The Special Characteristics of the Mālikī Madhhab
Shaykh Muḥammad al-Ta’wīl –Scholar and Teacher at Al-Qarawiyyīn Central Mosque in Fes, Morocco
Translated by Abdullah bin Hamid Ali
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All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may mercy and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and all his companions.
All praise is due to Allah. My Benefactor! Your majesty! Commander of the Faithful! Guardian of the sanctuary of the denomination and religion, and grandson of the trustworthy Messenger, the exalted Muḥammad VI—may Allah support, aid, elevate your mention among the upright, grant you permanence as an impenetrable fortress of this secure land, a point of boast for its noble people, and a symbol of its unity and sovereignty. May He also bring delight to your eyes through your natural heir to the throne—his highness, the prince, my benefactor—Al-Ḥasan, and your brother, my benefactor—Rashīd, and to the rest of the members of the generous and noble family. Verily, He (Allah) hears and answers prayer. .
My Benefactor! Your majesty! Indeed, this is a delightful opportunity and a noble occasion that Your Majesty has conferred upon me to speak by your permission in your presence, in front of you, and in your scholarly assembly that is ennobled by your leadership. about the special characteristics of the Mālikī madhhab. This madhhab is the one that fathers and grandfathers chose out of faith, conviction, authority, and proof, and casted off all other madhhabs that preceded it which some nations attempted to impose on them forcefully. In spite of that only increased their faith, tenacity, and attention to judge from it in their devotional acts and interpersonal dealings; in their mosques, courts, market places, homes, and the rest of their private and public life. They sought out no substitute for it from the time they first came to know it. They used it to settle their disputes, unify their voices, secure their nation, and protect themselves from dispersion and disagreement due to the special qualities by which it is distinguished. that no other legal school, whether preceding it, existing beside it, or coming after it, possesses in both the field of legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh) and of law itself (fiqh).
My Benefactor! Your majesty! I have divided this lesson into an introduction and two areas of study. I have dedicated the introduction to talk about the noble prophetic tradition that has come regarding the scholar of Medina. The first area of study is dedicated to the special characteristics of the Mālikī School on the field of legal theory, while the second area of study relates to the special characteristics of the Mālikī School in the area of legislation.
In the introduction, I cover the discussion of the ḥadīth, its narrators from the Ṣaḥāba, its documenters, its chain of narration, its description, grade, explanation of its words, and the clarification of its meaning and interpretation. So, these are eight points that I will cover with extreme brevity.
As for its narrators from the Ṣaḥāba, Abū Hurayra, Abū Mūsā al-Ashʽarī, and Jābir b. ‘Abd Allāh have related it. Those who have documented it are Aḥmad, Tirmidhī, and Nasā’ī— in his Muṣannaf, Ibn ‘Abd Al-Barr— in his Tamhid, and Ibn Ḥibbān—in his Ṣaḥīḥ.
As for its chain of narration and its variant paths, it has been related with a number of chains. Qāḍi ‘Iyāḍ said, “The most popular of them is Sufyān b. ‘Uyayna from Ibn Jurayj from Abū Al-Zubayr from Abū Ṣāliḥ from Abū Hurayra. The transmitters of this chain are all reliable and well-known. Bukhārī, Muslim, and the authors of the Sunans report ḥadīths on their authority. Nasā’ī reports it by way of Muḥammad b. Kathīr, and said in its regard, “From Ibn Jurayj from Abū al-Zinād.” Nasā’ī said, “This is an error. The correct view is “Abū Al-Zubayr in place of Abū Ṣāliḥ.”