Imam Malik, The School of Madinah and The Compilation of the Muwatta | Mufti Abu Layth

um grateful and also it's an excellent opportunity to be here share some words and thoughts. We'll be taking a look. There is actually going to be a a merger if you like of two very I mean closely linked topics. One is Imam Malik the the Imam speaking a bit about him also his contribution.

So that which is and I wanted to extend beyond just saying his his actual book or his actual fatawa to the actual extent where his influences went throughout the world and how it shaped history almost and civilizations as we know it today. So there's taking a look at that and then there is the mis uh of Imam Malik also um a section dedicated to that.

So I was under the I mean I had the understanding these will be two separate type of talks but we're going to kind of merge them in. If there are any questions we can take them as we're reason I mean maybe we can take them if they're simple as we're going along. Otherwise there is a Q&A dedicated um after lunch as well or at the end of this regarding this and after lunch I think it's an open Q&A right so before we begin let's it's always good to see what we already know because that's always a good point starting off let's just say the imam we're going to begin with the IM uh IM Malik

tell me some things that you already may know or may find interesting about Imam Malik. I mean, what do we already know? I mean, I know we know a lot about Imam Malik, but something that might kind of stand out or something that you'd want to say. Somebody says, "Im Malik, you want to say something?" What What do you want to say? What What would you want to put up there? So, imagine we're kind of doing a diagram. We're saying, "Im Malik, that connection with Medina." Medina.

Unquestionable connection with Medina. Imam Malik has a an an inseparable um bond with Medina. I mean you can't mention Medina in that context except understand Imam Malik and you can't mention Im Malik without having that concept of Medina. What else? There's to expand on that the Medina which is quite unique to the Okay.

Imam Malik's teaching of continuing this legacy of the of Al Medina. Imam Malik isn't he didn't actually and we're going to this is just a touchup by the way. Obviously we're going to go through the the whole thing but just to explain he didn't actually invent this concept. This was the tradition that was already there. What is Al Medina is something that is worth speaking about as well. So we'll do that. But you're right al one of the most powerful concepts associated uh with Imam Malik which has huge huge type of ramifications because on one

hand it's it's the one thing which challenges this whole notion of hadith and sunnah because even though the hanfi as well the school of kufur they've also had this distinction but none of them have had as force possible of an argument to demonstrate it like they've said yes there's a difference between hadith and sunnah but they've not I mean when it comes to okay prove what you're saying or give it a bit more meat I mean what are you actually there there hasn't been much to say for the school of medina it's been incredibly different this alina

it's it's a force to reckon with I mean it's it's something which um even the schools that didn't want to accept it you see many of them kind having to even some of the great a few other people having to accept it. The other schools recognizing even having to dedicate a piece of work to it. But anyway, okay. What what what else I imam Malik? What what comes to our the golden chain?

The golden chain. Excellent. The golden sorry. Yeah. The golden chain. Excellent. The concept of the golden chain exists all when I say golden chain the concept of the strongest chain exists amongst the mahadi it's not that they have had this discussion amongst them what is the strongest chain of hadith what should it be and there's been a variation people have come up with there has been more than one attributed to Malik

the most popular one which Im alkari refers to as the golden is as you mentioned from the messenger of Allah that this is the most strongest chain there is in the history of hadith according to uh imari and what is pretty much recognized I mean his word has become almost the word in this okay now what else any anything about IM Malik that we that already springs to mind might want to put up there already

ma'am anything ideas is recited in Medina this yes absolutely this link once again with Medina it's an interesting point as well that you've mentioned and we will see that Imam Malik refused to leave Medina under any apart from obviously the Hajj but which was an obligation besides that he refused and in In fact, there are interesting uh offers that are made to him as well and you know from in some of the narrations from the the woolat or the the rulers of the time where they said I want you to do this this and this and one of the things was that come with

me to Baghdad and and he said in other words in your dreams that isn't going to happen and he actually I mean turned down most of the offers but um I mean that's an interesting discussion I'll come back to that as well because It's interesting how Imam Malik was he was an incredibly pragmatic m much as well. Somebody very real.

Somebody who embodies uh the concept of apart from which is understanding hadith tradition piety as well like in the sense of not he wasn't overindulging in but realistic as well. And that's interesting because on this point that I'd mentioned he's actually offered money by the woolats uh that they give him a certain amount of money and he says have this and he says I want you to write uh you know he says I also want from you a particular set of rulings to make your you know your word or you're not your word but

your teachings the teaching out there to get rid of all this and I want you to come with me to Baghdad or and and he said and he took the money and This is why you know some people that had raised this as a question later on. He said to him that he said that as far as the um the abolition of removing he said then the Sahabah have disagreed and that's something um and he actually quotes this and I know people got into a discussion after this he said that it is we are taught that the of the um is now I know people then got into this discussion that oh but that hadith isn't sah and so

on but here I im malik is quoting it and whether he's quoting as a hadith or as a teaching but he says that this is the teaching and he says we will not be able to abolish and he says and as to moving to Baghdad he said then in your dreams I'm not leaving the city of the prophet for anything and he said that and as to the money he said if you want to leave it leave it if you want to take it take it it's up to you he said but you're not getting anything in return as a favor so the guy said well on then just have it but you see pragmatism real not not This is something which is we'll see about Imam Malik as well very real not like

there isn't this I mean I'm not saying there is with other imams but I'm saying there isn't this concept of any fake piety or anything just very real about the duny is there as well it's not about living in in a cave or living in it's about being real so that's something else any interesting you want to be all right that is actually true that Immalik has this uh this type of I suppose especially in his younger days this almost this uh funky side to him where he he's interested in wanting to be a singer and he's interested in in all this type of stuff

and he he's his appearance to some extent you know the earring or whatever this type of stuff that's been transmitted but he that you see the interesting thing is this Once he turns to this science to the dean as the of the dean I mean when I say the deen I don't mean he was away but to the the committing himself to the sunnah of the messenger as in learning it and forwarding with the aim to forward that teaching.

