A Simple Guide to ISLAM
Fiqh – Jurisprudence
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However this does not mean that Imam Malik or his followers
rejected all those traditions which were not accompanied by
practice. Their stand was to follow the traditions that were
practised generally, without discrediting other traditions. Imam
Malik observed: “The hadith is there but we do not know what it
really means.”
We must therefore refrain from concluding that Imam Malik and his
followers gave preference to traditions from the Companions over
traditions from the Prophet. It was in actual fact not a matter of
preferences but it was a matter of the proper channel to approach
the ideal sunnah. That is why Imam Malik considers the practice of
Madinah as one of the strongest source of law.
Al-Muwatta
(The Path Made Smooth) is the chief work of Imam
Malik. This book is the basis of the Malikite school of
jurisprudence. It deals not only with the sayings of the Prophet, but
also with the opinions of several famous jurists of Madinah. It also
contains Imam Malik’s personal views on various matters of Islamic
law.
To Imam Malik the practice of Madinah is the primary source, and
ijma
(consensus) and
ra‘y
(opinion) is the secondary source.
Imam Malik has attempted to codify and systematise the customary
law of Madinah. The
Muwatta
, being the earliest collection of
Hadith and the first book of law, represents the earliest stage of
literary development which was common to both fiqh and hadith.
The Maliki school of law is dominant in the Arab west and is also
found in southern Egypt and Sudan.
