WEBVTT 00:00:00.050 --> 00:00:03.450 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. 00:00:03.450 --> 00:00:08.250 “And of men and beasts and cattle, in like manner, divers hues? The erudite among His bondmen fear Allah alone. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Forgiving.” (35:28) 00:00:08.250 --> 00:00:17.980 The Biographies of the Four Imams: 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:24.510 four lives abounding in beauty and grandeur, 00:00:24.510 --> 00:00:26.510 carefully abridged 00:00:26.510 --> 00:00:29.710 from the matchless, monumental work 00:00:29.710 --> 00:00:32.939 *Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'* 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:37.500 by Imam al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:41.700 prepared by Shaykh Muhammad al-Muhanna, 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:45.909 may Allah preserve him. 00:00:45.909 --> 00:00:51.850 Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him: 00:00:51.850 --> 00:00:54.049 he is the Shaykh al-Islam, 00:00:54.049 --> 00:00:55.649 the Proof of the Ummah, 00:00:55.649 --> 00:00:57.649 the Imam of the Abode of Migration (Madinah), 00:00:57.649 --> 00:00:59.250 Abu 'Abdullah, 00:00:59.250 --> 00:01:00.850 Malik ibn Anas 00:01:00.850 --> 00:01:02.850 ibn Malik ibn Abi 'Amir 00:01:02.850 --> 00:01:04.849 al-Asbahi al-Madani. 00:01:04.849 --> 00:01:09.049 His mother was 'Aliyah bint Sharik al-Azdiyyah. 00:01:09.049 --> 00:01:11.450 Malik's birth, according to the most correct view, 00:01:11.450 --> 00:01:13.849 was in the year ninety-three, 00:01:13.849 --> 00:01:15.650 the year of the passing of Anas, 00:01:15.650 --> 00:01:19.450 the servant of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. 00:01:19.450 --> 00:01:23.250 He grew up in an environment of dignity, comfort, and grace, 00:01:23.250 --> 00:01:25.650 and sought sacred knowledge while still a youth, 00:01:25.650 --> 00:01:28.049 in his mid-teens. 00:01:28.049 --> 00:01:31.650 He learned from Nafi', Ibn al-Munkadir, al-Zuhri, 00:01:31.650 --> 00:01:34.450 Hisham ibn 'Urwah, and countless others. 00:01:34.450 --> 00:01:36.450 He became qualified to issue formal legal verdicts (fatwa) 00:01:36.450 --> 00:01:40.650 and sat to teach when he was just twenty-one years old. 00:01:40.650 --> 00:01:44.650 A group of scholars narrated from him while he was still a tender youth, 00:01:44.650 --> 00:01:47.849 and seekers of knowledge journeyed to him from all horizons 00:01:47.849 --> 00:01:50.849 toward the end of Abu Ja'far al-Mansur's reign 00:01:50.849 --> 00:01:52.650 and thereafter. 00:01:52.650 --> 00:01:55.650 They crowded around him during the caliphate of al-Rashid, 00:01:55.650 --> 00:01:57.849 until his death. 00:01:57.849 --> 00:02:01.250 On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: 00:02:01.250 --> 00:02:04.049 The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: 00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:08.449 "People will soon beat the flanks of camels in search of knowledge, 00:02:08.449 --> 00:02:13.449 yet they will find no scholar more knowledgeable than the scholar of Madinah." 00:02:13.449 --> 00:02:17.050 It is related from Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah that he said: 00:02:17.050 --> 00:02:18.449 "I used to say 00:02:18.449 --> 00:02:20.650 he was Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, 00:02:20.650 --> 00:02:22.449 until I realized 00:02:22.449 --> 00:02:25.449 that in his era there were Sulayman ibn Yasar, 00:02:25.449 --> 00:02:28.849 Salim ibn 'Abdullah, and others. 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:31.050 Then today I have come to say: 00:02:31.050 --> 00:02:32.849 it is indeed Malik, 00:02:32.849 --> 00:02:36.050 for none remains in Madinah equal to him." 00:02:36.050 --> 00:02:39.849 Abu al-Mughirah al-Makhzumi mentioned that its meaning is: 00:02:39.849 --> 00:02:43.050 as long as Muslims seek knowledge, 00:02:43.050 --> 00:02:46.849 they will find none more knowledgeable than a scholar in Madinah. 00:02:46.849 --> 00:02:48.849 Accordingly, this applies to 00:02:48.849 --> 00:02:50.849 Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, 00:02:50.849 --> 00:02:54.050 then after him, those among Malik's teachers, 00:02:54.050 --> 00:02:55.449 then Malik, 00:02:55.449 --> 00:02:58.449 then whoever maintained his knowledge after him. 00:02:58.449 --> 00:02:59.449 I say: 00:02:59.449 --> 00:03:02.050 the scholar of Madinah in his respective time, 00:03:02.050 --> 00:03:05.250 after the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 00:03:05.250 --> 00:03:06.449 and his companion (Abu Bakr), 00:03:06.449 --> 00:03:09.250 was Zayd ibn Thabit and 'A'ishah, 00:03:09.250 --> 00:03:10.849 then Ibn 'Umar, 00:03:10.849 --> 00:03:13.050 then Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, 00:03:13.050 --> 00:03:14.650 then al-Zuhri, 00:03:14.650 --> 00:03:17.050 then 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Umar, 00:03:17.050 --> 00:03:18.650 then Malik. 