The collection and codification of Islamic law has historically been one of the most important, and challenging, tasks that the Muslim community has undertaken in 1400 years of history. To be considered a faqih (an expert in Islamic law – fiqh), one must have mastery of the Quran, the sayings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, other sources of law, as well as other subjects such as grammar and history.
One of the giants of Islamic law was the 8th century scholar of Madinah, Malik ibn Anas. At a time when the Muslim community desperately needed the sciences of fiqh and hadith (sayings and doings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ) to be organized, Imam Malik rose to the occasion. His legacy is manifest in his continued influence throughout the Muslim world, both through his own works and the works of those he helped guide on a path of scholarship and devotion to Islam.
Early Life and Education
Imam Malik was born in 711 in the city of Madinah, 79 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in that same city. His family was originally from Yemen, but his grandfather had moved to Madinah during the reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab. Both his father and grandfather had studied religious sciences under the Companions of the Prophet who still lived in Madinah, and thus young Malik was raised in an environment that was based on Islamic scholarship, learning from his father and uncle.
Imam Malik’s uncle, Nafi’, was an eminent scholar in his own right, and narrated hadith from Aisha, Abu Hurairah, and Abdullah ibn Umar, all companions who are noted for their vast knowledge of hadith. Although the political center of the Muslim world shifted away from Madinah during the caliphate of Ali in the 650s, it remained the intellectual capital of Islam. In this capital of Islamic knowledge, Imam Malik mastered the sciences of hadith, tafsir (interpretation of the Quran), and fiqh.
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