# Why does the practice of Madinah matter more than a single hadith?

*The practice of Madinah: Abu Yusuf, the adhan, and Imam Malik's admitted mistake*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zkklciv1tk8/s/2/
- Date: 2023-04-19 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: The Methodology Of Imam Malik | How To Treat Hadith | Mufti Abu Layth (6:49–12:04)
- Status: latest answer on its topic; general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkklciv1TK8&t=409s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zkklciv1tk8/

**Topics:** Sunnah versus hadith; The Maliki school; Narrator criticism

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says the inherited practice of Madinah, like its adhan, outweighs an isolated report, since not every Sunnah was documented and narrators made honest mistakes; this is why he favours the school of Madinah.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says he greatly favours the method of the school of Madinah.

**Evidence, his words at 11:42:** “there's so much volumes can be written on how this is why I so favor them the method of the school of matina” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkklciv1TK8&t=702s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth relates that Abu Yusuf questioned the adhan of the people of Madinah, which has Allahu Akbar twice rather than four times, as Malikis in Morocco still do, sarcastically suggesting the people of Madinah did not know their own adhan. Imam Malik replied that something may have happened on a journey or on a single day without their knowledge, but what was announced in the streets of Madinah five times a day, learned by children from their fathers in unbroken succession, is the adhan being heard now. Mufti calls this practice of the people of Madinah a gold mine, and explains that there will be hadith and Sunnah with some overlap, but not every Sunnah was documented and not everything documented was Sunnah, and people made mistakes along the way. He relates that Imam Malik said he was misled by a narrator's excessive prayer in the mosque into recording from him something the Prophet did not say, which Mufti says teaches that errors are not always out of malice. He says this is why he so favours the method of the school of Madinah.

## Sources and names cited

- Imam Malik
- Abu Yusuf
- adhan
- the practice of the people of Madinah
- Maliki
- distinction between sunnah and hadith
- the living tradition as a source

## Transcript (machine tier, 6:49–12:04)

[6:10] his book is the most authentic book by testimony of especially these chains by testimony of uh Imam bukhari silsility saying his book has other chains as well by the way it doesn't mean that but he brings from this chain as well it says in ours in this city we don't act accordingly do we disrespect it no no no no need for disrespect just understand that whatever's gone wrong maybe somebody Imam Malik was with

[6:48] abusive and abusive try to question the other of the people of Medina because the adhan of the people of Madina just had Allahu Akbar twice not four times that's the other which is common today so the adhan of Madina and the malikia so in Morocco in these places they only do Allahu Akbar twice so the so Abu Yusuf another use of deed have a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor and sarcasm and so he says

[7:26] society that the people of Medina don't know the event Imam Malik's response to him is is epic he says he says maybe there is another somewhere maybe the prophet went on a journey one day he did something and somebody picked it up and taught it maybe we weren't there maybe for one day one night something happened

[7:57] he says but as to that which was announced in the streets of Madina which the children learned from their fathers who taught their children which we hear today announced five times a day in an unbroken succession then that is this other that you are hearing now and with that rests its case this is the practice of the people of Madina it's a gold mine that Imam Malik taught

[8:37] us so this is a methodology okay they say is in the poem says that she plucked a rose petal and with such Elegance crushed it in front of us

[9:11] foreign symbolically she explained to us that this is what we do to the hearts that's what's gonna happen that so that danger interact your own risk it's one of those so right now so that's the the methodology so don't it's not about disdain or it's about understanding that the practice of Medina

[9:50] the methodology that there will be Hadith there will be Sunnah there may be an overlap but they're not every Hadith is not every Sunnah was documented and not everything that was documented was the Sun and people made mistakes as well along the way you accept that as well you know and I tell you Imam Malik taught you that as well see now you're gonna say look at this there is a rowi that Imam Ali transmitted from

[10:23] later on he came to realize that this person used to make mistakes and Imam Malik says oh teaching you see this is the incident but the methodology see this is the the actual thing but the indication he says I was misled by his excessive sujood and prayer in the Masjid Imam Malik is telling you I made a

[11:03] mistake now I made a mistake I was misled I documented something from him thinking it was a Hadi pretty person I was misled by the fact that he was a good man see what is that teaching you don't think it's always out of malice sometimes it may be sometimes it's just people making mistakes he said he used to pray so much in the Masjid when he said the prophet of Allah said this I took note of it

[11:42] he was wrong the prophet did not say that I was misled to document there's so much volumes can be written on how this is why I so favor them the method of the school of matina Let's uh move on people

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment zkklciv1TK8/s/2. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zkklciv1tk8/s/2/

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