00:03:18.650 --> 00:03:20.449 Ibn 'Uyaynah said: 00:03:20.449 --> 00:03:23.449 "Malik is the scholar of the people of the Hijaz, 00:03:23.449 --> 00:03:25.849 and he is the proof of his age." 00:03:25.849 --> 00:03:29.050 Al-Shafi'i said—and he spoke truly and excellently: 00:03:29.050 --> 00:03:31.050 "Whenever scholars are mentioned, 00:03:31.050 --> 00:03:33.250 Malik is the brilliant star." 00:03:33.250 --> 00:03:35.050 Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar said 00:03:35.050 --> 00:03:39.050 regarding the hadith "People will soon beat the flanks of camels": 00:03:39.050 --> 00:03:40.849 Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, 00:03:40.849 --> 00:03:43.849 whenever he narrated this during Malik's lifetime, 00:03:43.849 --> 00:03:45.050 would say: 00:03:45.050 --> 00:03:47.050 "I deem him to be Malik." 00:03:47.050 --> 00:03:49.650 He maintained this view for a long time, 00:03:49.650 --> 00:03:51.050 then later reconsidered 00:03:51.050 --> 00:03:52.250 and said: 00:03:52.250 --> 00:03:57.250 "I deem him to be 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-'Umari, the ascetic." 00:03:57.250 --> 00:04:00.250 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr and several others said: 00:04:00.250 --> 00:04:04.650 Al-'Umari is not one to rival Malik in sacred knowledge and fiqh, 00:04:04.650 --> 00:04:08.250 even though he was a nobleman, a master, and a devoted worshipper. 00:04:08.250 --> 00:04:09.449 I say: 00:04:09.449 --> 00:04:14.250 This al-'Umari possessed sound knowledge, fiqh, and virtue; 00:04:14.250 --> 00:04:16.449 he was an outspoken champion of truth, 00:04:16.449 --> 00:04:18.050 an enjoiner of good, 00:04:18.050 --> 00:04:20.250 and secluded from the people. 00:04:20.250 --> 00:04:23.250 Whenever he was alone with Malik, he would urge him 00:04:23.250 --> 00:04:26.050 toward asceticism, detachment from worldly ties, and seclusion. 00:04:26.050 --> 00:04:28.050 May Allah have mercy on them both. 00:04:28.050 --> 00:04:31.050 Al-Hafiz Ibn 'Abd al-Barr mentioned in *al-Tamhid* 00:04:31.050 --> 00:04:34.050 that 'Abdullah al-'Umari, the devoted worshipper, 00:04:34.050 --> 00:04:38.050 wrote to Malik urging him toward seclusion and solitary devotion. 00:04:38.050 --> 00:04:41.050 So Malik wrote back to him: 00:04:41.050 --> 00:04:45.050 "Indeed, Allah has distributed deeds just as He has distributed provisions. 00:04:45.050 --> 00:04:48.050 For many a man has been granted devotion in voluntary prayer, 00:04:48.050 --> 00:04:50.050 but not in fasting; 00:04:50.050 --> 00:04:53.050 another has been granted devotion in charity, 00:04:53.050 --> 00:04:55.050 but not in fasting; 00:04:55.050 --> 00:04:58.050 and another has been granted devotion in jihad. 00:04:58.050 --> 00:05:01.050 Spreading knowledge is among the most virtuous of righteous deeds, 00:05:01.050 --> 00:05:04.050 and I am well pleased with what Allah has granted me therein. 00:05:04.050 --> 00:05:08.050 Nor do I believe that the path I am on is inferior to yours, 00:05:08.050 --> 00:05:12.050 and I hope that both of us are upon goodness and righteousness." 00:05:12.050 --> 00:05:18.189 There was no scholar in Madinah after the Tabi'un 00:05:18.189 --> 00:05:21.189 who rivaled Malik in knowledge, fiqh, 00:05:21.189 --> 00:05:23.189 majesty, and memorization. 00:05:23.189 --> 00:05:26.189 Madinah had possessed, after the Companions, figures like 00:05:26.189 --> 00:05:29.189 Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, the Seven Jurists, 00:05:29.189 --> 00:05:32.189 al-Qasim, Salim, 00:05:32.189 --> 00:05:35.189 'Ikrimah, Nafi', and their generation; 00:05:35.189 --> 00:05:38.189 then Zayd ibn Aslam, Ibn Shihab, 00:05:38.189 --> 00:05:41.189 Abu al-Zinad, Yahya ibn Sa'id, 00:05:41.189 --> 00:05:43.189 Safwan ibn Salim, 00:05:43.189 --> 00:05:47.189 Rabi'ah ibn Abi 'Abd al-Rahman, and their generation. 00:05:47.189 --> 00:05:49.189 When they passed away, 00:05:49.189 --> 00:05:52.189 renown in Madinah belonged to Malik, Ibn Abi Dhi'b, 00:05:52.189 --> 00:05:55.189 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn al-Majishun, 00:05:55.189 --> 00:05:58.189 al-Darawardi, and their peers. 00:05:58.189 --> 00:06:02.189 Yet Malik was undeniably the foremost among them all, 00:06:02.189 --> 00:06:06.189 the one toward whom the flanks of camels were spurred from across the horizons, 00:06:06.189 --> 00:06:09.259 may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him. 00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:11.259 Al-Ru'ayni said: 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:13.259 Caliph al-Mahdi arrived in Madinah, 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:16.259 so he sent for Malik, and Malik came to him. 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:19.259 The Caliph then said to his two sons, Harun and Musa: 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:21.259 "Listen to him." 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:23.259 So they sent for him, but he did not respond to their summons. 00:06:23.259 --> 00:06:25.259 Al-Mahdi was informed of this 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:27.259 and spoke to him about it. 00:06:27.259 --> 00:06:30.259 Malik replied: "O Commander of the Believers, 00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:32.259 knowledge is to be approached, not summoned." 