of the seeker of knowledge to know which of them is most deserving of being followed, so as to attain a school.

And here we make clear that Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, is that one; for he combined the instruments of imamate and was the most knowledgeable of his people.

The qadi then set out his claim, embellished it and adorned it; but what would prevent any Hanafi, Shafi'i, Hanbali or Dawudi from claiming the like for the one he follows? That is the tongue of his state, even if he does not utter it.

Then al-qadi 'Iyad said: we have, and praise be to Allah, for every imam of those mentioned virtues that decree imamate for him.

I say: yet this imam, who is the guiding star, was fair, and made a decisive statement, where he says:

Everyone's saying is taken or left, except the one of the holder of this grave, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Without doubt, whoever finds in himself fiqh, breadth of knowledge and good intention cannot confine himself to a single school in all its positions, for the school of another may have been proven to him

in questions; the proof appeared to him and the argument stood, so he does not follow his imam in them, but acts on what is proven, and follows the other imam on the basis of proof, not by preference or whim.

But he gives fatwa to the common people only according to the school of his imam, or stays silent on that whose proof is hidden from him.

Al-Shafi'i said: knowledge revolves around three: Malik, al-Layth and Ibn 'Uyayna.

I say: rather, around seven besides them: al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, Ma'mar, Abu Hanifa, Shu'ba and the two Hammads.

It is reported from al-Awza'i that, when he mentioned Malik, he would say: "the scholar of the scholars, the mufti of the Two Sanctuaries."

And Baqiyya said: "There remains on the face of the earth no one who knows the past Sunna better than you, O Malik."

And Abu Yusuf said: "I have not seen anyone more knowledgeable than Abu Hanifa, Malik and Ibn Abi Layla."

Ahmad ibn Hanbal mentioned Malik and preferred him, in knowledge, over al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, al-Layth, Hammad and al-Hakam.

And he said: "He is an imam in hadith and in fiqh."

Al-Qattan said: "He is an imam taken as a model."

Ibn Ma'in said: "Malik is one of the proofs of Allah against His creation."

Asad ibn al-Furat said: "If you desire Allah and the Last Abode, then turn to Malik."

Makki al-Qaysi composed a book on what is transmitted from Malik in Tafsir and the meanings of the Quran.

He is mentioned by Abu 'Amr ad-Dani in (the Tabaqat al-Qurra'), who relates that he recited (the Quran) to Nafi' ibn Abi Nu'aym.

Bahlul ibn Rashid said: "I have never seen anyone recite a verse with more ease than Malik, along with his knowledge of the sound (sahih) and the unsound (saqim)."

I studied under Ishaq ibn Tariq: Ibn Khalil informed us, Abu al-Makarim al-Taymi informed us; and Ibn Salama informed me, from Abu al-Makarim: Abu 'Ali al-Haddad informed us, Abu Nu'aym the hafiz informed us, Abu Muhammad ibn Hayyan narrated to us, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn 'Amr narrated to us, 'Abdallah ibn Ahmad ibn Kulayb narrated to us, from al-Fadl ibn Ziyad:

I asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal: "Who flogged Malik?"

He said: "One of the governors, over the divorce of the coerced woman: he did not consider it valid, so he flogged him for that."

In the same way, Abu Nu'aym said: Muhammad ibn 'Ali narrated to us, al-Mufaddal al-Jundi narrated to us:

I heard Abu Mus'ab, I heard Malik say:

I never gave fatwa until seventy testified for me that I was qualified for it.

Then Abu Mus'ab said: Malik would not narrate (hadith) except in a state of purity, in reverence for the hadith.

In the same way, he said: Ibn Hayyan narrated to us, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Walid narrated to us, Yunus ibn 'Abd al-A'la narrated to us, and said:

Al-Shafi'i said: "When a report (athar) comes, Malik is like a star, and he and Sufyan are the two guiding stars (al-qariyyan)."

In the same way: Ibrahim ibn 'Abdallah narrated to us, as-Sirraj narrated to us, Mahmud ibn Ghaylan narrated to us, Abu Dawud narrated to us, Shu'ba narrated to us:

I came to Medina a year after the death of Nafi', and the study circle belonged to Malik.

In the same way: Ahmad ibn Ishaq narrated to us, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rashid informed us; I heard Abu Dawud say:

One of Ibn Wahb's companions related it to me from him: when Malik was flogged, his head was shaved and he was mounted on a camel, and it was said to him: "Call upon yourself."

He said: "Know that whoever knows me has known me, and whoever does not know me: I am Malik ibn Anas, and I say that the divorce of the coerced one is nothing."

That reached Ja'far ibn Sulayman, the prince, who said: "Catch him, bring him down."

In the same way: Ibrahim narrated to us, as-Sirraj narrated to us, al-Hasan ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz narrated to us, al-Harith ibn Miskin narrated to us, from Ibn Wahb, who said:

Malik was asked: "What do you say about seeking knowledge?"

He said: "It is good, it is fine; but look at what binds you from morning to evening, and hold fast to it."

In the same way, from Ibn Wahb: Malik was asked about the supplicant who says: "O my master," and he said: "The supplication of the prophets pleases me: 'Our Lord, our Lord.'"

In the same way: Ahmad ibn Ja'far ibn Salm narrated to us, al-Abbar narrated to us, Ahmad ibn Hashim narrated to us, Damra narrated to us:

I heard Malik say: "If I had authority over the one who interprets the Quran, I would strike his head."

I say: he means: its interpretation by personal opinion.

And the like came from Malik through another channel as well.

In the same way: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hasan narrated to us, Abu Isma'il al-Tirmidhi narrated to us, Nu'aym ibn Hammad narrated to us; I heard Ibn al-Mubarak say:

I have never seen anyone raised (in rank) like Malik, who did not have abundant prayer or fasting, unless he had a hidden devotion (sirr).

I say: the knowledge he possessed and its spread are better than supererogatory fasting and prayer for the one who intends Allah by them.

In the same way: Sulayman ibn Ahmad narrated to us, al-Miqdad ibn Dawud narrated to us, 'Abdallah

ibn 'Abd al-Hakam:

I heard Malik say: "Harun al-Rashid consulted me about three things: hanging (the Muwatta) on the Ka'ba and making the people follow what is in it; dismantling the minbar of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and making it of gold, silver and jewels; and appointing Nafi' as imam in the mosque of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."

I said: "As for hanging (the Muwatta), the Companions differed in the branches (of law) and dispersed, and each one is correct in his own view; as for dismantling the minbar, I do not see that the people should be deprived of the trace of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; and as for your appointing Nafi', he is an imam in recitation, and it cannot be guaranteed that a slip will not spring from him in the mihrab, and it would be recorded against him."

He said: "May Allah grant you success, O Abu 'Abdallah."

This is a good (hasan) chain, but perhaps the narrator erred in saying "Harun," for Nafi' died before the caliphate of Harun.

