# Who carried on Imam Malik's teaching after him?

*The Muwatta, Malik's children, and the daughter who carried his legacy*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vhqvm47pns0/s/14/
- Date: 2023-03-10 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: The Legendary Imam Malik Ibn Anas | Mufti Abu Layth (1:02:17–1:06:29)
- Status: latest answer on its topic; general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhqVM47pNS0&t=3737s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vhqvm47pns0/

**Topics:** Imam Malik; Women in Islam

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** His daughter, who had memorised his hadith and taught his classes after him, while his sons showed little interest.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says it was Imam Malik's daughter who carried his legacy forward, continuing to teach his classes after him.

**Evidence, his words at 1:02:54:** “it was actually his daughter that that took the the lamp of his legacy and marched forward with it she continued to teach his classes and things after him” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhqVM47pNS0&t=3774s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says Malik left the school of Madinah and the Muwatta, a small collection of about 1,800 hadith, and had three children, Muhammad, Yahya and Fatima. He says it was his daughter who carried his legacy forward and taught his classes after him; she had memorised the hadith and would correct students from behind a curtain while doing housework. He says one of his sons, perhaps Muhammad, had no interest, walking through the class with an earring, a trailing garment and a falcon, and that Malik praised God for not making knowledge something that can be inherited. He closes on that as a reminder that one must strive to determine one's own destiny.

## Sources and names cited

- Imam Malik
- al-Muwatta
- Fatima, Imam Malik's daughter
- Muhammad, Imam Malik's son [?]
- Yahya, Imam Malik's son

## Transcript (machine tier, 1:02:17–1:06:29)

[1:02:17] Imam Ali could often recite that when teaching people when giving them answers about the theme foreign and he left us a very rich tradition the school of Medina he left us his book or the motto it is more a collection of Hadith A small collection about 1800 Hadith his children he had three children I believe he had two boys one girl Muhammad Yahya and Fatima

[1:02:54] and what many people may not know it was actually his daughter that that took the the lamp of his legacy and marched forward with it she continued to teach his classes and things after him she was the one that was the most bright and his son um I forget I I think I believe it was uh might have been Yahya or was it Muhammad but his sons were just one of his sons was just barely okay he was never

[1:03:33] impressed with his sons he was he really was fascinated with his daughter as in he felt that he was so that she was so intelligent and she was so academically bright that she'd memorized all the Hadith and she would teach and often in his class she would be sitting in a different part of the house but they had sometimes a a bit not they had a um like a curtain and she would be doing some household stuff but if she heard some of the students sitting with Malik make a mistake in the Hadith thinks she would correct it from the other side she

[1:04:11] would say what it was she would say that such and such made him a person somebody made a mistake this is how it is Allah and his sons Imam Malik won he they were um they weren't really they never took his place and one of them he was quite disappointed one of them um I think it was yeah it might have been Muhammad he wasn't interested at all in the Legacy and he would often come through walk through the house whilst Imam Malik's class was going on he just had an earring on he would drag his cloth you know how back then you

[1:04:50] went went to it was frowned upon to drag your kind of garment behind you the izzar he would often be doing that and he would have a falcon Falcon yeah falcon or Hawk and he would often be playing with he would really loved falconry and so he would be just playing with that and so he'd come through the house with just [Laughter] and then some of the people would be like oh that's that's Imam Malik's son Mali could just be like my Malik would just say to them that well

[1:05:29] let's praise God who did not allow knowledge to be something that could simply be inherited see that's a really fast look how Imam Malik saw that he didn't see even though he he may have felt some disappointment but in that disappointment he saw the positive that wow that look at the value Allah left that this is something that one must struggle for to determine it to determine their own destiny in it it is not something that you could

[1:06:08] simply inherit of love that is that is wow even in that he saw it as a a positive reminder so people let's wrap up with that on the legacy of the legend Imam Malik

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment VhqVM47pNS0/s/14. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vhqvm47pns0/s/14/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.