00:06:32.259 --> 00:06:35.259 Al-Mahdi said: "Malik has spoken the truth; 00:06:35.259 --> 00:06:37.350 go to him." 00:06:37.350 --> 00:06:39.350 When they arrived at his gathering, 00:06:39.350 --> 00:06:41.350 their tutor said to him: 00:06:41.350 --> 00:06:43.350 "Read to us." 00:06:43.350 --> 00:06:45.350 Malik said: 00:06:45.350 --> 00:06:48.350 "The people of Madinah read before the scholar 00:06:48.350 --> 00:06:51.350 just as children read before their schoolmaster; 00:06:51.350 --> 00:06:54.610 if they make an error, he corrects them." 00:06:54.610 --> 00:06:56.610 So they returned to al-Mahdi, 00:06:56.610 --> 00:06:59.610 who sent for Malik and spoke to him. 00:06:59.610 --> 00:07:00.610 Malik said: 00:07:00.610 --> 00:07:03.610 "I heard Ibn Shihab say: 00:07:03.610 --> 00:07:06.610 'We gathered this knowledge in the Rawdah from prominent men, 00:07:06.610 --> 00:07:09.610 who were, O Commander of the Believers: 00:07:09.610 --> 00:07:11.610 Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, 00:07:11.610 --> 00:07:13.610 Abu Salamah, 'Urwah, 00:07:13.610 --> 00:07:15.610 al-Qasim, Salim, 00:07:15.610 --> 00:07:17.610 Kharijah ibn Zayd, 00:07:18.610 --> 00:07:20.610 Nafi', 00:07:20.610 --> 00:07:22.610 and 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hurmuz; 00:07:22.610 --> 00:07:24.610 and from after them: 00:07:24.610 --> 00:07:26.610 Abu al-Zinad, Rabi'ah, 00:07:26.610 --> 00:07:29.610 Yahya ibn Sa'id, and Ibn Shihab— 00:07:29.610 --> 00:07:32.610 all of them had students read before them, 00:07:32.610 --> 00:07:34.610 and they did not read themselves.'" 00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:36.610 Al-Mahdi said: 00:07:36.610 --> 00:07:38.610 "In these figures lies an exemplary precedent; 00:07:38.610 --> 00:07:40.610 go to him and read before him." 00:07:40.610 --> 00:07:42.740 And so they did. 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:44.740 Qutaybah said: 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:46.740 Whenever we entered upon Malik, 00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:48.740 he would come out to us adorned, 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:50.740 wearing kohl and perfumed, 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:52.740 dressed in his finest clothes. 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:54.740 He would preside over the study circle, 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:56.740 call for hand fans, 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:59.740 and distribute a fan to each of us. 00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:01.930 Muhammad ibn 'Umar said: 00:08:01.930 --> 00:08:04.930 Malik used to come to the mosque, 00:08:04.930 --> 00:08:08.930 attending the prescribed prayers, the Friday sermon, and funeral processions; 00:08:08.930 --> 00:08:10.930 he would visit the sick 00:08:10.930 --> 00:08:12.930 and sit in the mosque, 00:08:12.930 --> 00:08:14.930 where his companions would gather around him. 00:08:14.930 --> 00:08:16.930 Then he ceased sitting there; 00:08:16.930 --> 00:08:18.930 he would pray and depart, 00:08:18.930 --> 00:08:21.930 and he stopped attending funerals. 00:08:21.930 --> 00:08:24.930 Later, he gave all of that up, including the Friday prayer, 00:08:24.930 --> 00:08:27.930 yet the people tolerated it all, 00:08:27.930 --> 00:08:30.930 being as eager as ever to learn from him. 00:08:30.930 --> 00:08:32.929 He would occasionally be questioned about this, 00:08:32.929 --> 00:08:34.929 and he would say: 00:08:34.929 --> 00:08:38.929 "Not everyone is able to disclose his valid excuse." 00:08:38.929 --> 00:08:41.929 He meant that he had been afflicted with an ailment 00:08:41.929 --> 00:08:44.929 that prevented him from attending the Friday prayer and congregational prayers. 00:08:44.929 --> 00:08:46.149 He said: 00:08:46.149 --> 00:08:50.149 His assembly was a gathering of dignity and forbearance, 00:08:50.149 --> 00:08:53.149 for he was an awe-inspiring, noble man; 00:08:53.149 --> 00:08:57.149 there was no disputation or clamor in his gathering, 00:08:57.149 --> 00:08:59.149 nor any raising of voices. 00:08:59.149 --> 00:09:02.149 Isma'il ibn Abi Uways said: 00:09:02.149 --> 00:09:05.149 I asked my maternal uncle Malik about a legal issue, 00:09:05.149 --> 00:09:07.149 and he said to me: "Wait." 00:09:07.149 --> 00:09:10.149 Then he performed ablution and sat upon the couch. 00:09:10.149 --> 00:09:12.149 He then said: 00:09:12.149 --> 00:09:15.149 "There is no power and no strength except with Allah." 00:09:15.149 --> 00:09:18.149 And he would never issue a legal verdict until he had uttered it. 00:09:18.149 --> 00:09:20.179 Abu Mus'ab said: 00:09:20.179 --> 00:09:24.179 "Malik would never narrate hadith unless he was in a state of ritual purity, 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:26.179 out of deep reverence for the hadith." 00:09:26.179 --> 00:09:31.009 The physical description of Imam Malik: 00:09:31.009 --> 00:09:33.460 'Isa ibn 'Umar said: 00:09:33.460 --> 00:09:36.460 "I have never seen any fair complexion with a ruddy hue 00:09:36.460 --> 00:09:38.460 more handsome than the face of Malik, 00:09:38.460 --> 00:09:41.460 nor any garment whiter than that of Malik." 00:09:41.460 --> 00:09:44.460 More than one authority transmitted 00:09:44.460 --> 00:09:47.460 that he was tall and solidly built, 00:09:47.460 --> 00:09:49.460 large-headed, fair-haired with a blondish complexion, 00:09:49.460 --> 00:09:51.460 white-haired in beard and head, 00:09:51.460 --> 00:09:53.460 having a magnificent, thick beard, 00:09:53.460 --> 00:09:56.460 and it was said he had blue eyes. 00:09:56.460 --> 00:09:59.460 Abu 'Asim said: 00:09:59.460 --> 00:10:02.460 "I have never seen a hadith scholar more handsome in countenance than Malik." 00:10:02.460 --> 00:10:05.460 Abu Mus'ab said: 00:10:05.460 --> 00:10:08.460 "Malik was among the most handsome of people in face, 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:10.460 the clearest and most radiant of them in gaze, 00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:12.460 the purest of them in his fair complexion, 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:15.460 and the most perfectly tall among them with an excellent physique." 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:18.549 Al-Qadi 'Iyad cited from various chains of transmission 00:10:18.549 --> 00:10:21.549 the elegance of the Imam's attire 00:10:21.549 --> 00:10:23.549 and the exquisite perfection of his dignified appearance. 00:10:23.549 --> 00:10:26.649 Malik was an eminent master in the critical appraisal of narrators (naqd al-rijal), 00:10:26.649 --> 00:10:29.649 a consummate, precise, and masterly memorizer of hadith. 00:10:29.649 --> 00:10:32.710 'Atiq ibn Ya'qub said: 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:34.710 "I heard Malik say: 00:10:34.710 --> 00:10:38.710 'Ibn Shihab narrated to me forty-odd hadiths, 00:10:38.710 --> 00:10:41.710 and then said: "Recite them back to me." 00:10:41.710 --> 00:10:45.710 So I recited forty of those hadiths back to him from memory.'" 00:10:45.710 --> 00:10:47.779 Al-Shafi'i said: 00:10:47.779 --> 00:10:49.779 "Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said: 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:53.779 'I stayed with Malik for over three years, 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:57.779 and I heard directly from his own words more than seven hundred hadiths.' 00:10:57.779 --> 00:11:01.779 So whenever Muhammad narrated on the authority of Malik, 00:11:01.779 --> 00:11:03.779 his house would become completely packed; 00:11:03.779 --> 00:11:06.779 but whenever he narrated on the authority of other Kufan scholars, 00:11:06.779 --> 00:11:09.779 only a very few would come to him." 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:13.000 Ibn Abi 'Umar al-'Adani said: 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.000 "I heard al-Shafi'i say: 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.000 'Malik is my teacher, and from him I acquired knowledge.'" 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:21.000 Ibn Mahdi said: 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:24.000 "The foremost leaders of the people in their era were four: 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.000 al-Thawri, Malik, 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:29.000 al-Awza'i, and Hammad ibn Zayd." 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:31.000 And he said: 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:34.000 "I have never seen anyone more profoundly intelligent than Malik." 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.000 It is related that Malik said: 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:39.000 "The shield of the scholar is to say: 'I do not know.' 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:42.000 If he neglects it, he exposes his mortal vulnerabilities." 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:45.259 Al-Haytham ibn Jamil said: 00:11:45.259 --> 00:11:49.259 "I heard Malik being asked about forty-eight issues, 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:54.259 and in thirty-two of them he answered: 'I do not know.'" 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:55.379 Malik said: 00:11:55.379 --> 00:11:59.379 "I heard 'Abdullah ibn Yazid ibn Hurmuz say: 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:03.379 'A scholar ought to pass down to his companions the habit of saying, 00:12:03.379 --> 00:12:05.379 "I do not know," 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:09.379 so that it becomes a foundational refuge they readily turn to.'" 00:12:09.379 --> 00:12:11.480 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:13.480 "It is authentically transmitted from Abu al-Darda' 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:16.480 that saying 'I do not know' is half of knowledge." 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:20.399 The Trial: 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:22.399 Muhammad ibn Jarir said: 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:25.399 "Malik was once subjected to flogging with whips, 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:28.399 and opinions differed regarding the reason for that. 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:30.399 Al-'Abbas ibn al-Walid narrated to me: 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:32.399 Ibn Dhakwan narrated to us, 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:34.399 on the authority of Marwan al-Tatari, 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:39.399 that Abu Ja'far al-Mansur forbade Malik from narrating the hadith: 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:42.399 'There is no divorce binding upon one who is coerced.' 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:44.399 Then he secretly dispatched someone to ask him about it, 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:48.399 and Malik narrated it to him publicly before all the people, 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:50.399 so he had him flogged with whips." 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:52.559 Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked: 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:54.559 "Who flogged Malik?" 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:55.559 He said: 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:58.559 "One of the governors, concerning the divorce of the coerced, 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:00.559 as Malik did not deem it valid; 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:02.559 so he flogged him on account of that." 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:04.690 Al-Waqidi said: 00:13:04.690 --> 00:13:07.690 "When Malik was summoned, consulted, 00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:10.690 listened to, and his opinions were embraced, 00:13:10.690 --> 00:13:11.690 he was envied, 00:13:11.690 --> 00:13:13.690 and people sought to transgress against him by every means. 00:13:13.690 --> 00:13:17.750 When Ja'far ibn Sulayman was appointed governor over Medina, 00:13:17.750 --> 00:13:19.750 they slandered Malik to him, 00:13:19.750 --> 00:13:21.750 heaping accusations against him in his presence, 00:13:21.750 --> 00:13:22.750 and they said: 00:13:22.750 --> 00:13:26.750 'He does not regard this oath of allegiance of yours to be of any binding value, 00:13:26.750 --> 00:13:28.750 and he relies upon a hadith 00:13:28.750 --> 00:13:32.750 which he narrated from Thabit ibn al-Ahnaf concerning the divorce of the coerced, 00:13:32.750 --> 00:13:35.850 holding that it has no validity in his view.'" 00:13:35.850 --> 00:13:36.850 He said: 00:13:36.850 --> 00:13:37.850 "Thereupon Ja'far became furious 00:13:37.850 --> 00:13:39.850 and summoned Malik. 00:13:39.850 --> 00:13:42.850 He confronted him with what had been reported against him, 00:13:42.850 --> 00:13:46.850 then ordered that he be stripped and flogged with whips. 00:13:46.850 --> 00:13:49.850 His arms were stretched so violently that his shoulder was dislocated, 00:13:49.850 --> 00:13:52.850 and a grievous injustice was committed against him. 00:13:52.850 --> 00:13:57.850 Yet by Allah, after that Malik only continued to rise in honor and lofty standing." 00:13:57.850 --> 00:13:58.879 I say: 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:01.879 this is the fruit of praiseworthy tribulation, 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:04.879 in that it elevates the servant in the estimation of the believers. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:06.879 For when a believer is tested, 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:09.879 he endures patiently, takes admonition, and seeks Allah's forgiveness, 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:12.879 never occupying himself with vilifying those who wronged him; 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:14.879 for Allah is an equitable Judge. 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:18.879 He then praises Allah for the preservation of his religion, 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:22.879 knowing that punishment in this world is lighter and ultimately far better for him. 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:25.980 Abu al-Walid al-Baji said: 00:14:25.980 --> 00:14:28.980 "It is related that al-Mansur performed the pilgrimage 00:14:28.980 --> 00:14:33.980 and offered Malik legal retribution (qisas) against Ja'far ibn Sulayman, who had flogged him— 00:14:33.980 --> 00:14:36.980 meaning he surrendered him to Malik so he could exact retribution from him— 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:38.980 but Malik refused and said: 00:14:38.980 --> 00:14:40.980 'I seek refuge in Allah!'" 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:47.090 Malik—may Allah have mercy on him—authored a treatise on divine decree (qadar), 00:14:47.090 --> 00:14:51.090 which he wrote to Ibn Wahb, and its chain of transmission is authentic. 00:14:51.090 --> 00:14:55.090 He also had a work on the stars and lunar mansions, 00:14:55.090 --> 00:14:59.090 transmitted by Sahnun from Ibn Nafi' al-Sa'igh on his authority. 00:14:59.090 --> 00:15:02.090 He had a small treatise in Tafsir, 00:15:02.090 --> 00:15:05.090 a single-volume treatise on judicial rulings (al-aqdiyah), 00:15:05.090 --> 00:15:10.120 and the work 'Kitab al-Sirr' through the transmission of Ibn al-Qasim from him. 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:16.120 As for what his senior disciples transmitted from him of juridical issues, fatwas, and scholarly benefits, 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.120 it is exceedingly vast. 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:20.120 Among those treasures are 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:24.120 al-Mudawwanah, al-Wadihah, and other seminal works. 