The Muwatta of Imam Muhammad

Imam Malik composed the

Muwatta’

over a period of forty years to represent the “well-trodden path” of the people of Madina. Its name also means that it is the book that is “many times agreed upon”— about whose contents the people of Madina were unanimously agreed—and that is “made easy and facilitated”. Its high standing is such that people of every school of fiqh and all of the imams of hadith scholarship agree upon its authenticity. Imam Shafi’i said, “There is not on the face of the earth—after the Book of Allah—a book which is more

sahih

than the book of Malik.” Shah Wali Allah Dihlawi (1114-1176 AH) said, “My breast expanded and I became certain that the Muwatta’ is the most sahih book to be found on the earth after the Book of Allah.”

Imam Malik

Imam Malik is the imam of the imams, the leader of the people of knowledge of Madinah, Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi ‘Amir al-Asbahi al-Madani, born in 94 AH, 95 AH or even 99 AH. He was called the Man of Knowledge of Madina. People of knowledge understood that it was him the Prophet saw indicated in the hadith from Abu Hurayra, “People will soon beat the livers of their camels [in travelling in search of knowledge] but they will not find a man of knowledge more knowledgeable than the man of knowledge of Madina.” Among his pupils were the Imams Sufyan ath-Thawri, Sa’id ibn Mansur, ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Awza’i who was older than him, Layth ibn Sa’d who was one of his peers, Imam ash-Shafi’i, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, the Malikis ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi, Ibn Wahb, and Dhu’n-Nun al-Misri. He died in 179 AH on the morning of the 14th of Rabi’ al-Awwal.

Publisher:
Turath Publishing
Author: Imam Muhammad ibn al Hasan al Shaybani, Translated by Mohammed Abdurrahman & Abdassamad Clarke
Binding: Paper Back