It transforms him into the legend that he today is. Um obviously those other things are now interesting for us but had have he taken a path like that he would never have been in the hearts of potentially millions today. Do you understand? Just like being a singer or being something like this but now but that is an interesting point nevertheless although I understand some people have questioned as well sometimes whether you know how true are these things but they are in many of the books.

Okay, let's begin briefly with his uh who he completely was in terms first of all let's start off as with his complete name um originally of a Yemeni uh tribe if you like Yemeni origin the is the the type of tribe if if you are interested in that who were from um I mean they were a particular the Asbach were known for being certain kings and so on from Yemen that later on had migrated.

Abu Amir his um great-grandfather is a sahhabi. Okay. Somebody who they say actually participates in many of the battles as well alongside the prophet. Why is that an interesting thing to mention that he participates in the battles as well? Um why why do you think that would be an interesting point? say yeah but I mean when we're saying oh this person was a companion but and he participated in all these battles as well why might that distinction between the companions yes excellent because there are actually some I mean I'm not say

this is one I'm just putting in as a reason obviously it demonstrates the bond between him and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam as in he was that close you know compromised his prepared to compromise his life for the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. All these things are there and it shows that temperament that side that emotion sensitivity. It also shows that there are because there have been some that have held the definition of a sahhabi to be somebody who has participated in the battles with the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam somebody who hadn't they considered them to be someone who may have met the prophet but not a sahabi so there was this distinction amongst I'm

not saying it's the ruling to go by but it is it is there in the books um so that's also an interesting element Now his his grandfather Malik whose name is Malik as well Malik Malik. He was from the the senior. He is somebody who transmits from Omar Aisha Abu Tala uh and and other people.

But these are some prominent Sahabah he is transmitting from. He is also at the time of the tragedy of the martyrdom of he was one of the four people who actually carries uh the the body of man um to be buried or when it was night when they allowed him to take it away.

So he was one of those people and was involved in the washing and the the preparation for the burial as well. So he was one of the the few people that did that. So that's Immik's grandfather. So we're already seeing this this this formation because it's, you know, it's already you've got this heritage of people that are already so committed that are coming along.

And then there's IM Malik's father. They say that Imam Malik has transmitted a hadith from his father uh from his grandfather the hadith of uh what is and Libas. So they say this one hadith. Okay. Um Abu Sah however who is his uncle his his father's brother Imam Malik does transmit from him he is more popular and more known in in the world of hadith if you like the chains of hadith.

Now, Immalik as a young person was actually he wasn't when he was growing up in Medina, he wasn't that when he was young, he wasn't that prominent at all. In fact, he was actually known by his brother. His brother was somebody Nar was somebody more committed to learning the sciences and things like this. As I mentioned, Imam Malik at a young age was was a bit more, you know, he wasn't obviously he was young and he wasn't too much perhaps acquainted with that field yet.

So, when he did start to attend these circles, he was known as Nadar, the brother of Nadar until a time comes that all of his family are actually known by him that this is you know so and so of Malik this is the brother of Malik this is the so it reaches that stage eventually I mean um but it began not like that he's somebody regarding his birth he was born in 92 93 hij there's that difference of opinion generally people say 92 but I mean either ways there is something I'd like to mention as well you know regarding his birth that there are this

his mother's name uh is Aliyah now there are some stories surrounding this um his the birth of Imam Malik how his mother uh was pregnant with him for years now in reality all of this is probably just folklore or or just stories that have kind of come together.

I mean, we don't actually believe them to be true or accurate. A lot of the have spoken about stuff like this and they've spoken about I mean I've got doctor I don't know if we've got other doctors in our presence but I mean we've uh we've read up I remember reading a whole um there was uh there's some dedicated sections you have like these conferences that have been being held for years and years like for you know over a decade whatever where you've had lead Islamic scholars who are also uh medical scholars and they've they come together and they hold these international conferences and espec uh usually held around the Gulf States and so on where they then present certain

topics of study and they go away and research them and come back and and and the and the result is in print. So you find there's some books known as or and they are to do with contemporary medical issues and they look at they're looking at historic issues as well but through a contemporary lens if you like. So one of them is this what they call phantom pregnancies. Um and it's an interesting topic if anybody wants to look into it.

They speak about uh we have had accounts of this throughout the Muslim world historically in the books like this story of Imam Malik. It's actually quite popular. That's why I thought I'll touch upon it. What is this actually? And you've got this ali he he provides some very interesting insight to this as well about how these are not actually pregnancies but what happens is due to certain circumstances uh there are there is this phenomenon known as phantom pregnancy in which a woman may develop certain symptoms which resemble that of a pregnancy and there may even be some swelling and a sense of

bloatedness and all this type and people around her actually assume she is pregnant. And they said that this actually sometimes and he was reporting studies at the time I think in Yemen and other places where this has gone gone on for months even sometimes years like two years and obviously because she's not pregnant nothing's actually happening and then what happens is sometimes during that period the the woman actually becomes pregnant.

So when by the time she's had a child it now people are counting from the beginning and they're thinking well oh she's been pregnant for 4 years this woman has and although presumably in this day and age this is obviously you know people don't hold these views so much but historically this is where this is coming from. So this discussion about what is the the longest uh gestation period, what is the or the longest time of pregnancy or so on that people based using Immalik's story and other things that is a historic they were trying to do the best they could with the knowledge they had at the time.

So it's not something to you know hold it's it's not necessarily like a sh it's just what they were using as a medical explanation of the time. Okay. Now coming back to Imam Malik himself what's known about him somebody that when he has been described he has been described as uh in his time handsome they said he was somebody who would of he was tall uh had a strong posture they speak about him he was he was white he did have blue eyes um what they transmit as blonde

hair u or blondish type of here. Uh he had uh Sahal kind of all lighting up here. Sah's like, "Huh?" So So the thing is that he he did have all of this and and they say about him he they describe his beard. He kept it white and they say about he had these they call these uh uh what you have the the two things here civilain the I mean I suppose whether you want to see as a part of the tash or the beard but these things here you kind of they would let them grow as in you could see as

though it's part of the beard but it kind of appears a bit distinctly distinctively and so he had that they say about him that his hair he did have reasonably long hair I mean but they say that he had it parted also bound tied uh what that tied meant. I mean generally you'd understand probably just maybe just bound together at the back. That would probably be the general understanding.

Um so that's about him. He he was very particular about his clothing and stuff like this. They say he usually wore white and he was very particular about having very good clothes. And this is an interesting thing about him as well. This is why I said it was when I spoke about the when I mentioned about the pragmatism he was very real. He wasn't about he he did believe in you know if there was something that had quality he that there was nothing wrong in enjoying that.

The hadith teaches us when the companion said to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam when the prophet was speaking about you should avoid arrogance and avoid these type of things and somebody said to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam but um you know that that each one like each one of us would want that you know and this and that that his clothes are good and this is good and this like we can't help but want that what's and they asked the prophet is that wrong and the prophet said no not not at all that that Allah is beautiful and loves beauty

there's nothing wrong with that there and the prophet said that what we're speaking about is which is arrogance where somebody despises somebody for being poor looks down on other people that is haram that is what Allah detests so I im Malik was very particular with things like this he didn't used to so with his clothes it's actually he had as well several what they do say expensive pair of for his age like shoes which were expensive although they say that Imam Malik generally especially through later life wouldn't wear shoes

in Medina uh out of respect and love for the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam that he said that this is the the ground which holds the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam and I dare not wear shoes on it that was the height the pinnacle of the love of Imam Malik and the as we see them for the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam and you see this as well this love kind of filtering through into the Madhab and the Madhab has always maintained this high um you know this

this huge po type of emotion and love for the prophet I mean everybody has but you see the Maliki mad has kind of always had certain they've been very particular in certain rulings and very so on and so that they've always been known almost for for that as well but But it begins with the imam. But I mean the point why I mentioned the shoes is that he did actually possess them but he didn't wear them.

And they say that when he had passed away that when they went through his possessions they found so many that had been at times gifted to him or other things that that I mean although he accepted it but he didn't he refused to wear it in general in Medina. Imam Malik would wear an imama often and he was somebody who wouldn't uh like I mentioned dyes here. He was once asked by one of the rulers that why don't you dye your hair or color your hair.

I don't know. I think some people are I said that once the word dye in front of somebody who's into hairdressing they found it offensive said the official term is is coloring. You can't say dying for here but anyway dying or coloring whichever way right the thing is somebody asks the prophet one of the rulers that what's wrong with you know why don't you color your hair and and and his response to him was

is this the only thing that you have that concerns you of the dean now that why I am not dying or coloring my hair I mean just meaning like jug gone. In other words, get on with it. You know, like just leave me alone. One of those things. But once again, very real and that's the important thing. Okay. He was somebody who he refused to actually purchase his own property.

Um not necessarily a mortgage issue just but he he just didn't feel the need. He rented the property that initially belonged to Abdullahbnb, one of the companions and he lived in that property for most of his life and he continued to stay there. But you know I said this in another talk as well that you see there is sometimes this this thing of you know when you're on like you want to embrace a legacy and sometimes some people they they will do

things to be in the footsteps of people who are their inspirations like so to these people the Sahaba were everything and so here you Imagine that Imam Malik actually living in his house would have actually maybe had these thoughts that oh I wonder that you know he would have been probably sitting here or he would have been do you see what I mean like these type of and in a way almost kind of you know trying to walk in those steps like even the like I mentioned that you know the civil the two they say this about Omar that he would often you know that when he was thinking he would kind of be kind of

playing with that and just uh just just and and Immalik is described in very similar terms as well. At times he would sit and he would do the same thing and some and at times he was told oh you you know oh you're reminding us of um so it's interesting how I'm just saying that psychological side is there as well that the that they do want to be like these people and maybe and you you can imagine that I'm sure they would have been kind of contemplating ah that I'm sure he would have been doing this here or he would have been doing that here.