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:26.120 In any case, 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:29.120 wherever the fiqh of Malik reaches, 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:32.120 the vast majority of his legal positions are sound and firmly guided; 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:36.120 and were there nothing to his credit other than blocking legal stratagems (hiyal) 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:39.120 and observing the higher objectives of the law (maqasid), it would indeed suffice him. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:42.120 His school of thought spread throughout the Maghreb and al-Andalus, 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:44.120 vast parts of the lands of Egypt, 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:47.120 parts of the Levant, Yemen, and the Sudan, 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.120 as well as Basra, Baghdad, Kufa, 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:52.120 and parts of Khorasan. 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:54.120 Yet this great Imam— 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:56.120 namely, Imam Malik— 00:15:56.120 --> 00:15:58.120 who is truly a guiding star, 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:01.120 was profoundly fair and uttered a decisive statement 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:03.120 when he said: 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:06.120 "The words of anyone may be accepted or rejected, 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:11.120 except for the occupant of this grave, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him." 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:13.120 Al-Shafi'i said: 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:15.120 "Knowledge revolves around three men: 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.120 Malik, al-Layth, and Ibn 'Uyaynah." 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:20.120 I say: 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:24.120 and alongside them are al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:26.120 Ma'mar, Abu Hanifah, 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:29.120 Shu'bah, and the two Hammads. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:31.220 It is related from al-Awza'i 00:16:31.220 --> 00:16:34.220 that whenever Malik was mentioned, he would say: 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:38.220 "He is the scholar of scholars and the mufti of the Two Holy Sanctuaries." 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:40.220 Abu Yusuf said: 00:16:40.220 --> 00:16:43.220 "I have never seen anyone more knowledgeable than Abu Hanifah, 00:16:43.220 --> 00:16:46.220 Malik, and Ibn Abi Layla." 00:16:46.220 --> 00:16:49.220 Ahmad ibn Hanbal mentioned Malik 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:52.220 and gave him precedence over al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, 00:16:52.220 --> 00:16:56.220 al-Layth, Hammad, and al-Hakam in knowledge, 00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:57.220 saying: 00:16:57.220 --> 00:17:00.220 "He is an imam in hadith and in fiqh." 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:02.279 Malik said: 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:05.279 "I did not issue fatwas until seventy scholars testified 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:07.279 that I was qualified to do so." 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:10.309 Abu al-'Abbas al-Sarraj said: 00:17:10.309 --> 00:17:12.309 "I heard al-Bukhari say: 00:17:12.309 --> 00:17:14.309 'The soundest of all chains of transmission is: 00:17:14.309 --> 00:17:17.309 Malik, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar.'" 00:17:17.309 --> 00:17:22.259 From Malik's statements concerning the Sunnah: 00:17:22.259 --> 00:17:25.650 Mutarrif ibn 'Abdullah said: 00:17:25.650 --> 00:17:27.650 "I heard Malik say: 00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:31.650 'The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:17:31.650 --> 00:17:34.650 and the leaders of authority after him laid down sunnahs; 00:17:34.650 --> 00:17:37.650 adhering to them is following the Book of Allah, 00:17:37.650 --> 00:17:40.650 the perfection of obedience to Allah, 00:17:40.650 --> 00:17:42.650 and strength in the religion of Allah. 00:17:42.650 --> 00:17:46.650 No one has the right to alter or replace them, 00:17:46.650 --> 00:17:49.650 nor to entertain anything that contradicts them. 00:17:49.650 --> 00:17:52.650 Whoever is guided by them is truly guided, 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:55.650 whoever seeks victory through them is granted victory, 00:17:55.650 --> 00:17:59.650 and whoever abandons them follows a path other than that of the believers, 00:17:59.650 --> 00:18:02.650 so Allah will leave him to what he has turned to, 00:18:02.650 --> 00:18:06.650 and cast him into Hell—and an evil destination it is!'" 00:18:06.650 --> 00:18:08.650 Ishaq ibn 'Isa said: 00:18:08.650 --> 00:18:10.650 "Malik said: 00:18:10.650 --> 00:18:13.650 'Are we, every time a man comes along who is more skilled in disputation than another, 00:18:13.650 --> 00:18:18.650 to abandon what Gabriel brought down to Muhammad, peace be upon him, 00:18:18.650 --> 00:18:20.650 on account of his argumentation?'" 00:18:20.650 --> 00:18:23.779 Ja'far ibn 'Abdullah said: 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:25.779 "We were in the presence of Malik, 00:18:25.779 --> 00:18:27.779 when a man came to him and said: 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:29.779 'O Abu 'Abdullah, 00:18:29.779 --> 00:18:32.779 “The Beneficent One, Who is established on the Throne.” (20:5) 00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:34.779 how did He ascend (istawa)?' 00:18:34.779 --> 00:18:37.779 Malik was never troubled by anything 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:39.779 as much as he was troubled by his question. 00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:41.779 He looked down at the ground, 00:18:41.779 --> 00:18:44.779 scratching it with a stick in his hand, 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:46.779 until he was dripping with sweat. 00:18:46.779 --> 00:18:49.779 Then he raised his head, tossed the stick aside, 00:18:49.779 --> 00:18:51.779 and said: 00:18:51.779 --> 00:18:53.779 "The modality is beyond human comprehension, 00:18:53.779 --> 00:18:56.779 the Istiwa' (ascending the Throne) is not unknown, 00:18:56.779 --> 00:18:59.779 believing in it is obligatory, 00:18:59.779 --> 00:19:01.779 asking about its modality is an innovation, 00:19:01.779 --> 00:19:03.779 and I suspect that you are an innovator!" 00:19:03.779 --> 00:19:06.779 He then ordered him to be expelled. 00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:09.779 'Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated 00:19:09.779 --> 00:19:12.779 in the book *al-Radd 'ala al-Jahmiyyah* 00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:14.779 on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn Nafi', 00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:15.779 who said 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:16.779 that Malik said: 00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:18.779 "Allah is above the heavens, 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:21.779 yet His knowledge is everywhere; 00:19:21.779 --> 00:19:23.779 nothing is hidden from it." 00:19:23.779 --> 00:19:25.779 Ibn Abi Uways said: 00:19:25.779 --> 00:19:27.779 "I heard Malik say: 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:30.779 'The Qur'an is the speech of Allah, 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:32.779 and the speech of Allah originates from Him, 00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:35.900 and nothing originating from Allah is created.'" 00:19:35.900 --> 00:19:38.900 Ibn Nafi' narrated from Malik, 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:40.900 "[Whoever] says the Qur'an is created 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:42.900 should be flogged and imprisoned." 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:44.900 The judge said: 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:46.900 More than one narrator reported from Malik: 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:49.900 "Faith consists of speech and action; 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:51.900 it increases and decreases, 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:53.900 and parts of it are superior to others." 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:58.819 Ibn 'Adi said in *Musnad Malik*, 00:19:58.819 --> 00:20:01.819 with an authentic chain of transmission from Ibn Wahb, 00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:02.819 that Malik said: 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:06.819 "Nafi' transmitted an immense amount of knowledge from Ibn 'Umar, 00:20:06.819 --> 00:20:09.819 far more than Ibn 'Umar's own sons transmitted from him." 00:20:09.819 --> 00:20:11.819 Ibn Wahb said 00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:13.819 that Malik said: 00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:17.819 "I used to visit Nafi' when I was a young boy; 00:20:17.819 --> 00:20:21.819 he would step down from his stairs, stand with me, and narrate hadiths to me. 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:24.819 He used to sit in the mosque after the dawn prayer, 00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:27.859 and hardly anyone would come to him." 00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:29.859 Ibn Wahb also said: 00:20:29.859 --> 00:20:31.859 "I heard Malik say: 00:20:31.859 --> 00:20:34.859 'It is incumbent upon anyone who seeks knowledge 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:38.859 to possess dignity, serenity, and reverence.'" 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:39.859 And he said 00:20:39.859 --> 00:20:40.859 that Malik said: 00:20:40.859 --> 00:20:44.859 "It has reached me that no one practices renunciation of the world and acts with piety 00:20:44.859 --> 00:20:47.920 except that they are granted speech of wisdom." 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:48.920 And he said 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:50.920 that Malik said: 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:53.920 "Indeed, whenever a person praises himself, 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:55.950 his dignity departs." 