From Malik's statements on the Sunna:

In the same way: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn 'Ali narrated to us, al-Firyabi narrated to us, al-Halwani narrated to us; I heard Mutarrif ibn 'Abdallah, I heard Malik say:

"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the holders of authority after him established sunnas: taking hold of them is following the Book of Allah, completion through obedience to Allah, and strength upon the religion of Allah. No one may change them or substitute for them, nor look into anything that contradicts them. Whoever is guided by them is guided, whoever seeks aid through them is aided, and whoever abandons them has followed a path other than that of the believers: Allah will commit him to what he has turned to, destine him for Hell, and what an evil destination."

In the same way, up to al-Halwani: I heard Ishaq ibn 'Issa say:

Malik said: "Whenever a man came to us more argumentative than another, would we abandon what Jibril brought down upon Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, because of his disputing?!"

In the same way: al-Hasan ibn Sa'id narrated to us, Zakariyya as-Saji narrated to us, Abu Dawud narrated to us, Abu Thawr narrated to us:

I heard al-Shafi'i say: "When one of the people of desires came to Malik, he would say: 'As for me, I am upon a clear proof from my religion; as for you, you are a doubter. Go to a doubter like yourself and dispute with him.'"

In the same way: Sulayman al-Tabarani narrated to us, al-Husayn ibn Ishaq narrated to us, Yahya ibn Khalaf al-Tarsusi narrated to us, and he was among the trustworthy of the Muslims; he said:

"I was with Malik when a man entered and said: 'O Abu 'Abdallah, what do you say about one who says the Quran is created?'"

Malik said: "A zindiq (heretic)! Kill him."

The man said: "O Abu 'Abdallah, I am only reporting words I heard."

He said: "You heard them from none but yourself, and this saying is grave."

In the same way: Ibn Hayyan narrated to us, Ibn Abi Dawud narrated to us, Ahmad ibn Salih narrated to us, Ibn Wahb narrated to us, and said:

Malik said: "The people will look at Allah, Mighty and Majestic, on the Day of Resurrection, with their eyes."

In the same way: 'Abdallah ibn Muhammad narrated to us, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hatim narrated to us, Yunus narrated to us, Ibn Wahb narrated to us:

I heard Malik say to a man who asked him about the Decree: "Yes. Allah, the Exalted, said: 'Had We willed, We would have given every soul its guidance' (al-Sajda: 12)."

In the same way: 'Abdallah ibn Muhammad narrated to us, Ibn Abi 'Asim narrated to us; I heard Sa'id ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar:

I heard Malik say: "My view of them is that they be called to repent; if they repent, otherwise they are put to death."

He meant: the Qadariyya.

In the same way: Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-'Uqayli narrated to us, the qadi Abu Umayya al-Ghallabi narrated to us, Salama ibn Shabib narrated to us, Mahdi ibn Ja'far narrated to us, Ja'far ibn 'Abdallah narrated to us, who said:

We were with Malik when a man came and said: "O Abu 'Abdallah: 'The Most Merciful rose over the Throne' (Ta-Ha: 5): how did He rise?"

Malik felt a distress such as he had never felt because of a question; he looked at the ground and kept probing it with a stick in his hand, until sweat poured over him. Then he raised his head, threw the stick away and said: "The 'how' of it is inconceivable; its rising (istawa) is not unknown; believing in it is obligatory; questioning about it is an innovation; and I think you are a man of innovation."

He gave orders concerning him, and he was expelled.

Salama ibn Shabib said, in one narration of this account: he said to the questioner: "I fear that you are astray."

Abu al-Rabi' al-Rashidini said: Ibn Wahb narrated to us, and said:

We were with Malik,

and a man said: "O Abu 'Abdallah: 'The Most Merciful rose over the Throne': how is His rising?"

Malik bowed his head and sweat seized him; then he raised his head and said: "'The Most Merciful rose over the Throne,' as He described Himself; it is not said to Him 'how,' and the 'how' concerning Him is rejected. You are an evil man, an innovator: take him out.

Muhammad ibn 'Amr Qashmard al-Naysaburi said: I heard Yahya ibn Yahya say:

We were with Malik when a man came and said: 'The Most Merciful rose over the Throne'...; he related a similar account, in which it is said: "The rising (istawa) is not unknown."

It was also transmitted by 'Abdallah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his book (al-Radd 'ala al-Jahmiyya); he said:

My father narrated to me, Surayj ibn Nu'man narrated to us, from 'Abdallah ibn Nafi', who said:

Malik said: "Allah is in the heaven, and His knowledge is in every place; nothing is devoid of it."

Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Saghani said: Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-'Umari narrated to us, Ibn Abi Uways narrated to us; I heard Malik say:

The Quran is the speech of Allah, and the speech of Allah is from Him, and nothing of Allah is created.

Al-qadi 'Iyad said, in the Sira of Malik: Ibn Nafi' and Ashhab said, one of the two adding to the other:

I said: "O Abu 'Abdallah: 'Some faces, that Day, will be radiant, looking at their Lord' (al-Qiyama: 22-23): do they look at Allah?"

He said: "Yes, with these two eyes."

I said: some people say: "nadirah" meaning "awaiting" the reward.

He said: "No, they look at Allah. Have you not heard the saying of Musa: 'My Lord, show me Yourself, that I may look at You' (al-A'raf: 143)? Do you think he asked the impossible? Allah said: 'You will not see Me': in this world, for it is the abode of perishing; so when they pass to the abode of permanence, they will look, with what remains, at what remains."

The Exalted said: "No! Indeed, that Day they will be veiled from their Lord" (al-Mutaffifin: 15).

The qadi said: more than one reported from Malik:

Faith is statement and deed; it increases and decreases, and some of it is better than other.

He said: and Ibn al-Qasim said: Malik used to say: "Faith increases."

And he stopped short of the decrease.

He said: and Ibn Nafi' transmitted from Malik: whoever says the Quran is created is flogged and imprisoned.

He said: and in the narration of Bishr ibn Bakr, from Malik: he is put to death, and no repentance is accepted from him.

Yunus al-Sadafi: Ashhab narrated to us, from Malik, and he said: the Qadariyya: do not

marry them, and do not pray behind them.

Ahmad ibn 'Issa: Ibn Wahb narrated to us, and said:

Malik said: no repentance is accepted from the one who insults the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, be he a disbeliever or a Muslim.

Abu Ahmad Ibn 'Adi: Ahmad ibn 'Ali al-Mada'ini narrated to us, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Jabir narrated to us, Abu Zayd ibn Abi al-Ghamr narrated to us, who said:

Ibn al-Qasim said: I asked Malik about those who narrate the hadith in which they say: "Allah created Adam in His image," and the hadith that came: "Allah uncovers His Shin," and that He

puts His hand into Hellfire until He brings out whom He wills.

Malik rejected that with strong rejection and forbade anyone to narrate them.

It was said to him: some people of knowledge narrate them.

