The Evolution of Fiqh(5.3 THE MAALIKEE MADHAB)

The Founder: Imaam Maalik (717-801 CE)

The founding scholar of this Madh-hab, Maalik ibn Anas ibn

‘Aamir, was born in Madeenah in the year 717 CE. His grandfather,

‘Aamir, was among the major Sahaabah of Madeenah. Maalik

studied Hadeeth under az-Zuhree who was the greatest Hadeeth

scholar of his time as well as under the great Hadeeth narrator,

Naari’, the freed slave of the Sahaabee ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar.

Maalik’s only journeys outside of Madeenah were for Hajj, and thus

he largely limited himself to the knowledge available in Madeenah.

He was severely beaten in the year 764 CE by the order of the Ameer

of Madeenah, because he made a legal ruling that forced divorce was

invalid. This ruling opposed the ‘Abbaasid rulers’ practice of adding

in the oath of allegiance given to them by the masses the clause that

whoever broke the oath was automatically divorced. Maalik was tied

and beaten until his arms became severely damaged to such a degree

that he became unable to clasp them on his chest in Salaah and thus

he began the practice of praying with his hands at his sides according

to some reports.

Imaam Maalik continued to teach Hadeeth in Madeenah over

a period of forty years and he managed to compile a book containing

Hadeeths of the Prophet (s.w.) and Athars of the Sahaabah and their

successors which he named al-Muwatta’ (the Beaten Path). He began

his compilation of Hadeeths at the request of the ‘Abbaasid caliph,

Abu Ja’far al-Mansoor, (754-775 CE) who wanted a comprehensive

code of law based on the Prophet’s (s.w.) Sunnah which could be

applied uniformly throughout his realm. But, on its completion,

Maalik refused to have it forced on the people pointing out that the

Sahaabah had scattered throughout the Islamic empire and had taken

with them other parts of the Sunnah which also had to be considered

in any laws imposed throughout the state. 
 Caliph Haaroon ar-Rasheed (768-809 CE) also 
made the same request of the Imaam, but

he was also turned down. Imaam Maalik died in the city of his birth

in the year 801 CE at the venerable age of 83.al-Madkhal, pp. 184-187.
 

Formation of the Maalikee Madh-hab

Imaam Maalik’s method of teaching was based on the

narration of Hadeeths and the discussion of their meanings in the

context of problems of that day. He would either narrate to his

students Hadeeths and Athars (statements of the Sahaabah) on

various topics of Islamic law then discuss their implications, or he

would inquire about problems which had arisen in the areas from

whence his students came, then narrate appropriate Hadeeths or

Athars which could be used to solve them.

After Maalik completed al-Muwatta’, he used to narrate it to

his students as the sum total of his Madh-hab, but would add or

subtract from it slightly, whenever new information reached him. He

used to strictly avoid speculation and hypothetical Fiqh and thus his

school and its followers were reffered to as the people of Hadeeth

(Ahl al-Hadeeth).

Sources of Law Used by the Maalikee Madh-hab

Imaam Maalik deduced Islamic law from the following

sources which are listed in the order of their importance.

1. The Qur’aan

Like all the other Iaams, Maalik considered the Qur’aan to be the

primary source of Islamic law and utlized it without laying any

pre-conditions for its applications.

2. The Sunnah

The Sunnah was used by Imaam Maalik as the second most

important source of Islamic law, but, like Abu Haneefah, he put

some restrictions on its use. If a Hadeeth were contradicted by

the customary practice of the Madeenites, he rejected it.
 He did not, however, insist that a Hadeeth be Mash-hoor (well-known) before it could be applied as Abu Haneefah did. 
Instead he used any Hadeeth that was narrated to him as long as none 
of the narrators were known liars or extremely weak memorizers.

3. ‘Amal (practices) of the Madeenites

Imaam Maalik reasoned that since many of the Madeenites were

direct descendants of the Sahaabah and Madeenah was where the

Prophet (s.w.) spent the last ten years of his life, practices

common to all Madeenites must have been allowed, if not

encouraged by the Prophet (s.w.) himself. 
Thus, Imaam Maali regarded common Madeenite
 practices as a form of highly

authentic Sunnah narrated in deeds rather than words. Taareekh al-Madhaahib al-Islaameeyah,

4. Ijmaa’ of the Sahaabah

Maalik like Abu Haneefah considered the Ijmaa’ of the

Sahaabah, as well as that of later scholars, as the third most

important source of Islamic law.