00:20:55.950 --> 00:20:56.950 Ibn Wahb said: 00:20:56.950 --> 00:20:58.950 "Malik's sister was asked, 00:20:58.950 --> 00:21:01.950 'What was Malik's main occupation in his home?' 00:21:01.950 --> 00:21:02.950 She replied: 00:21:02.950 --> 00:21:06.019 'The Mus-haf and reciting the Qur'an.'" 00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:09.019 Khalid ibn Nizar al-Ayli said: 00:21:09.019 --> 00:21:13.019 "Al-Mansur sent for Malik when he arrived in Madinah 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:14.019 and said: 00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:17.019 'The people in Iraq have differed, 00:21:17.019 --> 00:21:20.019 so author a book around which we can unite them.' 00:21:20.019 --> 00:21:22.019 Thus, he composed *al-Muwatta'*." 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:24.180 Al-Shafi'i said: 00:21:24.180 --> 00:21:26.180 "There is no book of knowledge on earth 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:29.180 more sound than Malik's *al-Muwatta'*." 00:21:29.180 --> 00:21:30.180 I say: 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:34.180 He said this before the two Sahihs were compiled. 00:21:34.180 --> 00:21:36.339 Abu Mus'ab said: 00:21:36.339 --> 00:21:39.339 "People used to crowd around Malik's door 00:21:39.339 --> 00:21:42.339 to the point of fighting from the sheer congestion. 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:44.339 When we were in his presence, 00:21:44.339 --> 00:21:47.339 no one would turn toward another, 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:50.339 all lowering their heads in complete stillness. 00:21:50.339 --> 00:21:53.339 Even rulers held him in awe. 00:21:53.339 --> 00:21:55.339 He would answer with a simple 'no' or 'yes,' 00:21:55.339 --> 00:21:57.339 and no one would dare ask him, 00:21:57.339 --> 00:21:59.339 'From where do you say that?'" 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:02.430 Mus'ab ibn 'Abdullah said regarding Malik: 00:22:03.430 --> 00:22:06.430 "He leaves a question unanswered, yet none challenge him out of awe, 00:22:06.430 --> 00:22:10.430 while the inquirers lower their chins in reverence. 00:22:10.430 --> 00:22:14.430 The dignity of majesty and the luminous authority of piety surround him; 00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:17.430 thus he is revered, though he holds no worldly reign." 00:22:17.430 --> 00:22:19.619 Ibn Mahdi said: 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:21.619 "I have never seen anyone more awe-inspiring, 00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:24.619 of more complete intellect than Malik, 00:22:24.619 --> 00:22:26.690 nor of deeper piety." 00:22:26.690 --> 00:22:28.690 Ibn Wahb said: 00:22:28.690 --> 00:22:30.690 "What we conveyed of Malik's exemplary conduct 00:22:30.690 --> 00:22:33.690 is far more than what we learned of his knowledge." 00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:40.440 Al-Qa'nabi said: 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:42.440 "I heard them say 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:46.440 that Malik's lifespan was eighty-nine years; 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:49.440 he passed away in the year one hundred and seventy-nine." 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:52.440 Isma'il ibn Abi Uways said: 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:54.440 "Malik fell ill, 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:58.440 so I asked some of our family about what he said at the time of death. 00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:01.440 They said he uttered the testimony of faith, and then recited: ◁To Allah belongs the command before and after.▷" 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:05.440 “Within ten years - Allah's is the command in the former case and in the latter - and in that day believers will rejoice” (30:4) 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:09.500 He passed away on the morning of the fourteenth of Rabi' al-Awwal 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:12.500 in the year one hundred and seventy-nine. 00:23:12.500 --> 00:23:15.500 The funeral prayer was led by the governor 'Abdullah 00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:17.500 ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim 00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:19.500 ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali 00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:20.500 ibn 'Abdullah 00:23:20.500 --> 00:23:22.500 ibn 'Abbas al-Hashimi. 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:24.500 He was washed by Ibn Abi Zinbar 00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:26.500 and Ibn Kinanah, 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:27.500 while his son Yahya 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:29.500 and his scribe Habib 00:23:29.500 --> 00:23:31.500 poured the water over them. 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:35.599 I say: He was buried in al-Baqi'. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:40.460 Biographies of the Four Imams.