View source for Malik ibn Anas

{{Short description|Islamic scholar and traditionalist (711–795)}}
{{Distinguish|Anas ibn Malik}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| honorific_prefix   = [[Imam]]
| name               = Malik ibn Anas
| native_name        = مَالِك بْن أَنَس
| native_name_lang   = ar
| title              = {{flatlist|
*[[Shaykh al-Islam]]
*Proof of the Community
*Imam of Medina
*Imam of the Believers in Hadith
*Imam of the Abode of Emigration
*Knowledgeable Scholar of Medina
}}
| birth_date         = 711 CE (93 AH)
| birth_place        = [[Medina]], Hejaz, Umayyad Caliphate (present-day [[Saudi Arabia]])
| death_date         = 795 CE (179 AH; aged 83–84)
| death_place        = [[Medina]], Hejaz, Abbasid Caliphate (present-day [[Saudi Arabia]])
| resting_place      = [[Al-Baqi Cemetery]], Medina, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia
| religion           = [[Islam]]
| era                = Late [[Umayyad]] – early [[Abbasid]]
| region             = [[Hejaz]], Arabia
| denomination       = [[Sunni]]
| jurisprudence      = [[Mujtahid|Independent]] (eponym of the [[Maliki school]])
| main_interests     = {{plainlist|
*[[Fiqh|Jurisprudence]]
*[[Hadith]]
*[[Aqidah|Theology]]
}}
| notable_ideas      = Maliki school
| notable_works      = {{plainlist|
*''[[Muwatta Imam Malik|Al-Muwatta']]''
}}
| influences         = {{flatlist|
*[[Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin]]<ref>{{citation|title=Scholar Of Renown: Imam Ali Zain Al-Abideen|author=Adil Salahi|year=2001|publisher=Arab News|quote=In his scholarship, Ali Zain Al-Abideen was a man of high achievement. Imam Malik describes him as “a sea full of knowledge”. All six books of Hadith include traditions reported by him, which suggest that he was considered by all the main scholars as a highly reliable reporter of Hadith. His line of reporting was mainly through his father and grandfather, but he also reported Hadith through the main scholars of the tabieen generation and the Prophet’s companions.}}</ref>
*[[Ja'far al-Sadiq]]
*[[Said ibn al-Musayyib]]
*[[Nafiʽ al-Madani|al-Nafi' al-Madani]]
*[[Hisham ibn Urwa]]
*[[Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri]]
}}
| caption            = Illustration of a 1585-1590 Ottoman manuscript depicting Mālik ibn Anas
| creed              = 
| image              = Chester Beatty T 414 fol 130r Mālik.jpg
| module1            = {{infobox Arabic name|embed=yes  
|ism=Mālik  
|ism-ar=مَالِك  
|nasab=Ibn Anas ibn Mālik ibn Abī ʿĀmir  
|nasab-ar=ٱبْن أَنَس ٱبْن مَالِك ٱبْن أَبِي عَامِر  
|kunya=Abū ʿAbdillāh  
|kunya-ar=أَبُو عَبْدِ ٱللَّٰه  
|nisba=Al-Asbahī al-Madanī  
|nisba-ar=ٱلْأَصْبَحِيّ ٱلْمَدَنِيّ  
}}
}}

'''Malik ibn Anas''' ({{langx|ar|مَالِك بْن أَنَس|translit=Mālik ibn ʾAnas}}; {{Circa|711}}–795) also known as '''Imam Malik''' was an [[Arab]] [[Islamic scholar]] and [[muhaddith|traditionalist]] who is the eponym of the [[Maliki school]], one of the four [[maddhab|schools]] of [[fiqh|Islamic jurisprudence]] in [[Sunni Islam]].<ref name="ReferenceB">Schacht, J., "Mālik b. Anas", in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition'', Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online.</ref>

