Imam Malik

الإمام مالك بن أنس

MALIKI 93–179 AH

Early Life

Malik grew up in Madinah, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, surrounded by the living Sunnah. He studied under Nafi' (the freed slave of Ibn Umar) and other great scholars. He memorized the Quran early and began issuing legal opinions (fatawa) at age 17 after being certified by 70 senior scholars.

Biography

Malik ibn Anas was born in Madinah in 93 AH and spent his entire life there. He studied under over 900 scholars and became the leading authority on the Sunnah of Madinah. He is the founder of the Maliki school of jurisprudence. Imam al-Shafi'i studied under him and said: "Malik is the proof of God upon His creation after the Tabi'in."

Amal Ahl al-Madinah (Practice of the People of Madinah)

Imam Malik considered the consensus practice of the people of Madinah as a primary source of law, arguing that the community of Madinah had inherited the living Sunnah from the Prophet ﷺ directly through continuous practice (tawatur al-amal).

Maslaha Mursalah (Public Interest)

Malik gave weight to the concept of unrestricted public interest (maslaha mursalah) — recognizing a benefit not explicitly stated in the texts when it aligns with the objectives of Islamic law (maqasid al-shari'ah).

لا يصلح آخر هذه الأمة إلا بما صلح به أولها

The latter part of this Ummah cannot be rectified except by what rectified its earlier part.

كل أحد يؤخذ من قوله ويرد إلا صاحب هذا القبر ﷺ

The opinion of every person can be accepted or rejected, except the one in this grave ﷺ (the Prophet).

Imam al-Shafi'i

الإمام الشافعي

Later founded his own school of jurisprudence but considered Imam Malik his greatest teacher.

Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim

عبد الرحمن بن القاسم

One of Malik's closest and most trusted students. Transmitted the Muwatta and the school's legal opinions to Egypt.

Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi

يحيى بن يحيى الليثي

Transmitted the Muwatta to Andalusia (Spain). The dominant Maliki recension in North Africa is through him.

Al-Muwatta

الموطأ

The earliest surviving collection of hadith and fiqh. Imam al-Shafi'i said: "No book on earth is more accurate than the Muwatta after the Book of Allah." Compiled over 40 years.

Trials & Tests of Faith

In 148 AH, the Abbasid governor Ja'far ibn Sulayman had Imam Malik flogged with 70 lashes for issuing a fatwa that oaths given under compulsion are not binding — a ruling that the governor feared could undermine forced pledges of allegiance. Imam Malik bore the punishment with patience and never recanted his position.