He said: who?

It was said: Ibn 'Ajlan, from Abu az-Zinad.

He said: Ibn 'Ajlan did not know these things, and he was not a scholar.

And he mentioned Abu az-Zinad and said: he kept serving these people until he died.

They were transmitted by Miqdam al-Ru'ayni, from Ibn Abi al-Ghamr and al-Harith ibn Miskin, both saying: Ibn al-Qasim narrated to us.

I say: the imam rejected that because it had not been established with him and had not reached him; he is therefore excused, just as the authors of (the two Sahihs) are excused for reporting them, I mean the first and second hadith, since their chains are established; as for the third hadith, I do not know it

with this wording; our position on it, and in its category, is: affirmation, allusion, and entrusting its meaning to its truthful, preserved speaker.

Ibn 'Adi said: Muhammad ibn Harun ibn Hassan narrated to us, Salih ibn Ayyub narrated to us, Habib ibn Abi Habib narrated to us, Malik narrated to me, and said:

Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, His command descends; as for Him, He is everlasting, never ceasing.

Salih said: I mentioned that to Yahya ibn Bukayr, and he said: "It is good, by Allah, but I did not hear it from Malik."

I say: I do not know Salih, while Habib is famous; and the established report from Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, is the narration of al-Walid ibn Muslim: he asked him about the hadiths of the attributes, and he said: "Pass them on as they came, without interpretation."

So the imam would have, in this, two positions, if Habib's narration is authentic.

Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Barqi: 'Amr ibn Abi Salama narrated to us, 'Amr ibn Hassan narrated to us:

Abu Khaylid said to Malik: "O Abu 'Abdallah, the people of Damascus read: 'Ibraham'."

He said: "The people of Damascus, in eating watermelon, are more expert than they are in recitation."

Abu Khaylid said to him: "They claim it is the reading of 'Uthman."

Malik said: "Here is the mushaf of 'Uthman with me."

He called for it, and it was opened: in it was "Ibraham," just as the people of Damascus had said.

I say: the rasm (orthography) of the mushaf admits both readings, and the reading of the majority is the most eloquent and the most fitting.

Ibn al-Qasim said: I asked Malik about 'Ali and 'Uthman, and he said:

I never met any of those whose example I follow who did not hold that one should refrain from distinguishing between the two.

Ibn al-Qasim said: he meant the preference between the two of them.

I said: "And Abu Bakr, and 'Umar?"

He said: "About them there is no question: they are superior to the others."

Al-Hasan ibn Rashiq said: I heard al-Nasa'i say:

The trustees of Allah over the knowledge of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, are three: Shu'ba, Malik and Yahya al-Qattan.

Al-qadi 'Iyad said: Ma'n said:

Malik was leaving one day when a man called Abu al-Juwayriyya, accused of irja', caught up with him and said: "Listen to me."

He said: "Beware, lest I testify against you."

He said: "By Allah, I seek nothing but the truth; if it is right, say it, or speak."

He said: "And if you overcome me?"

He said: "Follow me."

He said: "And if I overcome you?"

He said: "I follow you."

He said: "And if a man comes, speaks to us both and overcomes us?"

He said: "We follow him."

Malik then said: "O you there, Allah sent Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with one religion, and I see you flitting from one to another."

And from Malik: "Disputation in religion breeds controversy, drives the light of knowledge from the heart, hardens it and begets rancor."

Al-qadi 'Iyad said: Abu Talib al-Makki said:

Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, was the farthest of people from the doctrines of the mutakallimun (speculative theologians) and the harshest critic of the Iraqis.

Then al-qadi 'Iyad said: Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna said:

A man asked Malik and said: "The Most Merciful rose over the Throne": how did He rise?

Malik stayed silent until sweat poured over him; then he said: "Its rising, concerning Him, is known; the 'how' is inconceivable; questioning about this

is an innovation; believing in it is obligatory, and I think you are astray: take him out.

The man called out: "O Abu 'Abdallah, by Allah, I asked the people of Basra, Kufa and Iraq about it, and I found no one granted the success you were granted."

Chapter

Ibn 'Adi said in (the Musnad of Malik), with a chain confirmed from Ibn Wahb:

I heard Malik say: I heard many hadiths from Ibn Shihab which I never narrated.

And he said: Nafi' transmitted abundant knowledge from Ibn 'Umar, more than his sons transmitted from him.

Al-Harith ibn Miskin: Ibn Wahb informed us, and Malik said:

I used to come to Nafi' when I was a young boy, together with a young servant of mine; he would come down from his raised seat, stand with me and talk to me. He would sit in the mosque after the morning prayer, and hardly anyone came to him.

Sa'id ibn Abi Maryam: I heard Malik say: Nu'aym al-Mujmir kept the company of Abu Hurayrah for twenty years.

Ma'n said: Malik would avoid, in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the ya and the ta and similar expressions.

Ibn Wahb said: Malik said:

Knowledge is where Allah has willed to place it; it does not consist in the abundance of narration.

Ibn Wahb: I heard Malik say:

It is a duty upon the seeker of knowledge to have

dignity, composure and reverence; knowledge is good for the one granted its good, and it is a portion from Allah, the Exalted, so do not let people have power over you. Among a man's happiness is being granted success in good, and among his wretchedness is to keep on erring; it is a humiliation and a degradation of knowledge for a man to speak with knowledge before one who does not listen to him.

Al-Qa'nabi: I heard Malik say:

A man used to frequent another man for thirty years to learn from him.

'Abdullah ibn Nafi' said: I attended Malik's sessions for thirty-five years.

Ibn Wahb said: If I had wished to fill my tablets with Malik's saying, "I do not know," I would have done so.

Harmala: Ibn Wahb narrated to us: I heard Malik say: This kind of disputation has nothing to do with the religion.

And I heard him say: I said to the Commander of the Faithful, concerning those who speak about these perplexing issues:

Speaking about them, O Commander of the Faithful, breeds hatred.

Salama ibn Shabib: 'Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us: I heard Sufyan, Ibn Jurayj, Malik and Ibn 'Uyaynah, all of them saying:

Faith is speech and deed; it increases and decreases.

Makhlad ibn Khidash said: I asked Malik about chess, and he said: Is it a thing of truth?

I said: No.

He said: "What is there after truth except misguidance?" (Yunus: 32).

Ibn Wahb said: I performed the pilgrimage in the year one hundred and forty-eight, and a herald was proclaiming: Let none issue legal verdicts to the people except Malik ibn Anas and Ibn al-Majishun.

Ibn Wahb: From Malik, he said:

It has reached me that none ever turned away from this world in detachment and feared Allah except that he spoke with wisdom.

Ibn Wahb: From Malik, he said:

When a man sets out to praise himself, his splendor departs.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal: 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi narrated to us, from Malik, who said: Setting a time limit for the wiping is an innovation.

'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hatim: Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-Hakam narrated to us:

I heard al-Shafi'i say: Malik and Abu Yusuf met in the presence of the Commander of the Faithful, and they spoke about the waqf and what people lock up.

Ya'qub said: This is false.

Shurayh said: Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came with the freeing of the locked-up properties.

Malik said: He only freed what they used to lock up for their deities, such as the bahirah and the sa'ibah; as for the waqf, this is the waqf of 'Umar.

He had sought permission from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and he said: "Lock up its trunk, and give its fruit in charity." And this is the waqf of al-Zubayr.

This answer of his impressed the Caliph, while Ya'qub was left speechless.

Ibn Wahb: Malik narrated to me, saying:

Between the wall of the qiblah of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the minbar there was the distance of a man's walk in a crouching position, the walk of a goat; the first to move the wall of the qiblah forward, placing it near the enclosure, was 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and 'Uthman brought it closer to where it is today.

Dawud ibn Rashid: Al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us:

I asked Malik about the dotting of the mushafs, so he brought out a mushaf to us and said:

My father narrated to me, from my grandfather: They compiled the Quran in the time of 'Uthman, and they dotted the mushafs like this one, or close to it.

Ibn al-Madini said: Malik has about a thousand hadiths, meaning marfu' (raised to the Prophet).

Ismail ibn Abi Uways said: Malik told me: I recited the Quran before Nafi' ibn Abi Nu'aym.

Al-Qa'nabi narrated, from Ibn 'Uyaynah, who said: Malik left none on the face of the earth like him.

Ibn Sa'd said: Malik was trustworthy, firm, an authority, knowledgeable and pious.

Ibn Wahb said: Were it not for Malik and al-Layth, we would have gone astray.

Al-Shafi'i said: There is no book of knowledge on earth more correct than (al-Muwatta of Malik).

I say: He said this before (the two Sahihs) were compiled.

Khalid ibn Nizar al-Ayli said: Al-Mansur sent for Malik when he arrived in Medina, and said:

The people have differed in Iraq; so compose a book upon which we may unite them.

So he composed (al-Muwatta).

'Abd al-Salam ibn 'Asim said: I said to Ahmad ibn Hanbal:

A man who wishes to memorize the hadith of one particular man?

He said: Let him memorize the hadith of Malik.

I said: And the ray (personal opinion)?

He said: The ray of Malik.

Ibn Wahb said: Malik's sister was asked: What used to occupy Malik in his house?

She said: The Quran, the recitation.

Abu Mus'ab said: They would crowd at Malik's door to the point of fighting one another because of the crush, and when we were with him, none of us turned to another, their heads bowed like this. The sultans feared him, and he would say: No. Yes. And none would say to him: Who, where did you say this from?

Abu Hatim al-Razi: 'Abd al-Mu'tali ibn Salih, one of Malik's companions, narrated to us:

It was said to Malik: You enter upon the rulers, while they are unjust and tyrannical!

He said: May Allah have mercy on you; where is the one who speaks the word of truth?

Musa ibn Dawud said: I heard Malik say:

Abu Ja'far al-Mansur came to us in the year one hundred and fifty, and said: O Malik! Your gray hair has multiplied!

I said: Yes, O Commander of the Faithful; whoever the years pass over, his gray hair multiplies.

He said: Why do I see you relying, among the Companions, on the saying of Ibn 'Umar?

I said: He was the last of the Companions remaining with us; the people had need of him, they asked him, and they held fast to his saying.

'Ali ibn al-Madini mentioned the companions of Nafi' and said:

Malik and his mastery; Ayyub and his merit; 'Ubaydullah and his memorization.

Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam: I heard al-Shafi'i say:

Muhammad said to me: Which of the two is more knowledgeable, our master or yours? He meant Abu Hanifah and Malik.

I said: In all fairness?

He said: Yes.

I said: I adjure you by Allah, who is most knowledgeable of the Quran?

He said: Your master.

I said: Who is most knowledgeable of the Sunnah?

He said: Your master.

I said: And who is most knowledgeable of the sayings of the Companions and the early generations?

He said: Your master.

I said: Then nothing remains except analogy (qiyas), and analogy is only drawn from these things; whoever does not know the foundations, upon what does he draw an analogy?

I said: And in all fairness? If someone were to say: Rather, the two of them are equal in knowledge of the Book; the first is more knowledgeable of analogy, the second more knowledgeable of the Sunnah, and he possesses an abundant knowledge

of the sayings of many of the Companions, just as the first is more knowledgeable of the sayings of 'Ali, Ibn Mas'ud and a group of those who were in Kufa among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. May Allah be pleased with both Imams. We have come to a time when no one can utter a word of fairness; we ask Allah for safety.

Mutarraf ibn 'Abdullah and others said: Malik's signet ring, which he still had on his hand when he died, was black stone, engraved with: "Allah suffices me; what an excellent Guardian He is."

He used to wear it on his left hand, and sometimes on his right hand.

And from Ibn Mahdi, who said:

I have seen no one more awe-inspiring than Malik, none of more complete intellect, nor stronger in piety.

Ibn Wahb said: What we took from Malik's manners is more abundant than what we learned of his knowledge.

And from Malik, he said: I never sat with a foolish person.

Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam said: Malik issued verdicts alongside Nafi' and Rabi'ah.

Abu al-Walid al-Baji said: It is narrated that al-Mansur performed the pilgrimage and sought for Malik the blood-wit from Ja'far ibn Sulayman, the one who had beaten him.

Malik refused and said: Allah forbid!

Mus'ab ibn 'Abdullah said about Malik:

He leaves the answer unreturned, and none argues back with him, out of awe ... and the questioners have their chins lowered,

glory of dignity and light of the authority of piety ... he is the awe-inspiring one, and he holds no temporal power.

Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bushanji said: I heard 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Rammah, who said:

I entered upon Malik and said: O Abu 'Abdullah, what is there

in the prayer of obligatory duty? And what is in it of Sunnah? Or he said: of supererogatory?

Malik said: This is the speech of the heretics (zanadiqah); put him out.

Mansur ibn Salamah al-Khuza'i said: I was with Malik when a man said to him: O Abu 'Abdullah, I stood at your door for seventy days until I wrote down sixty-one hadiths.

He said: Sixty-one hadiths! And he considered that too many.

The man said: Sometimes we write down sixty-one hadiths in a single sitting in Kufa or in Iraq.

He said: And what of Iraq, the house of the mint: it is struck by night and spent by day!

Abu al-'Abbas al-Sirraj said: I heard al-Bukhari say:

The most authentic of chains is: Malik, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar.

The hafiz Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said in (the Tamhid): I write this from memory, my original copy being unavailable to me:

'Abdullah al-'Umari, the worshipper, wrote to Malik urging him toward seclusion and works, so Malik wrote back to him: Allah has apportioned deeds as He apportioned provisions; a man may find the door of prayer opened to him but not that of fasting, another the door of charity but not that of fasting, and another that of jihad.

The spread of knowledge is among the best works of righteousness; I am content with that which has been opened to me, nor do I think my state inferior to yours, and I hope that we are both upon good and righteousness.

Al-Husayn ibn Hasan ibn Muhajir, the hafiz, said: I heard Abu Mus'ab al-Zuhri say: After Malik stopped attending the mosque, he would pray in his home in congregation, people praying his prayer behind him, and he would perform the Friday prayer alone in his home.

Narration of some of his shaykhs from him

'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Ghani al-Mu'addal informed us; 'Abd al-Latif ibn Yusuf informed us, and Abu al-Ma'ali al-Abarkuhi informed us; Muhammad ibn Abi al-Qasim al-Khatib informed us, both of them said:

Abu al-Fath ibn al-Batti informed us; Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Anbari informed us, in Muharram of the year four hundred and eighty-four; 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad al-Farisi informed us; Muhammad ibn Makhlad al-'Attar informed us; Muhammad ibn al-Harith Abu Bakr al-Baghandi narrated to us; 'Ubayd ibn Muhammad al-Nassaj narrated to us; Ahmad ibn Shabib narrated to us; my father narrated to us, from Yunus ibn Yazid, from al-Zuhri: A man of Medina called Malik ibn Anas narrated to me, from Sa'd ibn Ishaq, from his paternal aunt Zaynab, from Abu Sa'id:

That he went out seeking a cure for himself, then came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ... and he mentions the hadith like the hadith of the people.

Ahmad ibn Salamah informed us, from a group: Abu 'Ali al-Haddad informed them: Abu Nu'aym informed us; Ibn al-Sawwaf and Muhammad ibn Humayd narrated to us, both of them:

Al-Baghandi narrated to us; 'Ubayd al-Nassaj narrated to us; Ahmad ibn Shabib narrated to us; my father narrated to us, from Yunus, from al-Zuhri, from Malik ibn Anas, from Sa'd ibn Ishaq, from his paternal aunt

Zaynab, from al-Furay'ah, the sister of Abu Sa'id:

That her husband had been hired out as a laborer to the 'Uluj, and they killed him; she mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said: I am not in a dwelling of his, and he provides me no sustenance; may I move to the people of my family home and reside with them?

He said: "Observe the waiting period where the news reaches you."

Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Khaliq ibn 'Ulwan informed us of it in full, raised, by my reading; al-Baha' 'Abd al-Rahman informed us; Shuhdah the scribe informed us; Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Qadir informed us; 'Uthman ibn Dustah informed us; Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah informed us; Ishaq ibn al-Hasan al-Harbi narrated to us; al-Qa'nabi narrated to us; Malik informed us, from Sa'd ibn Ishaq, from his paternal aunt Zaynab bint Ka'b ibn 'Ujrah:

That al-Furay'ah bint Malik ibn Sinan, who was the sister of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, had informed her:

That she had come to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asking him to let her return to her people among Banu Khudrah, for her husband had gone out in pursuit of a slave of his who had run away; when he was at Mount al-Qadum, he caught up with them, and they killed him.

She said: So I asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to let me return to my family, for my husband had left me neither a dwelling he owned nor any provision.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "Yes."

I went out, and he said: "What did you say?"

I repeated the story to him, and he said: "Stay in your house until the decree reaches its term."

I observed in it a waiting period of four months and ten days. When came the time of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, he sent for me and asked me about that,

so I informed him, and he followed it and passed judgment accordingly.

Ahmad ibn Hibatullah informed us of it, raised by degrees, from al-Mu'ayyad ibn Muhammad; Hibatullah ibn Sahl informed us; Sa'id ibn Muhammad informed us; Zahir ibn Ahmad informed us; Ibrahim ibn 'Abd al-Samad informed us; Abu Mus'ab narrated to us, and Malik narrated to us the like of it.

And by my chain to Ibn Makhlad: Zakariyya ibn Yahya al-Naqid narrated to us; Khalid ibn Khidash narrated to us; Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Sa'id, from Malik ibn Anas, from al-Zuhri, from 'Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali, from his father, from 'Ali:

From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: that he forbade the mut'ah (temporary marriage) of women on the day of Khaybar.

Hammad then said: Malik and Ma'mar narrated it to us by this chain.

And Sunqur al-Zayni informed us of it, raised, in Aleppo: al-Muwaffaq 'Abd al-Latif, Anjab al-Hammami, 'Abd al-Latif al-Qubbuti, Muhammad ibn al-Sabbak and others said:

Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Baqi informed us; Malik al-Banyasi informed us; Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Salt informed us; Ibrahim ibn 'Abd al-Samad informed us; Abu Mus'ab al-Zuhri informed us, from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from 'Abdullah and al-Hasan, the two sons of Muhammad ibn 'Ali, from their father, from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib:

That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, forbade the mut'ah (temporary marriage) of women on the day of Khaybar, and the eating of the flesh of domestic donkeys.

Ismail ibn 'Abd al-Rahman informed us of it: the Imam Abu Muhammad ibn Qudamah informed us; 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Tusi informed us; Malik al-Banyasi informed us ... and he mentions it.

And by it, to Ibn Makhlad: 'Abd al-Malik al-Raqashi narrated to us; Abu Ghasan Yahya ibn Kathir al-Anbari narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us, from Malik ibn Anas, from 'Amr ibn Muslim, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, from Umm Salamah:

That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "When the ten (days) enter, and one of you wishes to offer a sacrifice, let him withhold from his hair and his nails."

Muslim brought it out, from one of his senior shaykhs, from al-Anbari; thus it became for us an alternative, raised.

And by it: Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Saghani narrated to us; Yahya ibn Ma'in informed me; Ghundar narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us, from Malik, from 'Umar (or 'Amr) ibn Muslim, the like of it.

This is strange (gharib), and it is not in (al-Muwatta).

Al-Hakim, in the biography of Malik, in the book (Muzakki al-Akhbar): Abu al-Tayyib Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Karabisi narrated to us; al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Sa'id narrated to us from his original; Hisham ibn 'Ammar narrated to us; Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah informed us, from 'Amr ibn Dinar,

from Malik ibn Anas, from Sumayy, from Abu Salih:

That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "Travel is a portion of torment."

Very strange (gharib jiddan).

I read before Ishaq ibn Tariq; Ibn Khalil informed you; Abu al-Makarim al-Labban informed us; Abu 'Ali al-Haddad informed us; Abu Nu'aym informed us; Abu Bakr ibn Khallad narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Ghalib narrated to us; al-Qa'nabi narrated to us.

And by it, to Abu Nu'aym; Muhammad ibn Humayd narrated to us; 'Abdullah ibn Abi Dawud narrated to us; 'Abd al-Malik ibn Shu'ayb ibn al-Layth narrated to us; my father narrated to me, from my grandfather, from Yahya ibn Ayyub: both of them, from Malik, from Abu al-Zubayr, from Jabir, who said:

We slaughtered with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, at al-Hudaybiyah, the camel for seven men.

