# Does the Muwatta show that the Companions' practice had already changed by Malik's time? *A Muwatta report that the Companions' practice had changed, and Malik as transmitter of living practice* - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/31/ - Date: 2025-10-18 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (2:41:21–2:46:26) - Status: latest answer on its topic; general teaching - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONzjD7XMDhE&t=9681s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/ **Topics:** The Muwatta and the Mudawwana; Sunnah versus hadith; Quran-only movement **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The guest cites a Muwatta report that a Companion's contemporary recognised nothing of the Companions' practice except the call to prayer, as proof the religion had changed; Mufti Abu Layth says the report refers to those in governance and that Malik throughout his works transmits the living practice of Madinah. ## Longer summary The guest asks to close with a quotation from the Muwatta of Imam Malik and reads from its book of prayer: Malik from his paternal uncle Abu Suhayl ibn Malik, from his father, that he recognised nothing nowadays of what he had seen the people, the Companions of the Messenger, doing, except the call to prayer; the guest takes this to show that by Malik's time the religion had already changed. Mufti Abu Layth jokes that the call to prayer is not in the Quran, then asks who 'the people' refers to, and says the tradition's commentaries explain it as referring to certain people in governance; the guest dismisses this as apologetics and asks for Malik's own explanation. Mufti replies that Malik throughout the Muwatta affirms what the people around him practised and that the children took it from their fathers back to the Prophet, that the Mudawwana transmits tens of thousands of questions from Malik with direct chains [?], so one cannot take one report to mean everything was forgotten; the guest says the report says changed, not abandoned. Asked whether he fails in his religion if he does not accept Malik, Mufti says he never said that, and that when asked about the path to Allah, Malik answered that the roads leading to God are many. ## Sources and names cited - Br Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel) - al-Muwatta - al-Mudawwana - Imam Malik - report: i recognise nothing of what i saw the people doing except the call to prayer (Muwatta, book of prayer) - 'amal ahl al-Madinah (practice of Madinah) ## Transcript (machine tier, 2:41:21–2:46:26) [2:40:58] In my salah I'm not silent in it because God gave you the ingredients of the salah and you're you're you're quickly negating it for tradition. It's about the fact that you know if it made you cry if it made you it was the calling out to Allah. So As I'm saying it out loud, you've given you the I don't pray silently. No, I understand it may not have been the answer you were expecting. So, you had a No, because you're not being genuine. I didn't It didn't fit. [2:41:21] You're not being genuine. It's your underestimated me on that one. No, actually actually your your explanation does not make sense. So, according to Thank you for your time. Can I leave off with one uh with one quote from Malik Mal from Imam Malik? the M of Imam Malik. Do you read the M of Imam Malik? Yeah, I I've read the Bkari. I've read many parts of Bkari and many parts of Muslim and many parts of Malik. [2:41:49] Let's you know what? Look, sure. Look, please do. And we got to wrap this up, right? For your sake. Yeah. Alhamdulillah. Sure. Yah related to me from Malik from his paternal uncle Abu Su ibb Malik that his uncle's father said I recognize nothing nowadays of what I saw the people i.e the companions of the messengers. May Allah bless him and grant him peace doing except the call of the prayer. [2:42:15] And this is in the book called the prayer. So the call of the prayer is not in the Quran by the way. Uh hey, I'm not talking about the call of the prayer. I'm saying the sahabi according to Malik. That you weren't expecting that one either. I thought that was a good one as well. You got to admit, you know, the good ones you got to admit. Okay. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Related to me. So in the book of the Malik in the prayer the companion is telling the right is like I don't recognize what these people are doing. [2:42:46] This is not what we did. So by the time Malik was around the religion has already changed. Who are these people that he's referring to as these people? He's saying I recognize nothing nowadays of what I saw the people the people which are the people that he's referring to. So if I say to you, you know, when I No, no, but when I say alifas, who are the nas I'm speaking about? Is it for example, the people in China? [2:43:11] Is it the people in Africa? Is it the people in Asia? Which are the people he's referring to? Is it humanity as a whole? Who is he referring to? The people in regards to who is in front of him? Is he referring to No. No. No. Does he say that the people in front of me? Sure. So what is it implied as? Please tell. It's referring to to certain people that were in governance. Is that showing there in the verse? Yes. Showing in the tradition. No, in the tradition because we accept the tradition explanation. [2:43:39] So can you bring the tradition where Malik is explaining this? Yeah, you can. Yeah, you can read the you can read the of Abd you can read these. No, but that's these are apologetics. Apologetics. No, I want Malik or or the people who are actually saying I don't want people just like how you gave me apologetics in chapter 17 on what salah is to you which doesn't align with what the Quran says. [2:44:02] It's very easy to say that oh no he's talking about the agents because the tradition said so because some guy gave his opinion 20 years ago 30 years ago. No because look Malik in the ma on several occasions is highlighting what the people around him have affirmed. He's also highlighting in the ma that the children have taken from the father that they've taken from the prophet. So all that exists because he's speaking about it. The ma is complete. The muda has 36,000 mahil transmitted from Imam Malik right in there. [2:44:33] He is giving direct chains. There are almost 100,000 mahil. If you take the mahad so if you're going to take he's quoting directly from Malik, right? You're going to have hundreds not at least 100,000 MS maybe not hundreds at least nearing 100,000 ms where Malik is transmitting directly the practice and the dean that the people around him are practicing from the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. [2:44:59] So to say that they have forgotten everything, what is it referring to? When he says the forgotten everything, it's not forgotten. That they've abandoned. Sorry, abandoned. It's not abandoned. It's they changed. They changed. He changed that he was doing except the prayer when Malik prayer. By the way, the call to prayer is not in the Quran. The other person. So the one thing that they speaking of, right? Oh, fair enough. Okay. [2:45:24] Yeah. But there there is there is the concept to calling a prayer, but it's not the same way that you're doing. Now of course the can change but I answered but I answered the point that Malik non-stop is relaying the living tradition. So to say well Malik is saying non-stop that the children have taken from the father the practice of the people of Medadina. I hope that helps and answers your question. Sure. And if I don't ac if I don't accept Malik am I failing in my religion? [2:45:48] I never said that. Once again why would you no because because it's clarifying my position. If I don't accept Malik I'm still a Muslim and I'm still capable of finding God and follow So it's not necessary. Nobody look why why you spread hate. Look, it's not necessary. It's about Yeah. Because if you say that people like why would any person say look if you don't follow my m you you you're not a Muslim. [2:46:14] These are different takes. You know when somebody asked Im Malik they said to him about a certain way path to Allah. He said the roads that will lead you to God are many. So look to some people they'll take that road to some people this road we're all on a journey to find Allah inshallah right so shukran once again and leave on that pleasant note of love thank you for hosting me and I apologize if it got a little heated it gets passionate it's the it's the passion I see you car exactly and it is about the book of god and and uh and the appeal to certain things that we just don't accept I find the book of god very compelling and very amazing ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment ONzjD7XMDhE/s/31. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/31/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.