Born in [[Medina]] into the clan of Humayr which belonged to the [[Banu Taym]] of [[Quraysh]], Malik studied under [[Hisham ibn Urwah|Hisham ibn Urwa]], [[Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri]], [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]], [[Nafi Mawla Ibn Umar|Nafi ibn Sarjis]] and others. He rose to become the premier scholar of [[hadith]] in his day,<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Referred to as the '''Imam of Medina''' by his contemporaries, his views in matters of jurisprudence became highly cherished both in his own life and afterward, becoming the eponym of the [[Maliki school]], one of the four major [[maddhab|schools]] of [[fiqh|Islamic jurisprudence]].<ref name="ReferenceB" /> His school became the normative rite for Sunni practice in much of [[North Africa]], [[al-Andalus]] (until the [[Expulsion of the Moriscos|expulsion of medieval native Iberian Muslims]]), a vast portion of [[Egypt]], some parts of [[Syria]], [[Yemen]], [[Sudan]], [[Iraq]], and [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]],<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 121">{{cite book |last=Haddad |first=Gibril F. |title=The Four Imams and Their Schools |location=[[London]], the [[United Kingdom|U.K.]] |publisher=Muslim Academic Trust |year=2007 |page=121}}</ref> and the prominent [[tariqa|orders]] in [[Sufism]], the [[Shadiliyya|Shadili]] and [[Tijaniyyah|Tijani]].<ref>See "Shadiliyya" and "Tijaniyyah" in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition'', Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online.</ref>

Perhaps Malik's most famous accomplishment in the annals of Islamic history is, however, his compilation of ''[[Muwatta Imam Malik|al-Muwatta']]'', one of the oldest and most revered Sunni hadith collections and one of "the earliest surviving Muslim law-book[s],"<ref name="ReferenceB"/> in which Malik attempted to "give a survey of law and justice; ritual and practice of religion according to the [[ijma|consensus]] of Islam in Medina, according to the [[sunnah|sunna]] usual in Medina; and to create a theoretical standard for matters which were not settled from the point of view of consensus and sunna."<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Composed in the early days of the [[Abbasid caliphate]], during which time there was a burgeoning "recognition and appreciation of the canon law" of the ruling party, Malik's work aimed to trace out a "smoothed path" (which is what ''al-muwaṭṭaʾ'' literally means) through "the farreaching differences of opinion even on the most elementary questions."<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Hailed as "the soundest book on earth after the [[Quran]]" by [[al-Shafi'i]],<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 121"/> the compilation of ''al-Muwatta''' led to Malik being bestowed with such reverential epithets as '''Shaykh al-Islam''', '''Proof of the Community''', '''Imam of the Believers in Hadith''', '''Imam of the Abode of Emigration''', and '''Knowledgeable Scholar of Medina''' in later Sunni tradition.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 121"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://hadithanswers.com/imam-malik-the-leader-of-the-believers-in-hadith|title=Imam Malik; The leader of the Believers in Hadith|publisher=HadithAnswers|website=hadithanswers.com|access-date=21 January 2024}}</ref>

According to classical Sunni tradition, the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]] foretold the birth of Malik, saying: "Very soon will people beat the flanks of camels in search of knowledge and they shall find no one more expert than the knowledgeable scholar of Medina,"<ref>"Narrated by Abu Hurayrah by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi who said it is ''hasan'' -- in some manuscripts ''hasan sahih'' -- al-Hakim (1:90-91) with three chains, declaring it ''sahih'' by Muslim's criterion, al-Bayhaqi in ''al-Sunan al-Kubra'' (1:386), etc." (Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' [London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007], p. 121, note 271).</ref> and, in another tradition, "The people ... shall set forth from East and West without finding a sage other than the sage of the people in Medina."<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 122</ref> While some later scholars, such as [[Ibn Hazm]] and [[al-Tahawi]], did cast doubt on identifying the mysterious wise man of both these traditions with Malik,<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 pp. 122-23">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), pp. 122-23</ref> the most widespread interpretation nevertheless continued to be that which held the personage to be Malik.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 pp. 122-23"/> Throughout Islamic history, Malik has been venerated as an exemplary figure in all the traditional schools of Sunni thought, both by the exoteric [[ulema]] and by the [[Sufis|mystics]], with the latter often designating him as a [[wali|saint]] in their hagiographies.<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), pp. 179-81</ref><ref>John Renard (tr.), ''Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism'' (New York: Paulist Press, 2004), p. 131, et passim.</ref> Malik's most notable student, ash-Shafi'i (who would himself become the founder of another of the four orthodox legal schools of Sunni law), later said of his teacher: "No one constitutes as great a favor to me in the religion of God as Malik ... when the scholars of knowledge are mentioned, Malik is the star."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 158">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 158</ref>