It's a very natural thing to do, right? Okay. So, he they say um about Imam Malik in general, I mean there's certain things that he was known for like uh whenever he would like speaking in like a style of speaking if you like that he would often recite certain verses all the time. I mean like some people they always whenever something's happening or they always saying something and I im Malik would often say very often I mean always that was something that had become

almost known about him and when he would answer a question he would say the verse of the Quran that and that basically we think in this matter but conjecture that's like this is our thought and we are not people of certainty on it and that that is a um something a style if you like it is it's a it's a you got to say as well it had a slickness to it you can't deny that I mean it's got that but it has a style to it as well it's uh it's you can't you know kind of avoid that IM Malik also

was somebody in his lifetime he was very concerned especially as a as an adult that he would every single day eat a portion of meat every single day. And and he was critiqued over this, criticized. I say critique just to be but he was criticized over this that people said to him that you know that you're indulging that what's this like you're just indulging in and this isn't the way of the salah that the Sahaba would eat meat occasionally and you eaten every day and they say he would get his two dirhams worth of meat every single day and he said in response

to somebody he said if I had to sell the wood of my roof I would sell it to get that daily portion And when asked why, what did it boil down to people? Protein. Imam Malik was hooked on protein. He said that it keeps a person it buil like it it gives build to a person's posture.

He said, "I've seen people that because of them that they carry an awe and a presence that knowledge is then revered." And he said, "I've seen people of knowledge who don't carry a physical presence and due to that the knowledge is kind of downtrodden as well." So it's interesting how he's thinking and he's very early on. So these thought processes where he's looking at the he's looking at things like you know I understand that the Sahaba don't do this it's not that I'm oblivious to that I understand that but this serves a purpose

and he's not avoiding that purpose he's not saying that look you know he's saying that this it gives people it gives this awe to and we have to honor that we have to respect that so that's an a very interesting uh type of feature I mean it's known about Imam Al Malik that he for several years studied with a variety of teachers. I mean uh I won't go through all his teachers but some there's prominent people like Shahabu Zari who is one of the first scholars to compile hadith uh under the instruction of so there's people like that

um there's other people there so many of these people who were outstanding of Medina now I im Malik in and other people as well in Imm in their time in the time of many of them maybe not all of them but in the time of many of them I im Malik himself rises to such prominence that he himself says that he was authorized by um up to 70 he says uh shook of Medina to give fatwa to kind of sit and deal with people's issues and he

says and then he kind of set forward and and took up that responsibility. He says that um he says that anybody who has knowledge and has associated himself with knowledge which really should be everybody by the way should be everybody. He says they should never give up or quit on teaching should always convey what you have.

And he he was big on this. And Imam Malik they say he he kind of almost in hindsight if you like his life had been split into almost three portions. One where he prominently the first third that he prominently took and seldom gave because he was more busy with the acquisition of knowledge. The second section where he gave and took. So he's still learning but he's giving immensely as well to people.

and the last third if you like of his life where he predominantly gave okay and seldom maybe took but that's just because he'd reached that age and and so this is if you like um I mean whether he planned it like that but this is how in hindsight it was so I mean these are some things about him there's some interesting um things about him that you know one of the rulers they had asked Imam Malik to come and to teach them and to teach their children and to teach them as well.

And and they sent in like an somebody to kind of like an emissary to say, "Look, tell Imam Al Mali to come and give us private tuition." That's the the word for it. So, Imam Malik responds to them. He said, "Go tell them." He said, "Knowledge is something you come to it. It does not come to you.

And then what happened is the person turns up this this wy this governor he turns up and he sits in Imam Malik and obviously people like clearing the you know or like the you know oh this governor you know prestigious person whatever is sitting here so he sits there he's got the keenness if you like some keenness okay I'm here I'm in a d of hadith and he says to Imam Malik he says says read.

So I im Malik says to him he says says says in this town you read on to the teacher you don't read on to you style he had class you can't I im Malik was in a league of his own you can't you can't mess with that it's like a scene that is but it's true though He had that prestige about him and he always had this thing that people they should have this prestige associated with them.

But he comes up with this trend or or he becomes popular for this trend that you read onto the sheh the sheh does not read onto you. Up until today in several parts of the Muslim world especially in uh the Indoac uh parts where they have continued to teach hadith with a chain. So I mean it's where I might as well study the books of hadith. They still continue this trend and when they begin the books of hadith they actually quote and say this is in line with the they say this is in line with the guidance from Imam Malik and his tradition that the teacher

will not read onto the I mean the teacher will not read onto the students students will read onto the sh. So our teachers actually said that at the beginning of the year when they began Bkari Muslim all these books they said this is in accordance with the tradition of Imam Malik. So you can see it still continues till this till this day. So that's um something very interesting about uh that that we've kind of seen.

He you see Imam Malik was a you know if you to describe his personality or I when I say personal temperament I think is a better word he was perhaps he wasn't somebody so maybe jovial or so he was perhaps a bit more definitely I think more serious as a person as opposed to being super chilled. he wasn't that um I mean so in that sense I think many of us would be chucked out of his study circle if I think I definitely would if I if I got there but the point is that he he wasn't too much he wasn't too down with

this sense of humor type of thing he he did have it at times he there are incidents where he narrates jokes and stuff like this but he wasn't always down with that category in that regard in contrast to people like Imam Abu Khanifa or Sufyana Tori more the Iraq perhaps they if if one thing you got to give it to them they did have humor that that is obviously I'm not not to take away from their fit I'm not saying they didn't have fit but they had they definitely had humor as well and you know in their circles it is transmitted that there was often you know a lot of laughter a lot of this a lot of the crack jokes there also there

was this thing about being very witty that you know they ask something and like somebody asks them something and they would turn it around and be very sarcastic in their responses and you know like somebody would ask what is it they like a question oh so you know I've been kind of uh trying to do of my beard and get the water in I don't know so how how should I make sure all the water gets in there so he said you know what to do just dip it in the night before and keep it there and do the so these type of responses were you would get a lot of this in that culture if you like with Imam Malik there isn't too much of that he was more

serious if you like I mean I'm each to his own temperament in that sense it's um it is interesting though how the madha cuz what's interesting is sometimes you see this the in general they did have a lot of this relaxed attitude when I say the especially from the turbin onwards turbain and turbain they had and amongst them some Sahaba as well.

But obviously in the time of the Sahaba a lot more certain things were preoccupying them and stuff like this. But you see a lot of this chilled out personality as well with the there are things going on but they're also very humorous and so on. But it's it's almost ironic how throughout history things start to change as in the perception of being religious changes into this thing of you must be very serious and so on.

But I im Malik that shouldn't take away anything to do with his he was I mean he's one of the imams that um in um when speaking about him says that he is one imam who he says has had is an amalgamation of qualities. It's like a a a totality of qualities which are seldom or or not found in any other scholar of this um and he says that and then he starts listing some of the key things

and amongst them are his things that he was that everybody not only rates him for his commitment to worship but his commitment to understanding his uh being an authority in hadith teeth his uh you know so there's certain things about him which are not found in any the totality of all of them put together are not found in another scholar like that so so I just thought I'll I'll mention that it wasn't they do transmit something interesting actually that they say that that when Imam Malik would keep a handkerchief with him speaking of worship that

when he would do saga they say that he would put this handkerchief I've read this I mean I don't know how much He uh I don't know if you've come across this chef but I mean you have come across it. Okay. I came across this. I wasn't too familiar with it. Um I found that very interesting because once again he that he would put this handkerchief out where he was going to do saga. So it says that so it wouldn't kind of scar his forehead or anything like this and it would but it's interesting that this notion later on or how it become among how it has become amongst certain people that to have this is almost a sign of piety you know

having this and especially post Salaf like I mean after the the first several generations this notion appears that um you know this is somehow and people use verses of the Quran will do him and so on and you can see in their faces from and really the verse is talking about like a glow or like you know that Allah bestows like a n if you like upon but but they've interpreted this to mean like oh they've got the mark on the on the forehead a lot of the caf have actually discussed this I mean I want to say a lot several amongst them and I im kubi has an interesting section on this

as well was speaking with uh following on from that verse that he transmits them referring to this mark as as the knee of the camel because it kind of looks like if you see it like the burnt out type of mark looks like if you see the the knee of a camel and they used to actually dis like kind of really denigrate it like look down upon it wasn't seen as the didn't see this as a good thing and I imbi kind of trans transmits from one of the that he's in this majalis and somebody comes and and he's got this big this

burnt out mark on his forehead and and and people say you know and and and the says to him that he says that what's this camel's kneecap doing on your forehead and and he says oh this he says this is from the amount of salah and sjud and you know it's you know from Allah I suppose and so So, so he says in the gathering he says I've he says and this is an old he says look he says Allah knows he says it's been 80 years I've been worshiping he says

he says he says I don't know whether the the earth has become harsher or the heads have become heavier amongst people I mean how you guys end up with this thing he said that that this isn't like basically and he says system that this isn't what the Sahabah had. This is but I'm not you know maybe you know with some people it's happened accidentally or whatever. I'm not trying to detract from that. I'm just saying it isn't a sign of piety.

You know some people they have this like even in you go to some parts of the world they just they just have this burnt out type of mark there and that's like mah namazi you know it's like a he praises salah he does you know it's a very but it's not that's not a sign of uh piety at all. So, so I'd read that. I actually found that very uh interesting, right? I mean, he's I im Malik some of the things that he transmitted he's very popular for.

He's very popular for his um like when I'm talking about statements that carry concepts as well that where he said that knowledge is not just amassing information having a huge amount of information that is not knowledge that he said that rather it is a light which Allah places in the hearts of some of you and this is interesting It's very interesting because later psychologists as well, I mean very recent when I say I mean those of you

that have studied either developmental psychology or you you're familiar with certain aspects of let's say contemporary teaching you would have heard of Pia and the Pettian model uh which speaks of how qualitative development occurs within in children as they're growing up in terms of thinking and knowledge. And you see a few decades ago here in in right here in England in in European countries there was an understanding that let's say a 10-year-old

in terms of knowledge is an eight-year-old with two years more of information. Do you understand? Like so a 15year-old in terms of knowledge is just four years more of information than an 11 year old. This was the teaching system. So when when we did our teaching degree here they actually when we went through even in the universities they they're very clear. They were saying this that this is how it was in the 60s.

This is how it was in parts of the 70s that they did believe this. This is why some of the education some of the schools here what they started to do they wanted to speed up the process of trying to get people through let's say quicker through the system. So they were thinking what we can do is since a an like I said a 14year-old is an 11year-old with just 3 years or whatever this many years more of knowledge. So what we're going to do is we're going to cram that information and condense it into these years to speed up the education.

So there was this idea that people were having and they were implementing in the schools here within within Britain and within maybe other parts of Europe as well. Pia had challenged that idea. I mean he had kind of brought about that wait a minute this isn't how it works that there isn't it isn't just more information that there is a qualitative change in a child in the in the mind of a child or the intellect or the cognitive capacity of a child as they get older.

It's not just two years more of information. There is a qualitative difference. And then he goes about and he kind of delineates his models of whatever of progression and so on. But that's irrelevant. What's important is these are the things that Im Malik had kind of pointed out that this knowledge is not it is not amassing so much more of this information but rather it is a light an enlightenment a qualitative enlightenment that that's what knowledge is and it is bestowed by Allah just as uh

psychologists had said or education psychologist that these developments, qualitative developments don't actually occur in everybody. You hope they will, but the final stages where people move on to actually understanding concepts, they said unfortunately sometimes even adults don't develop them properly. But it's interesting. I'm just saying I'm not saying they're saying the same thing exactly, but they're alluding to similar things that the imam had kind of guided us to you know a long time before.

Now I im Malik was once asked what is the best thing a person can engage in? What is the best thing best act of worship? and he saidal seeking knowledge. And that seriously um is in my understanding as well the best advice to give anybody who wants to engage in or become more committed to the dean or to worship is focus on learning because it is that lifeline that will keep you going.

You know people have these bursts of energy that they want to become religious which alhamdulillah is amazing but they there will be a burnout. You are naive to think that there will not be a burnout. These things they you know the peaks and troughs when people go they there will be a burnout. There's a spike and then it will shoot down again.

The thing that will sustain it and take it to further heights is knowledge. Keep that link. It is incredibly it is you know that is in my understanding that hold on to that rope of Allah steadfast that Quran but the Quran meaning the understanding of the Quran not just the capacity to be able to read it.

I mean that is awesome as well but to be able to understand it is the main thing. Okay. Im Malik when he said this somebody said to him that um they said to him but that scholars they make so many mistakes. You're saying again to these you know people who become associated with knowledge they end up making several mistakes as well.

So what what do you have to say about that? Trying to catch him out. So So I im Malik said he said he said but that which is the good what that person would have pointed out to will be better and will outweigh.

Okay. So don't don't be kind of daunted by the fact that people will you know you'll make mistakes you you we are prone to no matter what we do you know that you know so that is sub you know subhanah it's only Allah free of in that sense we are not saying that will we not make mistakes will we not do we will everybody will but that shouldn't be something that deters you from committing yourself to learning knowledge and on that thing as well there's an interesting um that Kasim who's a student of Imam Malik and we'll

hear a bit more about him he comes to Imam Malik and he at one point he's interested in learning knowledge at that he wasn't when he he wasn't somebody initially grew up with his learn knowledge I'm learn but he get he sees this dream and he gets motivated and first of all he's really curious what wow it sticks out in his mind what did that mean and so on and Anyway, he he arrives at this understanding. What should I do?

What should I do? So, he he goes to do Hajj and he sees as well. I don't know whether it's Hajj or Omra, but he goes to Makkah. He wasn't from he's from Egypt and then he goes to Medina, meets Imam Malik and he asks him that what should I do? And um I im Malik says to him that seek knowledge and and at that time there's this discussion going on.

So some people they have this notion as they still do. I mean it's it's understandable that what about you see but people that become learner or this or that there's this arrogance you like we said a moment ago that they make mistakes so so often as well we hear that there's arrogance associated with them so they said to him so he can I im Malik can hear this you know there's some of this kind of whispering going on so I im Malik says to him he says in spite of that he says seek knowledge says

says even if the people of knowledge are struck with an amount of kib says yet it outweighs ignorance by far. You see what on what we see is a very pragmatic iman somebody being very real very like you know not just kind of all fantasy and so on he's being incredibly real I think something worth mentioning and then I'd like to move on is that uh his his mehna the trial I mean what do we

know about the trial of Imam Malik because it was a very popular trial that he undergoes what is this trial this tribulation of Imam Malik what do we know about folks do we know that he suffered or didn't suffer I mean I mean we know that he suffered but what do we know about it anything already probably even all of it I don't know but did he suffer when um he had to he was asked to make his mat for all the Muslims and refused his dua for all the when when oh the ma okay the ma for all

the Muslims okay that's what what any v any v variation they came to him want to rebel against who came to him don't know oh somebody came to him about the yeah and then he's basically ga about divorce divorce or something and an analogy and then they linked that back and basically said they rebelled because you gave them aw and suffer.

Excellent. I mean there you see one thing we know very clearly Imam Malik there was there was a tribulation in his life. Everybody knows this for which he was beaten very severely uh in Medina and beaten to that extent that he suffered from that beauty for the rest of his life. Now what it was about, what led to that?

There's been some rumors where people have said a a variety of things including that was it for the ma or was it for his teaching or refusing to just cooperate or was it there have been some people have said things like this and there's been other rumors as well that people have said and that's an interesting one as well that they've said that because of this beating he couldn't raise his arms anymore and so he started praying like this and all his followers out of sympathy for him started praying like this and

That's just oh my god that's the most thing I've ever but I mean still comes up a lot though it it does it does I actually heard it in a dar as well when I remember when I was u this is actually in a hadith many years ago one of our hadiths was actually mentioned it and I cracked up at the time laughing as well and so I think Then I had to explain myself obviously what the hell are you doing cracking?

Who's that laughing? So the thing is you see it is very clear um first of all the tribulation the general understanding is that he was beaten because of this hadith transmitting this hadith the hadith is a hadith of that that theq of a coerced person isn't a talaq now obviously now this requires a greater context because why the hell would you beating somebody up for for saying that.

Not unless, you know, I don't know, he had that person had the talak issue and he's thinking, damn, you know, right? So why why is he taking it to heart? Like why is he so upset about this the ruler? The greater context is there was an uprising uh an attempt of an uprising by Muhammad Navsaki and and his brother as well uh Ibrahim I believe in Kufa. But the point is that there was this uprising which did there was an attempt for it at least in Medina and several people were on board.

Now Imam Malik himself as a person was somebody who when he was asked about things like rebellion he didn't really want to get involved in stuff because it wasn't about he agreed with oppression or things like this because he didn't and he speaks out against stuff like that. The thing is that he feared the the kind of uh the kind of strife and the almost like civil war if you like he feared the the absence of order and what that would lead to in terms of greater atrocities.

So he would always say that look if this is going to lead to so much bloodshed it's not worth it because so many people are going to suffer as a consequence. Obviously I mean people have their debates the pros or cons and and we see this going on even today in the world today you know middle east and so on these debates and we see their practical sides as well what has led to civil wars and so on and the arguments of people for and against but at the time they say that Muhammad Navzaki had said to people that look we will rise against it was the abbisids at the time by the way just to clarify it wasn't theads they had already gone it was the abbisids at the

time and um that Muhammad Navzaki want to rise against them. The thing is that people were saying but we've already pledged our allegiance to the ruler. So there was this concept but what if your allegiance wasn't done wholeheartedly? It was just done because if you don't you're going to get in trouble. So from that element it's coerced.

Therefore, does coercion actually have any rulings? And they say it was in that framework that Imam Malik kind of transmitted this hadith which is a hadith that the talaq of a coerced person is not a talaq like meaning I leave you with the conclusion. What's even more interesting is the hadith he transmits is from Abbas and the rulers at the times were Abbisids.

So there is that interesting element as well that how Imam Malik is viewing because they're actually asking him and he actually says that you want me to in one of the transmission that you want me to stop transmitting what your your own uh uh you know so on Abbas is saying is that what you're saying because the whole you see the whole thing of because you got to remember the whole uprising I don't want to get distracted by that was there was the Umayads who had ruled up until 131 Hri and and obviously as with all rulerships especially the laterads there were issues and there were as as you'll find persecution at times and

stuff like this and oppression. Now there was an uprising because there was always this issue with the with the family of the prophet uh being a threat or not you know they were if you like the adversaries or seen on the other side to the omeads. Now that always existed. Now you got to remember the Abbisids were part of that group because they are claiming to be from the family of the prophet.

They are from that same group. What was seen originally as the not in the sectarian sense Shia but in the sense of the that Shia the political that understanding because back then the Shia it was seen in that way the allegiance with it wasn't seen as the theological way that it's seen now. So you got to remember the Abbisids were from that group. They were this this group except their lineage went up to Abbas which is still part of the that they're saying of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.

Now when they eventually take over obviously and you've got the story of Safak and all these people they go in and bloodshed and so on. You see the thing is now when you rise on the back of a claim that we are more entitled because we're closer to the prophet than the problem with that claim is there are some who may be closer still to the prophet than you. If you're going by because if you're saying it's about bloodline then you see and unless you are the closest the problem is you've left yourself open because you're saying oh we've you know we are legitimate rulers the abid

because we're removing the bunny because we are closer we are from the whole family of the prophet but then you've got people who are from let's say the descendants of fatiman ali so one going even closer from the family of the prophet sallallaihi wasallam who by your claim have a greater claim to the rulership than you. So they now become your first targets because they are the threat.

So the irony was that to remove bunny and originally the irony was that we are removing people who are persecuting the family of the prophet. But what happens when the Abbisids do take over, they continue to do the same thing for some extent anyway. Maybe not on the greater level, but they ruled a lot longer as well. But because they see these people still as a legitimate threat to them as well.

So this rising of Muhammad Navakia anyway, they do um there are atrocities and they do he is also martyed in the process and the whole thing and that's something you can look up. But Immalik comes into it with this whole uh talaq fatwa or this hadith and he is beaten for it. Uh like I mentioned and it damaged him uh to the extent that he they say led to elements of incontinents and things like this that it made it difficult for the imam to attend the jama prayers in the masjid and stuff like this for several you know over two decades they say Imam Malik prayed at home.

He didn't actually pray in the masjid. So you can see the type of damage that it did cause. But I im Malik you got to say you know even when they took him out to the thing he says to them as well he says uh he says he says he says you know because people obviously he says whoever knows me then knows me and he says

he says and those who don't then I am got to say style accompanied the imam wherever he went. That was something that is, you know, undisputed. And so that's, you know, I thought I'll I'll kind of narrate that about him. He they he im Malik passes away. Uh they say yahad which is a Sunday on the 10th of a uh 179 hij okay 179.

He is washed by his studentana, his son Yaha, his the author as well of you know sorry not author but he used to have a a scribe somebody would write for him who was known by the name Habib uh him as well. So all these people they are they are the ones who actually are involved in his his burial preparation and so on.

They say when Imam Malik died, he died with uh there was I believe it was Kanana was there. There was one or two students that were present when he uh when he died and and they say that they kind of like he was lying down. They rested his head on their their lap type of thing and they could tell that obviously I mean he was old as well. This is one of the things that Rahabi had said that Imam Malik had which was unique to him that he had also lived a long life like a a prosperous type of long life in which he did a lot of teaching.

