"Vested with Authority" The relation between the Mālik b. Anās and Abū Ja’far al-Mansūr

“How many of the gardens and fountains have they left! And cornfields and noble places! And goodly things wherein they rejoiced; Thus (it was), and We gave them as a heritage to another people.”

(Al-Dukhān 44:25-28)

Mālik ibn Anās is recognized as the founder of the Māliki school of law and as the author of al-Muwatta, Islam’s earliest existing comprehensive collection of ahādīth that outlines Islamic rulings. His contribution to Islamic sciences is undeniable, and he is known by all students of Islam. His life was not however spent in complete isolation from the community, and he took part in the political events that shaped his surroundings. In particular his relation to the Abbasid caliphate is an ambiguous one, where he at one point resisted them he later became the head jurist of Medina and the favoured one of the Abbasids, to a point where it was declard “lā yuftā wa Mālik fil Madīnah”.[1] Abu Ja’far al-Mansūr was the determined leader of the Abbasids who strengthened the Abbasid kingdom and set to start what was to be known as the golden age of the Abbasid caliphate. In this time of relative prosperity and security Mansūr managed to devote time and resources to scholarly activities and he was known for his enthusiasm for learning and supporting scholars and poets alike. We shall attempt to examine the relation between these two men and the institutions that they headed, and how the fate of these two were intertwined.

Mālik ibn Anās ibn Mālik ibn `Amr Abu `Abd Allāh al-Humyārī al-Asbāhī al-Madanī was born in, or near, Medina around the year 93 (between 90 – 97)[2] AH to a family who had originally moved in from Yemen in the time of his great-grandfather Abū Amīr who was a tābi’ī (successor)[3] if not a companion. Mālik’s grandfather, ibn Abī Amīr, was a known scholar and muhaddith of his time who partook in the copying of the ‘Uthmānī Qur’ān, and had good-relations with the third caliph partaking in the conquests of North Africa and aiding in his burial arrangements at his demise.[4]

Mālik began studying at a young age of 11, when his mother ‘dressed him in the clothes of knowledge’ and studied under ‘Abdallāh ibn Yazīd ibn Hurmūz, one of the great scholars of his time.[5] Mālik recalls ibn Hurmūz of taking part in the revolt of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdallāh ibn Hasan (known as al-Nafs al-Zakīyah, or “the Pure Soul”) and his meetings with him: “I would go see ibn Hurmūz, and he would command a slave girl to bolt the door and to lower the curtain. Then he would reminisce about the early days of this ummah[6] and weep until his beard was wet.”[7] Al-Tabarī also relates concerning ibn Hurmūz joining the revolt of al-Nafs al-Zakīyah: “someone said to him, ‘By God, there’s no fight left in you!’ ‘I’m well aware of that,’ he replied, ‘yet some ignorant fellow may see me and follow my example.’”[8] No doubt Mālik was much affected by the teachings of his shaykh and his ideas of an Islamic revival. Perhaps this is what fostered an anti-institution attitude in Mālik, and it is said that he supported the revolt of al-Nafs al-Zakīyah himself as well.[9]

As it were, he grew up to be a recognized scholar of his community and a famed teacher before his thirties.[10] Mālik began to attract attention and not before long he had a large following of students surrounding him in the Mosque of the Holy Prophet (s) in Medina.[11] Mālik “was tall, heavyset, imposing of stature, very fair, with white hair and beard but bald, with a huge beard and blue eyes; he "detested and condemned" shaving of the moustache, and he always wore beautiful clothes, especially white.”[12] Ibn Khallikān further details him as “a tall, well attired man of ruddy complexion with a balding forehead, who neither shaved his moustache or dyed his grey hair.”[13] It was Mālik who was said to be the scholar predicted by the al-hadīth al-sharīf: “The time is nigh when people will strike the livers of their camels in search of knowledge, but they will not find any ‘ālim[14] more knowledgeable than the ‘ālim of Medina.”[15]

Mālik was extremely pious and rigorous in his methodology of teachings and transmitting ahādīth, he would always be in a state of ritual purity before doing so[16], and would lower his voice, “the Prophet’s sacredness is in death is as his sacredness was in life” [17] he would insist.

As he grew older he began to withdraw from the community; Ibn Sa’d narrates from ibn ‘Umar: “Malik used to come to the Mosque and pray the prayers and the Jum`a[18], as well as the funeral prayers. He used to visit the sick and sit in the Mosque where his companions would come and see him. Then he quit sitting there, instead he would pray and leave, and he quit attending the funeral prayers. Then he quit everything, neither attending the prayers nor the Jum`a in the mosque. Nor would he visit anyone who was sick or other than that. The people bore with it, for they were extremely fond of him and respected him too much. This lasted until he died. If asked about it, he said: ‘Not everyone can mention his excuse.’"[19] Although some mention that it was due to urinary incontinence.[20] However, the reason he gave to Abu Mus’ab is more likely to be true: “Lest I see something reprehensible and be obligated to change it.”[21] It seems that Mālik did not agree with the direction that the society around him was taking, and this was a reflection of his desire for an Islamic revival as proposed by his teacher ibn Hurmūz. He never however stopped teaching hadīth, or fiqh (Islamic law).

