An Introduction to Imam Malik

Sidna al-Imam Malik ibn Anass (93/712-179/795), may Allah be pleased with him, the Imam of Dar al-Hijra -Madina- and the eponymous founder of the Maliki school, was born sometime between 708 and 715 in Medina, where he spent most of his life and where he died. Imam Malik studied with a number of well-known scholars of Medina and then, as his fame spread, acquired many pupils of his own. In 762 he lent the weight of his reputation to the revolt of Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya (called “the pure soul”; 145/730) against the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. When that failed, he was punished by the governor of Medina. He openly stated that Sidna Mohammed Nafs Zakiyya had more right to the title of caliphate...Continue Reading  

Maliki Influx into Morocco

Although Maliki jurisprudence was introduced as early as the second/eighth century in Ifriqiaya (present Tunisia) by the faqih Ali ibn Zayyad al-Ifriqi (d. 183/768) and others, it had not yet become the official legal school (madhab) of Idrissid Morocco. The ulama of Fez still practiced Hanafi or "Kufan" jurisprudence —founded by the Companion Sidna Abdellah ibn Masoud (may Allah be satisfied with him) in Iraq, which was favoured by the Idrissi sultans. It was only under the career of the Maliki legist Shaykh Darras ibn Ismail al-Fasi (d. 357/942) that the Maliki School predominated in Morocco since. As an advanced scholar...Continue Reading  

FIQH & SUFISM

Concept of Revitalization (tajdid) in Islam

“Man”, noted Ibn Khaldun cautions in his Muqaddima, "should not trust the suggestion that his minds makes, that it is able to comprehend all existing things and their causes and to know all the details of existence. Such a suggestion of...[More]

Moroccan Scholarly Saints

The pattern of accommodation between legalistic orthodoxy (Shari'a) and illuminist mysticism (Sufism) in Morocco was thorough and consistent both on the level of theology and in the specific institutional and personal relationships that characterised daily life. Both ulama and people...[More]