And by it, to Abu Nu'aym: the qadi Abu Ahmad Muhammad ibn Ahmad narrated to us; Bakr ibn Sahl narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Makhlad al-Ru'ayni narrated to us; Malik narrated to us, from Abu Hazim, from Sahl, who said:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "There are two hours in which the gates of heaven are opened, and supplication in them is seldom refused: the coming of the prayer, and the advance to battle."

It was also narrated by Ayyub ibn Suwayd and Abu al-Mundir Ismail ibn 'Umar, from Malik, the like of it.

Abu al-Ma'ali al-Hamdani informed us; Muhammad ibn Abi al-Qasim informed us, in Harran; Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Baqi informed us; 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Khatib informed us; Abu 'Umar al-Farisi informed us; Muhammad ibn Makhlad informed us; Ja'far ibn Ahmad ibn 'Asim narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Musaffa narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Harb narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Malik, from al-Zuhri, from Anas:

That the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, entered Mecca at the time of the conquest, with the helmet on his head.

Abu al-Ma'ali informed us; Muhammad informed us; Muhammad narrated to us; 'Ali informed us; Abu 'Umar informed us; Makhlad informed us; al-'Ala ibn Salim narrated to us; Shu'ayb ibn Harb narrated to us; Malik narrated to us; 'Amir ibn 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr narrated to us, from 'Amr ibn Sulaym, from Abu Qatadah ibn Rib'i, who said:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "When one of you enters the mosque, let him pray two rak'ahs before sitting down."

Al-Bukhari and Muslim both agreed upon it, from the hadith of Malik.

The hafiz Abu Bakr al-Khatib: al-Barqani informed us; Abu al-Qasim 'Abdullah ibn Ibrahim al-Jurjani narrated to us; it was read before Abu 'Urubah al-Harrani; Muhammad ibn Wahb narrated to you; Muhammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Abu 'Abd al-Rahim, from Zayd ibn Abi Unaysah, from Malik ibn Anas, from Sa'id al-Maqburi, from his father, whom I know of only through Abu Hurayrah, who said:

The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "May Allah have mercy on a servant who had against his brother a wrong in soul or property, so he came to him and took his due from him before his good deeds are taken; if he has no good deeds, he takes from the evil deeds of his companion, and they are placed among his evil deeds."

Al-Hakim: 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn Mansur al-'Adl narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Hanzali narrated to us; 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-Hakam narrated to us; my father narrated to me; Bakr ibn Mudar narrated to us; Ibn al-Had narrated to us; Malik narrated to me, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar:

That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "Let none of you milk the animal of his brother without his permission; would any of you like that his milk-place be entered, its jar broken and what is in it spilled? Let none of you then milk the animal of his brother without his permission."

And Ishaq ibn Bakr ibn Mudar narrated it, from his father; it has come to me raised, as if I heard it from al-Hakim himself.

'Abd al-Hafiz ibn Badran informed us, in Nablus: Musa ibn 'Abd al-Qadir and al-Husayn ibn Mubarak informed us; Ahmad ibn Ishaq informed us; al-Hasan ibn al-Mubarak, Nafis ibn Karam and 'Abd al-Latif ibn 'Askar informed us; Ahmad ibn Muhammad, the hafiz, and a group informed us, in Egypt, as well as Sunqur al-Zayni in Aleppo, saying:

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar informed us; 'Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Qawam, Yusuf ibn Abi Nasr, 'Ali ibn 'Uthman al-Amin, Muhammad ibn Hazim, Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Dhahabi, Muhammad ibn Hashim al-'Abbasi, 'Umar and Abu Bakr informed us; Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Da'im, Suwayj ibn Muhammad, Muhammad ibn Abi al-'Izz, Fatimah bint 'Abdullah al-Amidiyyah, Khadijah bint Muhammad al-Maratiyyah, Fatimah bint Ibrahim al-Bata'ihiyyah and Hadiyyah bint 'Abd al-Hamid informed us, saying:

Al-Husayn ibn Abi Bakr al-Yamani informed us; 'Ali ibn Muhammad the jurist, Ahmad ibn Hibatullah al-Hajib, Nasrullah ibn Muhammad, Ahmad ibn al-Imad, 'Ali ibn Ahmad, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Mujahid, 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Muqallin, Ahmad ibn Rislan, 'Umar ibn Muhammad al-Mudhhab, Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, 'Abd al-Da'im ibn Ahmad al-Wazzan, 'Ubayd al-Humayd ibn Ahmad, Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Fadl, Ahmad ibn 'Abdullah al-Yunini, Muhammad ibn Qaymaz al-Daqiqi and Hadiyyah bint 'Ali informed us, saying:

Al-Husayn ibn Abi Bakr and 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar informed us,

and they said, all six of them:

'Abd al-Awwal ibn 'Isa informed us; Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Farisi informed us, in the year four hundred and sixty-nine; Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Shurayh al-Ansari informed us; Abu al-Qasim 'Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Baghawi informed us; al-'Ala ibn Musa dictated to us, in the year two hundred and twenty-seven; Layth ibn Sa'd narrated to us, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar:

From the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that he stood and said: "Let none of you milk the animal of anyone without his permission. Would any of you like that his milk-place be entered, the door of its jar broken, and his food carried away? It is the udders of their animals that store for them their provisions; let no one then milk the animal of a man without his permission."

Muslim brought it out, from Muhammad ibn Rumh, from Layth.

Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Zabidi: Abu Qurrah narrated to us, from Musa ibn 'Uqbah, from Malik, from Nafi':

From Ibn 'Umar, marfu' (raised to the Prophet): "Fruit is not to be sold until its ripeness appears."

'Ali ibn Taymiyyah informed us; 'Abd al-Latif ibn Yusuf informed us, and al-Abarkuhi informed us; Ibn Taymiyyah al-Khatib informed us, both of them:

Ibn al-Batti informed us; 'Ali ibn Muhammad informed us; Abu 'Umar ibn Mahdi informed us; Muhammad ibn Makhlad informed us; al-Ramadi narrated to us; 'Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us; Ibn Jurayj informed us, from Sufyan al-Thawri, from Malik, from Yazid ibn 'Abdullah ibn Qusayt, from Ibn al-Musayyib:

That 'Umar and 'Uthman

ruled concerning the miltah, which is the simhaq, half of what applies to the mudhah.

'Abd al-Razzaq said: Then Sufyan came to us, so we asked him, and he narrated it to us from Malik; then I met Malik and said:

Sufyan narrated to us from you, from Ibn Qusayt, from Ibn al-Musayyib, that 'Umar and 'Uthman ruled the miltah at half of the mudhah?

He said: He spoke truly; I narrated it to him.

I said: Narrate it to me.

He said: I do not narrate it today.

Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Mun'im informed us; Muhammad ibn Sa'id informed us, as did 'Ali ibn Muhammad and a group, saying:

Al-Husayn ibn al-Mubarak informed us, saying:

Abu Zur'ah informed us; Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Sawi informed us; Abu Bakr al-Hiri informed us; Abu al-'Abbas al-Asamm narrated to us; al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman narrated to us; al-Shafi'i narrated to us; Sa'id ibn Salim narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Sufyan, from Malik, the like of it.

This is a rare ('aziz) chain; al-Shafi'i often descended in his chains in pursuit of knowledge.

Al-Hakim: Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn 'Ubayd, the hafiz, informed us; Muhammad ibn al-Dahhak ibn 'Amr narrated to us; 'Imran ibn 'Abd al-Rahim narrated to us; Bukkayr ibn al-Hasan narrated to us; Ismail ibn Hammad ibn Abi Hanifah narrated to us, from his father, from Abu Hanifah, from Malik, from 'Abdullah ibn al-Fadl, from Nafi' ibn Jubayr, from Ibn 'Abbas, who said:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "The previously married woman has more right to her own self than her guardian; the virgin is asked permission regarding herself, and her permission is her silence."

Ahmad ibn Hibatullah informed us of it, from al-Mu'ayyad al-Tusi; Hibatullah al-Sayyidi informed us; Abu 'Uthman al-Bahiri informed us; Zahir ibn Ahmad informed us; Ibrahim ibn 'Abd al-Samad informed us; Abu Mus'ab narrated to us, from Malik, the like of it.

I aligned it with al-Hakim's (text); it was also narrated from Malik by Sufyan al-Thawri, Sharik the judge, and Shu'bah.

Al-Hakim: Abu 'Ali, the hafiz, informed us; Abu al-Tahir Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Madini informed us, in Egypt; Yahya ibn Durustah narrated to us; Abu Isma'il al-Qannad narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from al-Awza'i and Malik, from al-Zuhri, from 'Amrah, from 'A'ishah:

From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: "Retaliation (qisas) applies from a quarter of a dinar and upward."

Very strange, and we know of no Malik who met Yahya; were that the case, he would have narrated from him, and he would have been among the greatest of Malik's shaykhs.

Abu al-Tahir alone brought it out, and it is open to objection.

Ya'qub ibn Shaybah al-Sadusi: Qabisah narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Mughirah ibn Nu'man, from Malik ibn Anas, from Hani' ibn Haram, who said:

It was written to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab about a man who found a man with his wife and killed him.

So he wrote in secret: He is to pay the blood-money; and he wrote publicly: Retaliation is to be taken from him.

Ya'qub said: 'Umar intended thereby to strike fear.

And by my chain to Ibn Makhlad al-'Attar: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Anas narrated to us; Abu Hubayrah al-Dimashqi narrated to us; Salamah ibn Bishr narrated to us; Yazid ibn al-Simt narrated to us, from al-Awza'i, from Malik, from 'Abdullah ibn Dinar, from Ibn 'Umar:

From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: "The betrayer will have a banner raised for him on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said: This is the betrayal of so-and-so."

Al-Nasa'i brought it out, from Yazid ibn 'Abd al-Samad, from Salamah, with it.

And it has come to us raised.

'Ali ibn Ahmad al-Husayni informed us; Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Qati'i informed us,

Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-'Abbasi informed us; al-Hasan ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Shafi'i informed us; Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-'Abqasi informed us; Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Daybuli informed us; Muhammad ibn Abi al-Azhar narrated to us; Ismail ibn Ja'far narrated to us; 'Abdullah ibn Dinar narrated to us, with this.

And by my chain to Ibn Makhlad, who said: Ahmad ibn Sa'd al-Zuhri narrated to me, saying:

'Ali ibn Bahr al-Qattan mentioned: I heard Ibn Abi Hazim say:

I saw al-Battiyyah standing at the head of Malik ibn Anas.

And by it: Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Abi al-Hanin narrated to us; al-Asma'i narrated to us, from Shu'bah, who said:

I came to Medina in the year one hundred and eighteen, and I found Malik had a circle (of students), while I found Nafi' had died.

And by it: al-Ramadi informed us; al-Hakam ibn 'Abdullah narrated to us; my father informed me, from Malik, who said:

From the house of Ibn Hurmuz I would leave only at the time of noon, for twelve years.

And by it: al-Ramadi narrated to us; al-Hakam narrated to us; Ashhab informed us, from Malik, who said:

Ibn Shihab narrated to me, so I said to him: Repeat it for me.

He said: No.

I said: Was it not repeated to you?

He said: No.

I said: Did you write, then?

He said: No.

And he held the iron in hand, meaning the reins.

Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn Muhammad al-Mu'ayyadi informed us, Ahmad ibn

Yusuf, and al-Fath ibn Abdillah; the two said:

Muhammad ibn Umar al-Urmawi informed us, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Bazzaz informed us, Ali ibn Umar al-Harbi informed us, Ahmad ibn al-Hasan as-Sufi narrated to us, Yahya ibn Ma'in narrated to us, Ma'n narrated to us, from Malik, from Hisham, from his father, from Aisha, who said:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never shook hands with a woman.

Reported by an-Nasa'i in his compilation of Malik's hadiths, from Mu'awiya ibn Salih ad-Dimashqi, from Yahya ibn Ma'in.

Umar ibn Abd al-Mun'im at-Ta'i informed us more than once; Abd as-Samad ibn Muhammad ash-Shafi'i informed us in the year 906, when I was four years old; Ali ibn al-Musallam al-Faqih informed us; Abu Nasr al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Khatib informed us in the year 465; Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ghasani informed us in Sayda in the year 394; Abu Rawq Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Hizzani narrated to us in Basra; Muhammad ibn al-Walid al-Basri narrated to us; Gundar narrated to us; Shu'ba narrated to us, from Malik (h).

And Ahmad ibn Hibatallah ibn Ahmad informed us with a high chain, from al-Mu'ayyad ibn Muhammad:

Hibatallah ibn Sahl informed us, Sa'id ibn Muhammad informed us, Zahir ibn Ahmad informed us, Ibrahim ibn Abd as-Samad informed us, Abu Mus'ab narrated to us, Malik narrated to us, from Abdallah ibn al-Fadl, from Nafi' ibn Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, who said:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The widow has more right to her own person than her guardian; as for the virgin, permission is sought from her concerning herself, and her permission is her silence."

This is Shu'ba's wording.

Abu al-Ma'ali al-Abarkuhi informed us, Zakariyya ibn Ali ibn Hassan informed us in Baghdad, and Abu al-Husayn Ali ibn Muhammad informed us in Baalbek, and Ahmad ibn Muhammad in Egypt, and a group; they said:

Abu al-Manja Abdallah ibn Umar ibn al-Latti informed us; the two said:

Abu al-Waqt Abd al-Awwal ibn Isa informed us (h).