Abu Ja’far al-Mansūr bi Allāh was the second caliph to rule the Abbasid caliphate after the successful uprising of the musawwidah[22] movement of Khurasan toppled the Umayyad dynasty, and the rise to power of Abu al-‘Abbās al-Saffāh. Mansūr, thanks to his father’s efforts, was to rule in the fortunate aftermath of consolidated Abbasid power and due to this relative calm was able to pay more attention to what was going on at the ground level of his empire.

As the Abbasids had come to power under the slogan of “Al-ridhā min āli Muhammad”, or the promise to give power back to the family of Muhammad (s), they attempted to reconcile the ‘Alid families by honoring them and granting them high pensions. However not all the shia’ were satisfied with Abbasid rule, particularly al-Nafs al-Zakīyah, whose revolt gained a short-time control of Medina, whilst his brother Ibrāhīm carried out similar plans in Basra.[23]

It was to Mālik that people came to inquire the legal permissibility (sharī’ah-wise) of joining the revolt of al-Nafs al-Zakīyah, since they had already given their bay’ah, or pledge of allegiance, to the Abbasids. Mālik, drawing a comparison to forcing someone to divorce (making the divorce invalid), said that: “‘You gave the oath of allegiance only under compulsion. A sworn contract is not incumbent upon anyone who had been coerced.’ At this, the people hurried off to join Muhammad, but Mālik stayed at home.”[24] It seems that Mālik, whilst willing to offer his legal support, did not see it necessary to join the 300 who fought by the side of al-Nafs al-Zakīyah. It is here where he differed with the view of his mentor ibn Hurmūz. To Mālik the role of the jurist was a scholarly one, rather than one who partook in political events, his advice to the people was one of juridical nature, that is that joining the revolt of al-Nafs al-Zakīyah was permissible. This would go far in explaining as to why Mālik later came into terms with the Abbasid government, because he did not openly oppose them as such. It is reported from Abu Zayd b. Abi al-Ghamr asking Abd al-Rahmān b. al-Qāsim:

“Did Mālik come out (in open rebellion) on the day that Muhammad came out (in rebellion)?, he said, I said: He did not come out. He said: I do not think that he saw something that pleased him. I said: Did he (Mālik) use to say we shall be rewarded by praying behind them (that is the imāms of the Abbasids) during the Friday prayers? He said: Yes (he did).”[25] Mālik was more interested in his scholarly work than in the political arena, however as a famed scholar to whom people looked up to, he had a lot of political leverage of which Mansūr was not unaware, and which he tried much to use in his advantage.

Mālik was however disciplined for his support of the uprising. It is mentioned that Mansūr forbade him to spread the hadīth that the divorce of the coerced is invalid, but after his refusal he was flogged for this by the governor of Medina and shaved (a thing which he thoroughly detested) and paraded around the city on a donkey.[26] Ibn Bukayr narrates that his was due to his preference of ‘Uthmān over ‘Ali (as)[27], something that might reflect the connection between their two families since the time of his great-grandfather, but is unlikely to be true as many other scholars were of this opinion as well and faced no such humiliation and punishment. Although the policy of pleasing the ‘Alids that the Abbasids had undertaken might justify penalizing those who support the Umayyads.

Be as it may the event of flogging Mālik did not permanently sour his relations with Mansūr, and it was Mansūr’s secretary of state ibn al-Mukhaffa’ who advised him to unify the laws of the caliphate under a single juridical code,[28] a problem considering that sometimes a single city had different laws operating in different sections. Therefore Mansūr turned to Mālik with a proposal to gather all of his knowledge into one book, which would then be enforced on the whole empire. Mālik refused saying that because the companions of the Prophet (s) had migrated to different parts of the Muslim world and taught their view of Islam it would be improper and unfeasible to impose the views of the Medinan school of law on the whole empire, he also feared the misuse of his ideas by the caliph whom he did not fully trust, however this idea of compiling a book with all his knowledge was to be the seed for the making of the Muwatta.[29] Mālik’s students continued to have an influence in the courts of the Abbasids and his pupil Yahyā ibn Sa’īd was made the chief qādhī (judge) of Baghdad.[30]

Mālik was always first and foremost a scholar of Islam, with a passion for learning and spreading true Islamic teachings. He inherited an interest in political affairs from his teacher ibn Hurmūz, but never took part in them in the same way. To him knowledge came first. As he aged he increasingly withdrew from society around him and kept to his circle of students whom he taught with passion. Despite attracting the attention of the caliph he never succumbed to his demands and remained steadfast in his course, to the extent that when Hārūn al-Rashīd asked Mālik to teach him and his children he replied “Knowledge does not travel but is traveled to,” [31] subsequently the caliph and his children came to him. His contribution to Islam is an ever living one and upon his death all shops were closed and his 400 students mourned his passing away for an entire year.[32] Mālik passed away in the year 179 AH in Medina.[33]

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[1] Dutton, Yasin, The Origins of Islamic Law: The Qur’an , the Muwatta’ and Madinan ‘amal, p. 15

[2] Dien, Mawil Izzi, Islamic Law: From historical foundations to contemporary practice, p. 16

[3] The generation preceding the companions of the Prophet (s), ie. Anyone who met a companion of the Prophet (s)

[4] Dutton, Yasin, The Origins of Islamic Law, p. 11

[5] Ibid. p. 12

[6] Islamic community

[7] Al-Tabarī, The History of al-Tabarī V. XXVIII: Abbasid Authority Affirmed, Jane Dammen McAuliffe (trans.), p. 216

[8] Ibid. p. 216-217

[9] Liyakat, Takim N., The Heirs of the Prophet: Charisma and religious authority in Shi’ite Islam, p. 13

[10] Dutton, Yasin, The Origins of Islamic Law, p. 12

[11] Ibid. p. 15

[12] Haddad, Gibril F., Imam Malik (art.) found at: http://sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/malik.htm

[13] Waines, David, An Introduction to Islam, p. 66 - 67

[14] Scholar

[15] Dutton, Yasin, The Origins of Islamic Law, p. 15 narrated in Tirmidhi amongst others

[16] Waines, David, An Introduction to Islam, p. 67

[17] Haddad, Gibril F., Imam Malik (art.)

[18] Friday prayer

[19] Ibid.

[20] Salahi, Adil, Imam Malik ibn Anas (art.) found at: http://www.muslim-heritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=471

[21] Haddad, Gibril F., Imam Malik (art.)

[22] Lit. “those who dress in black”, the name given to the revolutionary movement

[23] Kennedy, Hugh, The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates¸ p. 131 - 2

[24] Al-Tabarī, The History of al-Tabarī V. XXVIII, p. 156

[25] Amikam, Elad, The Rebellion of Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allāh b. al-Hasan, in James E. Montogomery (ed.), Abbasid Studies: Occasional papers of the school of Abbasid studies, p. 188

[26] Ibid. p. 189

[27] Ibid.

[28] Schacht, Joseph, An Introduction to Islamic Law, p. 55

[29] Dutton, Yasin, The Origins of Islamic Law, p. 15

[30] Hallaq, Wael B., The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law, p. 182

[31] Nigosian, S. A., Islam: It’s history , teaching and practices, p. 86 - 7

[32] Totah, Khalil A., The Contribution of Arabs to Education, p. 39

[33] Meri, Joseph W., Medieval Islamic Civilization: An encyclopedia, p. 468

Bibliography

· Kennedy, Hugh, The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates¸ Essex: Longman Group Limited (1986)

· Dien, Mawil Izzi, Islamic Law: From historical foundations to contemporary practice, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2004)

· Dutton, Yasin, The Origins of Islamic Law: The Qur’an , the Muwatta’ and Madinan ‘amal, Richmond: Curzon Press (1999)

· Al-Tabarī, The History of al-Tabarī V. XXVIII: Abbasid Authority Affirmed, Jane Dammen McAuliffe (trans.), Albany: State University of New York Press (1995)

· Amikam, Elad, The Rebellion of Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allāh b. al-Hasan, in James E. Montogomery (ed.), Abbasid Studies: Occasional papers of the school of Abbasid studies, Peeters Publishers (2004)

· Waines, David, An Introduction to Islam, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2003)

· Liyakat, Takim N., The Heirs of the Prophet: Charisma and religious authority in Shi’ite Islam, SUNY Press (2006)

· Meri, Joseph W., Medieval Islamic Civilization: An encyclopedia, Taylor and Francis (2006)

· Schacht, Joseph, An Introduction to Islamic Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press (1982)

· Hallaq, Wael B., The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press( 2005)

· Nigosian, S. A., Islam: It’s history , teaching and practices, Indian University Press (2003)

· Totah, Khalil A., The Contribution of Arabs to Education, Gorgias Press LLC (2002)

· Haddad, Gibril F., Imam Malik (art.) found at: http://sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/malik.htm

· Salahi, Adil, Imam Malik ibn Anas (art.) found at: http://www.muslim-heritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=471