==Biography==
Malik's genealogy is as follows: Mālik ibn Anas ibn Mālik ibn Abī ʿĀmir ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Ghaymān ibn Khuthayn ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith al-Aṣbaḥī al-Ḥumyarī al-Madanī. Malik was born as the son of Anas ibn Malik (not [[Anas ibn Malik|the Sahabi]] with the same name) and Aaliyah bint Shurayk al-Azdiyya in [[Medina]], {{circa|711}}. His family was originally from the al-Asbahi tribe of [[Yemen]], but his great grandfather Abu 'Amir relocated the family to Medina after converting to [[Islam]] in the second year of the [[Islamic calendar|Hijri calendar]], or 623 CE. His grandfather Malik ibn Abi Amir was a student of the second Caliph of Islam [[Umar]] and was one of those involved in the collection of the parchments upon which Quranic texts were originally written when those were collected during the Caliph [[Uthman]] era.<ref>M M Azami, The History of the Quranic Text, page 100-101</ref>

===Teachers===
{{Islam scholars diagram}}

Living in Medina gave Malik access to some of the most learned minds of early Islam. He [[Hafiz (Qur'an)|memorized the Quran]] in his youth, learning recitation from [[Abu Suhail Nafi' ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman]], from whom he also received his [[Ijazah]], or certification and permission to teach others. He studied under various famed scholars including [[Hisham ibn Urwah]] and [[Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri]] as well as the famed [[Imam Jafar al-Sadiq]].

Both Malik and al Zuhri were student to [[Nafi Mawla Ibn Umar]], prestigious [[Tabi'un]] Imam and freed slave of [[Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab|Abdullah ibn Umar]].{{sfn|Khallikan|1843|p=521}}

Along with [[Abu Hanifa]]h (founder of the [[Hanafi Sunni]] [[Madh'hab]]), Imam Malik, studied also with [[Imam Jafar]] a wellknown scholar of his time, who is regarded by [[Shia]] muslims as their [[Imam]].

Imam Malik was a teacher of [[Imam Shafi]],<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 158" /><ref name="Dutton">{{citation |title=The Origins of Islamic Law: The Qurʼan, the Muwaṭṭaʼ and Madinan ʻAmal |last=Dutton |first=Yasin |author-link=Yasin Dutton |page=16}}</ref> who in turn was a teacher of Imam [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]].

===Golden Chain of Narration===
Malik's [[Isnad|chain]] of narrators was considered the most authentic and called ''Silsilat al-Dhahab'' or "The Golden Chain of Narrators" by notable hadith scholars including [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/seerah/0041.htm |title="Imaam Maalik ibn Anas" by Hassan Ahmad, '''Al Jumuah' Magazine'' Volume 11 – Issue 9 |work=Sunnahonline.com |access-date=10 April 2010}}</ref> The 'Golden Chain' of narration (i.e., that considered by the scholars of Hadith to be the most authentic) consists of Malik, who narrated from [[Nafi Mawla Ibn Umar|Nafi‘ Mawla ibn ‘Umar]], who narrated from [[Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab|Ibn Umar]], who narrated from [[Muhammad]].{{sfn|Ibn Anas|2008|p= 3, 4, 10, 14, 16, 17, 27, 29, 32, 37, 38, 49, 51, 58, 61, 67, 68, 74, 78, 87, 92, 93, 108, 114, 124, 128, 138, 139, 151, 156, 161, 171, 196, 210, 239, 245, 253, 312, 349, 410, 412}}

==Views==

===Theology===
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 3
| total_width       = 450
| image1            = PERF No. 732.jpg
| image2            = PERF No. 731.jpg
| footer            = PERF No. 731, the earliest manuscript of Mālik's Muwaṭṭaʾ, dated to his own time. Recto (left) has the contents of Bāb al-Targib fī-Sadaqah, 795 AD.<ref>N. Abbott, ''Studies In Arabic Literary Papyri: Qur'anic Commentary And Tradition'', 1967, Volume II, University of Chicago Press: Chicago (USA), p. 114.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=PERF No. 731: The Earliest Manuscript Of Malik's Muwatta' Dated To His Own Time |url=https://www.islamic-awareness.org/hadith/perf731 |access-date=27 June 2022 |website=www.islamic-awareness.org}}</ref>
| direction         = horizontal
}}