And Yahya ibn Abi Mansur al-Faqih informed us in writing; Abd al-Qadir al-Hafiz informed us; Abd al-Jalil ibn Abi Sa'd informed us in Herat; they said:

Umm al-Fadl Baybi bint Abd as-Samad informed us; she said:

Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ahmad al-Ansari informed us, Abdallah ibn Muhammad informed us, Mus'ab az-Zubayri narrated to us; Malik narrated to me, from Nafi', from Ibn Umar:

that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered the Kaaba, he, Usama, Bilal and Uthman ibn Talha al-Hujabi, and it was locked over them, and he stayed inside.

So I asked Bilal when he came out: "What did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) do?"

He said: "He placed a pillar at his left, two pillars at his right, and three pillars behind him, and the House at that time stood on six pillars; then he prayed."

And likewise: Malik narrated to me, from Abdallah ibn Dinar, from Ibn Umar:

that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade the sale of the wala' (right of clientage) and its gift.

The death of Malik

Al-Qa'nabi said: I heard them say: "Malik was eighty-eight years old; he died in the year 179."

Ismail ibn Abi Uways said: Malik fell ill, and I asked some of our family about what he said at the time of death.

They said: he bore witness (recited the tashahhud), then said: {To Allah belongs the command, before and after}, Ar-Rum: 4.

He died on the morning of the 14th of Rabi' al-Awwal, in the year 179; the prince Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah ibn Abbas al-Hashimi prayed over him, the son of Zaynab bint Sulayman al-Abbasiyya, known by his mother.

Muhammad ibn Sa'd reported it from him, then said: I asked Mus'ab, and he said:

Rather, he died in Safar, and Ma'n ibn Isa informed me likewise.

Abu Mus'ab az-Zuhri said: he died on the tenth day passed of Rabi' al-Awwal, in the year 179.

Muhammad ibn Sahnun said: he died on the 11th of Rabi' al-Awwal.

Ibn Wahb said: he died on the 13th passed of Rabi' al-Awwal.

Qadi Iyad said: the correct position is that his death occurred in Rabi' al-Awwal, on a Sunday, at the completion of twenty-two days of his illness.

Washing him were Ibn Abi Zanbar and Ibn Kinana, while his son Yahya and his secretary Habib poured water over the two of them; a group descended into his grave. He bequeathed that he be shrouded in white garments and that the funeral prayer be offered for him at the place of funerals; the aforementioned prince offered it.

He said: he was the deputy of his father Muhammad over Medina; then he walked in front of his funeral procession and carried his bier, and his shroud came to five dinars.

I say: his death in the year 179 is overwhelmingly transmitted (mutawatir); no weight is given to the statement of whoever erred and placed it in the year 178, nor to the statement of Habib, his secretary, and Mutarrif, as has been related from them, when they said: the year 180.

Qadi Iyad transmitted that Asad ibn Musa said:

I saw Malik after his death, wearing a tawila (long tunic) and green garments, on a she-camel, flying between heaven and earth. I said: O Abu Abdillah! Have you not died?

He said: I have.

So I said: have you not returned yet?

He said: I have come before my Lord, and He spoke to me from behind a veil (kifahan), and He said: Ask Me and I will give you, and wish of Me your wish.

Qadi Iyad said: there is disagreement concerning his age:

Abdallah ibn Nafi' as-Sa'igh, Ibn Abi Uways, Muhammad ibn Sa'd and Habib said: his age was eighty-five years.

It was said: eighty-four years.

It was said: seventy-seven years.

Al-Waqidi said: ninety years.

Al-Firyabi and Abu Mus'ab said: eighty-six years.

Al-Qa'nabi said: eighty-nine years.

And from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim: he lived seventy-eight years.

And the outlier was Ayyub ibn Salih, who said:

He lived ninety-two years.

Abu Muhammad ad-Darrab said: this is an error; the correct is eighty-six.

And there is disagreement about his mother's pregnancy with him:

Ma'n, as-Sa'igh and Muhammad ibn ad-Dahhak said: she carried him three years.

And the father of az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar said the like.

And from al-Waqidi: she carried him two years.

I say: he was buried in al-Baqi' by consensus, and his grave is famous and visited, may Allah have mercy on him.

And it is said that on the night in which he died, a man of the Ansar saw in a dream someone reciting:

Islam has awakened with its pillar shaken ... on the morning the Guide was laid to rest beside the edge of the grave

The Imam of guidance, ever a guardian of knowledge ... upon him be the peace of Allah till the end of time

He said: I came to my senses, and lo, the Cry (as-sarikha) was for Malik.

Qadi Iyad then related several fine dream visions of the Imam, and the rest of his book, without isnads; and among that is what is objectionable (munkar).

Ibn al-Qasim said: Malik died wearing a hundred turbans, besides others.

Ibn Abi Uways said: "Sell what was in the house of my uncle Malik of mats, platforms, pillows and other things, for a sum approaching five hundred dinars."

Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Khalaf said: Malik left behind five hundred pairs of

sandals; yet he had one day desired a qusiyy garment, and he died with only seven of them at hand, which had been sent to him.

Yahya ibn Yahya an-Naysaburi presented him with a gift, and it was found, in Ja'far's handwriting: "Our trustworthy shaykhs said: he sold its surplus for eighty thousand."

Abu Amr said: he left from the nadd (gains) two thousand dinars, six hundred dinars and twenty-seven dinars, and of dirhams, one thousand dirhams.

I say: this Imam was among the great of the blessed and the masters of the scholars: he had dignity, adornment, servants, a splendid house and manifest blessings, an exalted standing in this world and the next; he accepted gifts, ate good food and did righteous deeds. How excellent was the statement of Ibn al-Mubarak about him:

Silent when silence adorns its people ... eloquent in rare, well-wrought words

He committed to memory every wisdom the Quran holds ... and fine manners flow in his flesh and blood

Qadi Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said of him:

O you who ask about the elect of guidance and the sunnas ... seek, and you will be guided to the sciences of fiqh and the sunnas

And the knot of your heart, bind it fast as ice ... never fold it over doubt or smoke

Tread the path of the masters who attained wisdom and piety ... they were, and excelled in the finest secrets and in public

They are the Imams and the poles, never deceived ... nor did they sell their faith for a paltry loss

The companions of the best of creation, the scholars of his community ... the best of generations, stars of the ages and of time

Whoever is guided by their guidance is rightly guided, and they are ... the salvation of those after them from the whirlpools of trials

And their followers upon the straight guidance are ... the people of piety, guidance, knowledge and insight

So choose for your faith a man of knowledge whom you follow ... of shining repute in Syria and in Yemen

Who has embraced their foundations and then follows a path ... leading to every sound and delightful meaning

And Malik, the one Allah is pleased with, beyond doubt the best of them ... the Imam of the Abode of guidance, revelation and the sunnas

So take your knowledge from him if you are a follower ... and leave the ornaments, like dreams and idle fancies

He is the leader followed in the traditions, which he ascribes with rigor ... unlike the one who, in them, is not trustworthy