Malik ibn Anas Al-assbahi, the founder of the Maliki school of thought, was born in Madinah in 93 A.H, corresponding to 712 A.D. His parents were Arabs of Yemeni descent. His tribe, Assbah, still lives in Yemen. His grandfather, who bore the same name, Malik, arrived in Madinah to complain to the Caliph against the governor, but decided to settle in Madinah, where he met a number of the Prophet’s companion, and learnt from those who were known for their scholarly standing, such as Umar ibn Al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, Aisha, Talha and many others. Thus, he became well-known as a scholar. He taught the young grandson, Malik, with the best platform to pursue his natural inclination to study.
Malik first sought to memorise the Quran, which he soon did. He then suggested to his family that he should attend scholars’ circles to write down the Hadith (sayings/doings of the Prophet Mohammed, pbuh) and Fiqh (Islamic law). They welcomed that, particularly his mother, who took extra care of his appearance, helping him to dress in his best attire, and directing him to whom he should study. She encouraged him to attend the circle of Rabi’ah ibn Abdurrahman, who was renowned for exercising scholarly discretion. Malik learnt from him this highly commendable approach, particularly because it was restrained with commitment to the hadith and the Quran.
Malik provided a great example of a student eager to improve his knowledge and achieve a standard of excellence in his scholarship. He would go to Nafi’, one of his teachers, waiting for him until he came out of his house; he would wait outside in very hot temperatures, having no shade. When Nafi’ came out, Malik would follow him, without accosting him at first, until he had walked some distance. He would then greet him and keep quiet. When he approached his destination, he would ask him one or two questions, learn the answers and memorise them.
Malik was very selective in his choice of teachers. He was keen to study under Az-Zuhri, the first specialised scholar of hadith who had studied under Saeed ibn Al-Mussayib and other celebrated scholars of the Tabi’een generation that succeeded the Prophet’s (pbuh – peace be upon him) companions. Malik reports that on one Eid day, he thought that Az-Zuhri would be free, so he went to his home and waited at his door. He heard him asking his maid to find out who was at the door. When she told him that it was Malik, he told her to let him in. He asked him: “I see that you have not gone home yet……Would you like to have something to eat?” Malik said, “No. I would only like you to teach me some hadith.” Az-Zuhri told him to take out his sheets and dictated to him 40 hadiths. Malik requested more, but the teacher said, “That should be enough for you. If you learn these well, you are a great learner.”
Rabi’ah ibn Abdurrahman was one of Malik’s teachers, as we have already mentioned. He was nicknamed Rabi’ah Ar-rai, which means ‘the-point-of-view’. This is a reference to the fact that he exercised scholarly discretion to a much greater extent than many scholars in Madinah would have liked. In Islamic scholarship, there have always been two trends. The first limits all efforts to learning the texts of the Quran and hadith, understanding their meanings, and stopping at that. The other trend tries to go deeper into the texts to understand their wider applicability and to reconcile what may appear to be a conflict between the two texts.