5. Individual Opinion of the Sahaabah

Imaam Maalik gave full weight to the opinions of the Sahaabha,

whether they were conflicting or in agreement, and included

them in his book of Hadeeth, al-Muwatta’. However, the

consensus of the Sahaabah was given precedence over individual

opinions of the Sahaabah. Where there was no consensus, their

individual opinions were given precedence over his own opinion.

6. Qiyaas

Maalik used to apply his own deductive reasoning on matters not

covered by the previously mentioned sources. However, he was

very cautious about doing so because of the subectivity of such

forms of reasoning.

7. Customs of the Madeenites

Imaam Maalik also gave some weight to isolated practices found

among a few people of Madeenah so long as they were not in

contradiction to known Hadeeths. He reasoned that such

customs, though occurring only in isolated instances, must also

have been handed down from earlier generations and sanctioned

by the Sahaabah or even the prophet (s.w.) himself.

8. Istislaah (Welfare)

The principle of Istihsaan developed by Abu Haneefah was also

applied by Maalik and his students except that they called it by

the name Istislaah which means seeking that which is more

suitable. It deals with things which are for human welfare but

have not been specifically considered by the Sharee’ah.
An example of Istislaah is found in Caliph ‘Alee’s ruling that
 a whole group of people who took part in a murder were guilty even

though only one of the group had actually committed 
the act of murder.  

Another example is the right of a Muslim leader to

collect taxes from the rich other than Zakaah if the interest of the

state demands it, whereas in Sharee’ah only Zakaah has been

specified. Imaam Maalik also applied the principle of Istislaah to

deduce laws more in keeping with needs which arose from

current situations than those deduced by Qiyaas.

9. ‘Urf (Custom)

Like Abu Haneefah, Maalik considered the various customs and

social havits of people throughout the Muslim world as possible

sources of secondary laws as long as they did not contradict

either the letter or the spirit of the Sharee’ah.al-Madkhal, pp. 187.

According to custom in Syria, for example, the word Daabbah

means a horse, whereas its general meaning in Arabic is four

legged animal. Hence, a contract made in Syria requiring

payment in the form of a Daabbah would legally mean a horse

whereas elsewhere in the Arab world it would have to be more

clearly defined as a horse.
 

Main students of the Maalikee Madh-hab

The most notable of Maalik’s students who did not later

form their own Madh-habs were al-Qaasim and Ibn Wahb.

Abu ‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn al-Qaasim (745-813 CE)

Al-Qaasim was born in Egypt but travelled to Madeenah

where he studied under his teacher and mentor for a period of more

than twenty years. He wrote an extensive book on the Fiqh of the

Madh-hab, eclipsing even al-Muwatta’ of Maalik himself and called

it al-Mudawwanah.

Abu ‘Abdillaah ibn Wahb (742-819 CE)

Ibn Wahb also travelled from Egypt to Madeenah in order to

study under Imaam Maalik. He distinguished himself in th deduction

of laws to such a degree that Maalik gave him the title of al-Muftee,

which means the official expounderof Islamic law.

Ibn Wahb was offered an appointment as judge of Egypt, but

turned it down in order to maintain his integrity as an independent

scholar. al-Madkhal, pp. 187.

Maalik had other famous students from other madh-habs.

Some of them modified their own Madh-habs based on what they

learnt from Maalik, for example, Muhammad ash-Shaybaanee who

was among the foremost students of Abu Haneefah. There were

others who developed their own Madh-habs by combining Maalik’s

teachings with that of others, for example Muhammad ibn Idrees

ash-Shaafi’ee who studied for many years under Imaam Maalik as

well as under Abu Haneefah’s student Muhammad as-Shaybaanee.
 

Followers of the Maalikee Madh-hab

Today, the followers of this Madh-hab are found mostly in

Upper Egypt, Sudan, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco),

West Africa (Mali, Nigeria, Chad, etc) and the Arabian Gulf states

(Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain).