Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

A R C H I V E S

THE FOUR IMAMS: IMAM MALIK

Madina Archives


Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

THE FOUR IMAMS: IMAM MALIK
bhaloo
03/02/02 at 02:28:03
[slm]

I'm reading the book the FOUR IMAMS by Abu Zahra , and I thought I would put up notes I wrote for a friend I made from the book, so some may benefit from this insha'Allah.  

The book talked a bit about how Malik acquired knowledge and his
passion for acquiring it.  Malik acquired knowledge from the mouths
of men and not from books.  During this time scholars started to
record their knowledge in books.  He was extremely devoted to
acquiring knowledge.

Malik acquired knowledge in 4 areas
1- he learned how to refute deviant sects, and resolve people's
disagreements with respect to fiqh.  he divided knowledge into
two kinds, general knowledge which he shared with people and
knowledge reserved for intellectuals, such as refuting deviant sects,
because some of this knowledge may harm or confuse the lay person.

2- he learned the fatawas of the companions from the 2nd and
3rd generations.

3- he learned fiqh ar-ra'y (understanding by mental perception).
This method was not the same as analogy, but rather its basis was
harmonisation of different texts with the best interests of people
and how they could be benefitted

4- He learned the hadiths of the Prophet (SAW).


He was fearful of erring when giving fatawas, and therefore gave
few answers, and often would say "I do not know".  And he took
the knowledge of learning hadith very seriously and when he related
any hadith he never joked and was very serious.  When he related hadiths
he would perform wudu and put on his best garments.  When he was clear
about a fatawa he let his students write it down, but when he was
uncertain, he forbade them from writing it down.

Malik took his knowledge largely from the scholars of madina, a large
part coming from the seven fuqaha of Madina.  Malik made holding on to
the opinion of the people of Madina one of the principles of his method.

Seven fuqaha:
1. Said ibn al-Musaayb - he devoted himself completely to fiqh and was
not as concerned with the tafsir of the Quran.  He was the Imam of the
fuqaha of Madina in the time of Tabiun and he did not refuse to give a
fatwa when there was a need for one.
2. Urwa ibn az-Zubayr- a hadith transmitter and faqih who followed the
path of tradition and he did not give fatwas the way that Ibn al-Musayyab
did.
3. Abu Bakr ibn 'Abdur-Rahman - Tradition dominated his fiqh
4. AL-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr- he was a faqih so he had both fiqh
and hadith.
5. Ubaydallah ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Utba ibn Masud - in addition to his
knowledge of fiqh and hadith and good character he composed poetry.
6. Sulayman ibn Yasar- his knowledge and understanding of fiqh were
increased by his study of people's affairs  and knowledge of their states.
7. Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thatbit- a faqih in legal opinion (ra'y)

These seven along with others that knew the fiqh of the Companions
and the Prophet (SAW) formed the fiqh of madina.  They preformed
ijtihaad but only in the way that the Companions had done, they
gave fatawas on matters that had happened or were commonly practiced
on a daily basis.  This differed from the people of Iraq who would
give fatawas on hypothetical issues or things that hadn't even
occurred.

The fiqh of these 7 was learned by ibn shihab and rabia and others
in that generation, and then malik learned from that generation.  Malik
later left Rabia because of a disagreement he had with him about certain
opinions with regards to some fataws.

Malik earned his livelihood through commerce as well as accepting gifts
from khalifs (although Abu Hanifa was uncertain weather this was
acceptable and didn't practice it himself), though he didn't take from
lesser official.

Malik's Muwatta is considered to be the first book written on hadith
and the first on fiqh.  His intention was to collect Madinan fiqh and
the foundations on which it was based.  What he presented was the
prevailing consensus of his predecessors in Madina, the practice of
which he considered to be a legal source for his fatwas.

Malik put the Book of Allah first and put the traditions with it,
placing them before analogy and opinion.  He left anything which was
not considered probable by reliable men with sound knowledge, or
when he found that a majority of people from Madina did something
different to it.  He didn't pay attention to those that interpreted
things according to their own opinions.

The fundamental principles of the school are: the Quran, the Sunnah,
the consensus of the people of Madina, analogy, the statement of the
Companions, together with masalih mursala (considerations of public
interest), 'urf (custom), 'adat (common usage), sadd adh-dhara'i
(blocking the means), istishab (presumption of continuity), and
istihsan (discretion).

The Quran- it is the whole of the sharia the support of religion,
the fount of wisdom, the sign of Prophethood and the light of the
eyes and the heart.  There is no way to Allah except through it and
there is no salvation by any other means.  Whoever seeks complete
knowledge of sharia must take the Quran as his constant companion.

The Maliki scholars say that the nass (explicit) texts are not
open to interpretation whereas dhahir (apparent) texts can be
interpreted.  ash-Shafi considered the nass and dhahir to be
interchangeable, while the Maliki position is that the nass is
stronger than the dhahir.

The Sunna-
3 ways in which it clarifies and complements the Quran
1. It confirms the judgments of the Quran
2. It gives meaning to the intention of some aspects of the Quran
3. Finally it complements the Quran by giving judgements about some
aspects which the Quran is silent.

Malik, like Ahmad ibn Hanbal, accepted the statements of the copanions
as a source of fiqh and constituting one of the branches of the Sunnah
of the Prophet (SAW).

He was one of the four imaams who most frequently mentioned consensus
(ijma).  Malik also considered the practice of the people of Madina
to be a legal source for his fatawas.  He used analogy (qiyas) but
always subject it to the principles of bringing about the best interests
of people. Malik said istishan (discretion) was 9/10 of knowledge.  He
used analogy but made it subject to general and partial benefit.  Benefit
is the underlying principle of Maliki fiqh.  

Sadd adh-dharai (blocking the means) and fath adh-dharai (facilitating the
means) - All that is known to lead to benefit, definitely or probably or
mostly, even if it is not predominant, is desirable, and all that is known
to lead, whether certainly or only, probably, to corruption must be
avoided.

Maliki fiqh makes use of custom ('urf) and considers it a legal principle
in respect of matters about which there is no definitive text.  According
to malikis, custom makes the general specific and qualifies the
unqualified.  
03/02/02 at 02:28:30
bhaloo
THE FOUR IMAMS: IMAM MALIK
AbdulBasir
03/02/02 at 14:07:26
[slm]
May Allah reward you bro...How do you like the book Arshad? Does it give biographical details about the Imams and give anecdotes about them too? Would appreciate your opinion as I was just about to get it. :)
[slm]
Re: THE FOUR IMAMS: IMAM MALIK
bhaloo
03/02/02 at 15:40:24
[slm]

I'm finding the book to be very beneficial and enjoyable.  The book is broken up into 4 sections, each section dealing with an imaam, the first section did give pretty good biographical detail about Malik (ra) as well as anectdotes, but more importantly for me was the methodolgy these great men derived in coming up with the foundations for the 4 schools of thought.  I would definitely recommend the book.
Re: THE FOUR IMAMS: IMAM MALIK
jaihoon
03/05/02 at 09:03:04
[slm]

Does the book talk abt Imam Malik's special reverence for Madina?


Re: THE FOUR IMAMS: IMAM MALIK
bhaloo
03/05/02 at 12:53:18
[slm]

Yes it does Jaihoon.


Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
A R C H I V E S

Individual posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Jannah.org, Islam, or all Muslims. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster and may not be used without consent of the author.
The rest © Jannah.Org