So they say that so when he's there and he's kind of breathing his final uh you know breath they say he said that he did said his shahada and then he said And they say he closed his eyes and with that he was gone. And you got to say that is a slick verse.

That is a you know that and to Allah you know belongs the affair before and what is after. What a verse. Subhan Allah. And the so I mean that is what they say about him. he uh when he kind of passes away they say there's all kinds of thing that people they saw him in a dream it's interesting that um I im actually says that his aunt had said to him that tonight I saw something really strange she says I had a dream where I saw this like a voice being cried out she didn't know that Malik had died but she says I heard that

this voice crying out that that [Music] the most knowledgeable ible of who is left on earth has died tonight and they say that they inquired and they realized that Imam Malik had passed away. U I mean this is it's just you know it's interesting they say that there's somebody had transmitted that in a dream he saw Imi and Sufy in Jenna. So this person's gone to Jenna and he sees Sophiana Thor and Oi chilling out, hanging out and he says to him, "Oh, what's going on?" Like say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Just so they say to him, well, where's where's Malik?" And they say that they looked up to point and they had to look up that their hats fell off. that that's how far and elevated he was in his uh in his m just an interesting kind of like story that we we find I mean this was uh the legend Imam Malik who continues to live in the hearts of millions today this is part of our legacy that we should really be connected with okay it's something um we should take an interest in we must take an interest in it's not these people

they It's not about what they they kind of became this conduit that spread the the message or the guidance especially the guidance coming from Medina the understanding of how Islam was in Medina throughout the globe and this is actually something I wanted to kind of touch up on that it's interesting that Imam Malik's madha or this school which is also known as the school of uh of a Madina the school of Medina because that is what these teachings embody He this kind of spreads and is disseminated far and wide.

In his lifetime it reaches places like Alandaloo uh you know modern day Spain. So it's really it's spanning already these three continents in his time. Okay. Now they they say that you see one of the most unique things about the Maliki Madhab is the sub schools that it carried that the Madhab became so incredible in having all these small

type of like reaches if you like within the mab. So it so you have students of Imam Malik who go off to Iraq they teach you have his key students like Kasim and these people and you'll hear their names in a moment who were Egyptian that returned to Egypt. You have his students who remain in Medina like the the Imam who I just mentioned Kana who's who who's involved in burying the Imam his other students Zohari Abs Zohari and others and so on.

You have students in northwest Africa that have at the time uh for if is actually used at the time it was used to refer to what is modern day Tunis the the city Tunis was referred to as although later on it became for the whole continent but at the time was referred to that far further than that you know northwest Africa going into you know parts of Morocco wherever that will be into Aland Andelus into also Sicily spreading further south as well into what is this towards central a Africa as

well. This is how the Nadhab split. What became interesting is each one of these subschools started to develop a certain almost like an attitude. I say that in a positive way, a tendency of how to look at things and they be and they began to take from different students of Imam Malik. So they started to have different opinions.

So let's say those Malakia who went to Iraq and really set up there and amongst them you see this key figure um who is known as Kadi is okay we all okay cool right so is becomes this key person who really he becomes the judge of of Basra Baghdad and so on but he has a huge influence for centuries to come in Baghdad now because the Malika that lived there were surrounding founded by mainly hanafies.

You see that a lot of their thinking was to do with usul. They are the first maliky to come up with the way the malik because they are living with people who are coming up with that. They are some of the key malika to rely on things like kas and so on. And you see them kind of mirroring that type of thought that was taking place there. You see in northwest north Africa the Maliki are very concerned with the literal fatawa of Imam Malik.

What did he mean here when he's saying things like oh this is haram oh this is discouraged does he mean haram does he mean makru a lot of the internal structural debates are taking place you see in Europe in al andaloo the malik there that which flourish for centuries to come seem to have this huge interest with hadith a lot of them very hadith you start to see some of the most major muhadi theme from the malika emerging there you know they've Abdah, Ali, Bashar, you start to see all of them just you know all these people coming major major of

hadith. So you start to see this this different way of thinking but it all stems back to the same source which is Medina the school of Medina. A great thing that they do that I actually feel is unparallel. First of all, no other school had this type of diversity. But what is unparalleled is the respect they had for each other.

The fact that they disagreed, they've respected and incorporated the differences. So you do see sometimes in some of the mabs like let's say the mab they have a little split and they will sometimes move like say oh but those say this but this is how we do it. But there is this huge type of tolerance and this it's not even tolerance. It's about welcoming that takes place. Okay.

So this is something very unique and it stems from the understanding or the teaching of Imam Malik and I want us to inshallah try and understand that because one of the queries and maybe we can look at this in a moment. I think we should have a little break but is that why were there some differences stemming from the im like as in why did he have students learning like transmitting different things from him so if it's different you know like when we say the hadith of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam or but it's understandable that not all the companions were with the prophet at the same time so it could have been that you've come in this year

and this person's come in that year and and things change and circumstanc But when im like with the imams it's a bit different because they're static in one place and a lot of the students overlap for decades they stay together in Medina. So they spend on average 20 years in Medina with the im. Why do they then go away with very varying opinions and transmitting them from the imam? One say no no say yes yes yes no no.

So why then this and this is something to think about because in my understanding this was the type of tolerance that the imam was teaching that he was teaching in a way that people will be different and and the teaching of Medina is to welcome and embrace people. It isn't to you know it's part of that make things easy don't make things difficult.

Welcome people do not frighten them away. So this is uh I think something for us to think about.