Original Islam: Malik and the Madhhab of Madina

by Yasin Dutton

Original Islam investigates the primacy of Madinan Islam and the madhhab (school of law) of its main exponent, Malik ibn Anas. It contains an annotated translation of Intisar al-faqir al-salik li-tarjih madhhab al-Imam al-kabir Malik , which was written by al-Ra'i, a fifteenth-century Andalusian scholar resident in Cairo. This book It also highlights the significance of the text for contemporary Muslim discourse, in which both "modernist" and "fundamentalist" elements often equate the concept of madhhab with an outmoded tradition which must be rejected as irrelevant to the practice of Islam in a globalized world. This book aims to put this ongoing controversy about madhhab, particularly the Maliki madhhab and its "pre- madhhab " Madinan origins, on a surer footing. Original Islam provides access to a hitherto little known area of Islamic law and is essential reading for those with interests in this area.

Genres: Islam

240 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2006

Reviews

[Tahir Hussain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very provocative title by Dr. Yasin Dutton in “Original Islam” which investigates the primacy of Madinan Islam and the maḏhab (school of law) of its main exponent, Imam Mālik ibn Anas (d.179/795). The title is derived from the fact that the living Islam in its full expression as a social and legal reality took shape in Medinah at the time of the Prophet (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) and was preserved by the Companions and the Tābi‘ūn and then passed on to Imam Mālik who recorded it in written form. In other words, Dr. Yasin Dutton is arguing that if you’re looking for the Islam of the Salaf (the first generation of Muslims) as a living spectrum then look for it in the maḏhab of Imam Mālik as that is where it is to be found.

The book itself is largely made up of a translation of a work advocating the School of Imam Mālik by Shams al-Din al-Rā’ī al-Gharnati (d.853 AH), the Intisār, a work some class as anti-Shāfiʿī. The Intisār has an obvious bias toward the School of Imam Mālik but that was its objective as the author, al-Rā’ī, experienced inter-maḏhab rivalry and prejudice as well as the disparaging of the School of Imam Mālik, which he followed in fifteenth century Cairo. Hence he composed this work advocating the virtues of the School of Medinah and propagating its ascendency in contrast to the other three maḏhabs of Imam Abū Ḥanīfah (d.150/767), Imam Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shāfiʿī (d.204/820) and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbāl (d.241/855). The promotion of the School of Imam Mālik isn't an issue in and of itself as all four schools are equally acceptable in Islam but the bias you find in this book is something you ought to be aware of as the skewed representation is rather convincing to the untrained eye. I can understand the formation of the Intisār and the bias under the circumstances of the author al-Rā’ī, however this bias is also found in the words of the translator, Dr. Yasin Dutton who argues that the School of Medinah i.e. the Māliki School is the source of all the other maḏhabs, (p.2) which is misleading, particularly for readers finding their introduction to the four maḏhabs in this work.

The book achieves its objective in advocating the primacy of the School of Imam Mālik but one ought to remember that there are four equally acceptable maḏhabs, as pointed out by Dr. Gibril Fouad Haddad in his criticism of this work. As engaging as the book is it does have its pitfalls which can only be recognised by those who have previous grounding in the study of the four maḏhabs. For example, it gives you the letter that Imam Mālik wrote to Imam al-Layth ibn Sā’d (d. 175/ 791) regarding issuing verdicts contrary to the practice of the People of Medinah (p.100) but for obvious reasons it does not include the full reply Imam al-Layth gave to Imam Mālik (it can be read in The Four Imams, Muhammad Abu Zahra, p.39) rather it quotes the portion where Imam al-Layth agrees with Imam Mālik and omits the sections where Imam al-Layth gives his reason for disagreeing with Imam Mālik, pointing out that even the Companions had disagreements. Moreover it doesn’t mention that when the caliph Hārūn ar-Rashīd (d.193/809) wanted to make the Muwaṭṭaʾ law for the whole ummah it was Imam Mālik himself who wouldn’t allow this saying, “Commander of the Believers! The differences of the Ulema are a mercy from Allāh to this Community” (The Four Imams and their Schools, Gibril Fouad Haddad, p.164). There are various other points of this nature but none of that detracts from the greatness of Imam Mālik, rather just the obvious bias of the author but that was the objective of this book and it has to be considered in the circumstances in which al-Rā’ī composed it. This is mentioned in the introduction but I feel the author should have included an additional chapter to close the book with the view that all four maḏhabs are equally acceptable but one could argue it would diminish the purpose of the book and of the point the translator is emphasising too.

That aside, it is very well referenced and it was a joy to read. The book begins by detailing the life of al-Rā’ī and why he took to writing the Intisār in defence of the maḏhab of Imam Mālik. The remainder of the book is then the translation of the Intisār which begins with the chapter giving preference to Imam Mālik followed by giving preference to his maḏhab and the sources on which this is based and then following on to some differences with other maḏāhib where the author is of the opinion that the differences indicate that preference should be given to the maḏhab of Imam Mālik. It concludes with al-Rā’ī himself pointing out the prejudice of other Schools which led him to write this book and then the final chapter closes on grammatical points where specialists make mistakes. The contents are presented well and each sub-section is listed under the main heading so it is easy to navigate for future reference. It is a welcomed addition to the study of the School of Medinah but I wouldn’t recommend it to beginners.

Imam Mālik is someone you can't help but admire. He spent his whole life in Medinah but he never rode on an animal to travel, saying, “I am ashamed before Allāh to ride in a city in which lies the body of the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace”. He would only recite hadith in a state of wuḍūʼ and would put on perfume and new clothes, and then sit on a raised platform set up for the purpose of teaching the hadith. Imam Abū Ḥanīfah said, “I have never seen anyone with more knowledge of the sunna of the Messenger of Allāh than him”, Imam Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shāfiʿī said, “...There is no one to whom I am more indebted than Mālik... If the ‘ulema are mentioned, Mālik is the piercing star. Nobody has reached Mālik’s level of knowledge, with his memory, accuracy and retention” and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbāl said, “Mālik is one of the masters of the people of knowledge, and he is an imam in hadith and fiqh.” (p.34-38). Above all is the following sound hadith of the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallam), "The time is nigh when people will beat the livers of their camels in search of knowledge, but they will not find anyone more knowledgeable than the alim of Medinah", (p.28). If you want to learn more about the maḏhab of Mālik, this book is for you but I wouldn’t recommend it as an introductory book to understanding the four maḏhabs, however if you have a good grasp of the origins of the four maḏhabs then this book makes for an excellent read on the virtues of the School of Madinah.

For me, there is one thing that I always remember from Imam Mālik, it is his saying, “Follow what is clear [of the din] and be careful not to get sidetracked. Follow what you know and leave what you don’t know” (p.52) for “this knowledge is a din, so look to who you take your din from,” (p.53) and “The best of matters are those which are clear and evident. If you are unsure about two things, take the more reliable.” (The Four Imams, Muhammad Abu Zahra, p.32) The scrupulous nature of the Imam when it came to preserving the Sunnah leaves you in awe of him. For example, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī once put his mantle on the ground in front of him during the prayer because of the extreme heat. After the prayer, Mālik asked for the guards to take him to prison, saying, “No one should introduce into this prayer of ours what isn’t part of it,” and he wouldn’t let him go until witnesses had testified that he wasn’t a man of innovation. There are too many instances to quote the greatness of Imam Mālik to whom every single Muslim is indebted to but I’ll conclude with his statement which exemplifies his character, “I have never slept a night without seeing the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace.”