Abdul-Ghani Ad-Daqr wrote that Malik was 'the furthest of all people' from dialectic theology who was the most knowledgeable of their discussions without accepting their views.<ref>Abdul-Ghani Ad-Daqr, ''Al-Imam Malik, Imam Dar al-Hijrah'', pg. 285, 2nd ed. [[Damascus]]: Dar al-Qalam, 1998.</ref> G.F. Haddad, on the other hand, argued that Malik was not completely averse to the idea of dialectic theology; on the contrary, Haddad points to Malik having studied 'at the feet of Ibn Hurmuz', a master in dialectic theology, for 'thirteen to sixteen years'.<ref name="haddad170">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 170</ref>

====Anthropomorphism====
Malik's unique contributions to the field of theology specifically is that he was a strict opponent of [[anthropomorphism]],<ref name=haddad170/> and deemed it absurd to compare the [[God#Specific characteristics|attributes of God]], with those of man.<ref name=haddad170/> For example, when a man asked Malik about the meaning of Quran 20:5, "The Merciful made istiwa{{Definition needed|date=June 2024}} over the [[Throne of God|Throne]]," it is related that "nothing affected Malik so much as that man's question," and the jurist fervently responded: "The 'how' of it is not existent; the 'istiwa' part is known; belief in it is obligatory; asking about it is an innovation."<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 167; narrated by Al-Dhahabī, ''Siyar'', 7:415, cf. al-Bayhaqī, ''al-Asmā' wal-Sifāt'', 2:304-305:866.</ref><ref>Abdul-Ghani Ad-Daqr, ''Al-Imam Malik'', pg. 292-293.</ref>

====Beatific vision====
Malik was a supporter of the orthodox Sunni doctrine of the [[beatific vision]],<ref>Abdul-Ghani Ad-Daqr, ''Al-Imam Malik'', pp. 293-294.</ref> and he is said to have cited Quran 75:22-23 ("That day will faces be resplendent, looking toward their Lord,") and 83:15 ("Nay! Verily, from their Lord, that day, shall they [the transgressors] be veiled,") as proof of his belief.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 181">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 181</ref><ref>Abdul-Ghani Ad-Daqr, ''Al-Imam Malik'', pp. 294.</ref>

====Faith's nature====
When he was asked about the [[Iman (concept)|nature of faith]], Malik defined it as "speech and works" (''qawlun wa-'amal''), which shows that Malik was averse to the rigorous separation of faith and works.<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 176</ref>

====Intercession====
Malik seems to have been a proponent of [[tawassul|intercession]] in [[dua|personal supplication]].<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 181"/> For example, it is related that when the [[Abbasid caliph]] [[al-Mansur]] asked Malik about whether it was preferable to face the [[Masjid an-Nabawi|Prophet's tomb]] or the [[qibla]] whilst doing the personal prayer or [[dua]], Malik responded: "Why should you not face him when he is your means (''wasīla'') to God and that of your father [[Adam]] on the [[Day of Resurrection]]?"<ref>al-Qādī 'Iyād, ''al-Shifā'', pp. 520-521 and ''Tartīb al-Madārik'' 2:101, narrated "with a good, or rather sound chain" (al-Zarqānī, comment. on ''al-Mawāhib al-Lāduniyya''); cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 181</ref> Regarding this tradition, the thirteenth-century [[hadith]] [[master (form of address)|master]] Ibn Jamāʿa said: "The report is related by the two hadith masters Ibn Bashkuwāl and al-Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ in ''al-Shifā'', and no attention is paid to the words of those who claim that it is forged purely on the basis of their idle desires."<ref>''Hidāyat al-Sālik'', 3:1381; cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 182</ref><ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 182">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 182</ref> Historically, it is known that Malik's statements on the validity of [[tawassul|intercession]] remained a core doctrine of the [[Maliki school]], and practically all Maliki thinkers of the classical era accepted the idea of [[tawassul|the Prophet's intercession]].<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 182"/> It is also known, moreover, that the classical "books of the Mālikīs are replete with the stipulation that ''du'ā'' [personal supplication] be made while facing the grave."<ref>Al-Zarqānī; cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 182</ref>

====Mysticism====
On the basis of several early traditions, it is evident that Malik held the early Sufis and their practices in high regard.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 179">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 179</ref> It is related, moreover, that Malik was a strong proponent of combining the "inward science" ('''ilm al-bātin'') of [[Sufism|mystical knowledge]] with the "outward science" of [[fiqh|jurisprudence]].<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 179"/> For example, the famous twelfth-century [[Maliki]] [[qadi|jurist and judge]] [[Qadi Iyad]], later venerated as a [[wali|saint]] throughout the [[Iberian Peninsula]], narrated a tradition in which a man asked Malik "about something in the inward science," to which Malik replied: "Truly none knows the inward science except those who know the outward science! When he knows the outward science and puts it into practice, God shall open for him the inward science - and that will not take place except by the opening of his heart and its enlightenment."<ref>al-Qādī 'Iyād, ''Tartīb al-Madārik'', 2:41, cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 179</ref>
While there are a few traditions relating that Malik, while not an opponent of mysticism as a whole, was nonetheless adverse specifically to the practice of [[dhikr|group dhikr]], such traditions have been graded as being ''munkar'' or "weak" in their [[isnad|chain of transmission]].<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 180">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 180</ref> Furthermore, it has been argued that none of these reports - all of which relate Malik's disapproving amusement at being told about an instance of [[dhikr|group dhikr]] happening nearby - explicitly display any disapproval of the act as such, but rather serve as a criticism of "some people who passed for Sufis in his time [who] apparently committed certain excesses or breaches of the [[shariah|sacred law]]."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 180"/> As both their chains of transmission are weak and not consistent with what is related of Malik elsewhere, the traditions are rejected by many scholars, although latter-day critics of Sufism do occasionally cite them in support of their position.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 180"/>

===Relics===
Malik was a supporter of ''tabarruk'' or the "seeking of blessing through [the veneration of] relics."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 177">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 177</ref> This is evident, for example, in the fact that Malik approvingly related the tradition of [[Ata ibn Abi Rabah|Atā' ibn Abī Rabāh]], whom he saw "enter the [[Masjid an-Nabawi|[Prophet's] Mosque]], then take hold of the pommel of the Pulpit, after which he faced the ''qibla'' [to pray]," thereby supporting the holding of the pommel for its blessings (''baraka'') by virtue of its having touched Muhammad.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 177"/> Furthermore, it is also recorded that "when one of the caliphs manifested his intention to replace the wooden pulpit of the Prophet with a pulpit of silver and jewels," Malik exclaimed: "I do not consider it good that people be deprived of the relics of the Messenger of God!" (''Lā arā yuḥrama al-nāsu āthāra rasūlillāh'').<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 177"/>

===Sunnah of Muhammad===

Malik considered following the [[sunnah]] of Muhammad to be of capital importance for every Muslim. It is reported that he said: "The [[sunnah]] is [[Noah's Ark]]. Whoever boards it is saved, and whoever remains away from it perishes."<ref>Narrated from Ibn Wahb by al-Khatīb in ''Tārīkh Baghdād'', 7:336 and al-Suyūtī, ''Miftāh al-Janna'', p. 162: 391, cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 175</ref>

===Ethics===

====Differences of opinion====

Accounts of Malik's life demonstrate that the scholar cherished differences of opinion amongst the [[ulema]] as a mercy from God to the Islamic community.<ref>From Ma'n, cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), pp. 162-164</ref> Even "in Malik's time there were those who forwarded the idea of a unified ''madhhab'' and the ostensive removal of all differences between the Sunni schools of law," with "three successive caliphs" having sought to "impose the ''Muwatta'' and Malik's school upon the entire Islamic world of their time," but "Malik refused to allow it every time ... [for he held that the differences in opinion among the jurists]" were a "mercy" for the people.<ref>From Ma'n, cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), pp. 162-163</ref> When the second [[Abbasid caliph]] [[al-Mansur]] said to Malik: "I want to unify this knowledge. I shall write to the leaders of the armies and to the rulers so that they make it law, and whoever contravenes it shall be put to death," Malik is said to have responded: "Commander of the Believers, there is another way. Truly, the Prophet was present in this community, he used to send out troops or set forth in person, and he did not conquer many lands until God took back his soul. Then [[Abu Bakr]] arose and he also did not conquer many lands. Then [[Umar]] arose after the two of them and many lands were conquered at his hands. As a result, he faced the necessity of sending out the [[Sahaba|companions of Muhammad]] as teachers and people did not cease to take from them, notable scholars from notable scholars until our time. If you now go and change them from what they know to what they do not know they shall deem it disbelief (''kufr''). Rather, confirm the people of each land with regard to whatever knowledge is there, and take this knowledge to yourself."<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 163</ref>

According to another narration, al-Mansur, after hearing Malik's answers to certain important questions, said: "I have resolved to give the order that your writings be copied and disseminated to every Muslim region on earth, so that they be put in practice exclusively of any other rulings. They will leave aside innovations and keep only this knowledge. For I consider that the source of knowledge is the narrative tradition of Medina and the knowledge of its scholars."<ref name="Tabaqāt 2007 p. 163">Narrated from al-Wāqidī by Ibn Sa'd in the supplemental volume of his ''Tabaqāt'' (p. 440) and from al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr in his ''al-Intiqā'' (p. 81). Cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 163</ref> To this, Malik is said to have replied: "Commander of the Believers, do not! For people have already heard different positions, heard ''hadith'', and related narrations. Every group has taken whatever came to them and put it into practice, conforming to it while other people differed. To take them away from what they have been professing will cause a disaster. Therefore, leave people with whatever school they follow and whatever the people of each country chose for themselves."<ref name="Tabaqāt 2007 p. 163"/>

====Knowing the limits of knowledge====
Malik is famous for declaring: "The shield of the 'alim is: 'I do not know.' If he neglects it, he will receive a mortal blow."<ref name="Ibn 2007 p. 176">Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, ''al-Intiqā'', pp. 74-75; cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 176</ref> Elsewhere, a certain Khālid ibn Khidāsh related: "I travelled all the way from [[Iraq]] to see Mālik about forty questions. He did not answer me except on five. Then he said: ʿIbn ʿIjlān used to say: If the 'alim bypasses 'I do not know,' he will receive a mortal blow."<ref name="Ibn 2007 p. 176"/> Likewise, al-Haytham ibn Jamīl said: "I saw Mālik ibn Anas being asked forty-eight questions, and he replied to thirty-two of them: 'I do not know.'"<ref name="Ibn 2007 p. 176"/> Later on, Malik's disciple, Ibn Wahb, related: "I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yazīd ibn Hurmuz say: 'The 'ulema must instill in those who sit with him the phrase 'I do not know' until it becomes a foundational principle (''asl'') before them and they seek refuge in it from danger."<ref name="Ibn 2007 p. 176"/>

====Religious disputation====
Malik is said to have detested disputing in matters of religion, saying: "Disputation (''al-jidāl)'' in the religion fosters self-display, does away with the light of the heart and hardens it, and produces aimless wandering."<ref>From Ma'n, cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 170</ref> Needless argument, therefore, was disapproved of by Malik, and he also chose to keep silent about religious matters in general unless he felt obliged to speak in fear of "the spread of misguidance or some similar danger."<ref>From Ma'n, cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 171</ref>

===Social===
====Shaving the moustache====
In the ''Muwatta'', Malik writes: "Shaving the mustache is an innovation."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 177"/> Elsewhere, it is written that he "detested and condemned" shaving of the mustache and, furthermore, "disliked inordinate length for the beard."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 177"/> While several other scholars held both the clipping (''qass'') and the removal (''ihfā''') of the mustache to be [[sunnah]], Malik only considered the former to be truly prophetically prescribed, deeming the latter an unpalatable innovation.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 177"/>

==Physical appearance==
The available physical descriptions of Malik relate that he "was tall, heavy-set, imposing of stature, very fair, with white beard ... [and] bald ... [with] blue eyes."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 177"/> Furthermore, it is also related that "he always wore beautiful clothes, especially [those that were] white."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 177"/>

==Death==
[[File:Baqi Malek&Nafi.jpg|250px|thumbnail|Final resting place of Malik at [[Al-Baqi Cemetery]], Medina]]

Imam Malik died at the age of 83 or 84 in Medina in 795 [[Common Era|CE]], and is buried in the cemetery of [[Al-Baqi]]', across from the [[Masjid al Nabawi|Mosque of the Prophet]]. Although there was a small shrine constructed around his grave during the late medieval period, with many Muslims visiting it to pay their respects, the construction was razed to the ground by the [[Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]] during their [[destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia|campaign of demolishing many of the traditional Islamic heritage sites]] after the kingdom's establishment in 1932.<ref name="ReferenceA">The medieval Andalusian Muslim traveler and geographer Ibn Jubayr describes seeing a small dome erected above the tomb of Malik when he visited the cemetery in the later twelfth-century.</ref>

Malik's last words were related to one Isma'il ibn Abi Uways who said, "Malik became sick, so I asked some of our people about what he said at the time of his death. They said, "He recited the [[shahadah|testification of faith]] and then he recited:<blockquote>'' To Allah belongs the command [i.e., decree] before and after.''<ref>Quran 30:4</ref></blockquote>

Abbasid governor of Mecca and Medina, [[Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Zaynabi|Abdallah al-Zaynabi]] led the prayers at the funeral of Malik ibn Anas in 795.{{sfn|Yarshater|1985–2007|loc=v. 39: p. 263}}

==Works==
Imam Malik wrote: 
*''[[Muwatta Imam Malik|Al-Muwatta]]'', one of the earlier Hadith collections. 
*''[[Al-Mudawwana al-Kubra]]'', written down by [[Sahnun|Sahnun ibn Sa'id ibn Habib at-Tanukhi]] (c. 776-7 – 854–5) after the death of Malik ibn Anas.

==See also==
*[[Salaf]]
**[[Tabi' al-Tabi'in]]
*[[The Seven Fuqaha of Medina]]

==Further read==
===Online===
* [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Malik-ibn-Anas Mālik ibn Anas: Muslim legal scholar], in ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online'', by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Aakanksha Gaur, Marco Sampaolo and Adam Zeidan

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==

* {{cite book
| title = Al-Muwatta Of Iman Malik Ibn Anas
| first = Malik
| last = Ibn Anas
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUTYAQAAQBAJ
| pages = 3, 4, 10, 14, 16, 17, 27, 29, 32, 37, 38, 49, 51, 58, 61, 67, 68, 74, 78, 87, 92, 93, 108, 114, 124, 128, 138, 139, 151, 156, 161, 171, 196, 210, 239, 245, 253, 312, 349, 410, 412
| isbn = 9781136150982
| publisher = Taylor and francis
| date = 2008
| id = 9789791142199
}}

* {{Cite book 
| title = Kitab Wafayat Ala'yan. Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary 
| first = Ibnu 
| last = Khallikan 
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qQUVAAAAQAAJ&dq=Nafe&pg=PA556 
| volume = 3 
| others = Translated by Bn Mac-Gluckin de Slane 
| location = Paris 
| publisher = Benjamin Duprat 
| year = 1843 
}}

* {{The History of al-Tabari}}

==External links==
{{Wikisourcelang|ar|الموطأ|Malik ibn Anas}} 
* [http://www.muslimscholars.info/manage.php?submit=scholar&ID=20001 Biodata at MuslimScholars.info]
* [http://www.haqislam.org/imam-malik/ Life of Imam Malik]
* [http://lostislamichistory.com/the-scholar-of-madinah/ Biography of Imam Malik at Lost Islamic History]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070503073301/http://www.momin.ca/biographies/Imaam%20Malik.htm Biography of Imam Malik]
* [http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/malik.htm A comprehensive Biography of Imam Malik] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609220703/http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/malik.htm |date=9 June 2011 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101118121929/http://www.sunnipath.com/Library/Hadith/H0001P0000.aspx Al-Muwatta' of Imam Malik]
* [http://www.muslimsofnorwich.org.uk Muslims of Norwich], a Maliki community
* {{in lang|fr}}: [http://ecolemalekite.com/index.php/category/imam-malik/*] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126044456/http://ecolemalekite.com/index.php/category/imam-malik/ |date=26 November 2015 }} [http://ecolemalekite.com/index.php/category/imam-malik/ BIOGRAPHY OF IMAM MALIK] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126044456/http://ecolemalekite.com/index.php/category/imam-malik/ |date=26 November 2015 }}
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120526103047/http://www.at-tawhid.net/article-le-mode-de-vie-de-l-imam-malik-ibn-anas-abu-zahra-104634686.html The lifestyle of Imâm Mâlik Ibn Anas ''(at-tawhid.net)'']
* [http://islamicencyclopedia.org/public/index/topicDetail/id/450 Malik, Imam B Anas مَالِك بن أنس]; A complete biography on Imam Malik bin Anas

{{Maliki scholars}}
{{Islamic Theology}}
{{Maliki books}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malik Ibn Anas}}
[[Category:711 births]]
[[Category:795 deaths]]
[[Category:8th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:8th-century Muslim theologians]]
[[Category:Scholars from the Umayyad Caliphate]]
[[Category:Scholars from the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:Arab scholars]]
[[Category:Hadith compilers]]
[[Category:Maliki fiqh scholars]]
[[Category:Mujaddid]]
[[Category:Sunni imams]]
[[Category:Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Taba‘ at-Tabi‘in]]
[[Category:Burials at Jannat al-Baqī]]