Imam Malik (Rahmatullahi-‘alai) also known as Abu Abdullah (Kuniyya)
was a faqih which means a person who is an expert in Fiqh and Islamic
law. He was born in Madina in the year 711 (AH) in the era of the tabi’een, 79
years after the death of the noble Prophet (SAW) but his nationality was originally
Yemeni. Imam Malik Ibn Anas (RH) is one of the four great imams and founder of
the Maliki school of thought. His grandfather moved to Madina during the reign
of ‘Umar Ibn Khattab (RA). Both his father and grandfather studied the topic of
religious sciences under the companions of Madina and therefore Imam Malik was
brought up in an Islamic environment. He started off learning Islam from his
father and also his uncle. Imam Malik went onto master the sciences of Fiqh,
Hadith and Tafsir in Madina.
During his childhood he would never set foot outside Madina
Munawwarah for purposes of acquiring knowledge, he was surrounded by the knowledge
of the tabi’een in Madina, even his own house was a resource for acquiring knowledge.
His teachers were the following: Nafi’i (a prominent scholar in his own right),
Abdur-Rahman Ibn Hurmuz, Safwaan Ibn Sulaym, Ibn Shihaab Zuhri and much more. It was through his determination and great
zeal for knowledge that at the age of 17 he had acquired a vast amount of
Islamic knowledge that with the approval of his teachers and scholars Imam
Malik (RA) was given permission to give fatwaas (theories). Imam Malik (RH)
continued seeking knowledge into his 20s and 30s in which he began to teach in
Masjid Al-Nabawi with the Qur’an in one hand and a book of Hadith in the other,
answering questions according to those sources. He was later known as the
Shaykh of Madina as he used to narrate Hadiths with the most authentic chain of
narrations. Imam Malik went on to compile a collection of Hadiths called ‘Al-Muatta’
(The Approved) which is authentic saying of the Prophet (SAW) containing 61
chapters, this is why Imam Malik is unique out of the four imaams. Al-Muatta is
placed on the same level (sometimes above) the compilations of Bukhari and
Muslim. Imam Shafi’e comments: ‘There is no book on earth, after the Qur’an
that is more authentic than al-Muatta.’ Taahir Ibn Khalid al-Aylee relates from
his father, form Ibn ‘Uyaynah who said: ‘Maalik did not convey a Hadith, except
that it was authentic, and he did not relate except from one who was thiqah (reliable).
And I have only seen al-Madina waste away after his death,’ meaning in terms of
knowledge[1].
Imam Malik’s prominent students were Imam Abu Yusuf (RH), Muhammad
Al-Shaybani-both of which were students of the great Imam Abu Hanifa (RH) - and
Imam Malik also taught Imam Shafi’e (RH).
Imam Malik was an extremely humble person who refused to
narrate Ahadith while walking out of respect of the words of the Prophet
Muhammad (SAW). He also would not ride animals on the same ground that the Holy
Prophet (SAW)’s feet touched. Imam Malik Ibn Anas -also known as Abu Abdullah-
died on the fourteenth of Rebee’ul-Awwal, in the year 179 (AH). So the
leader, ‘Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali Ibn ‘Abdullah
Ibn ‘Abbas al-Hashimi prayed over him[2].
Imam Malik (RH) is buried in Jannahtul-Baqee, cemetery in Madina.
And Allah knows best.
And Allah knows best.
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