بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

20 Raj’ab 1444 AH  (Sunday, 29 January, 2023)

Issues that Will Be Discussed in the Lessons of Muqaddimah

There are many additional points that are pertinent and related to the Muwaṭṭa, but we would rather suffice by elaborating on those points in the lessons of Muqaddimah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāh, rather than going into detail here, and then repeating them when we have to present commentary on the text of ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ.

Amongst other issues, we will postpone the discussion and detail regarding the following:

• • Narrations that Imām Mālik quotes in the Muwaṭṭa with missing links in the chain and the Balāghāt of the Muwaṭṭa
  • A Comparison between the Muwaṭṭa and Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī; which is more authentic
  • Proofs that the Muwaṭṭa has the privilege of being the first book to be written on Ṣaḥīḥ narrations, and not Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.

Merits and Specialities of The Muwaṭṭa

Being written by such an expert, there are numerous merits and a lot of specialties of the Muwaṭṭa:

• • It was the absolute first book to gather only authentic narrations

Imām Mālik was:

1. An authority in determining authentic narrations

‘Abdur Raḥmān Ibn Mahdī (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) said:

ما أقدم مالك في صحة الحديث أحداً. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك   – 1 / 63)

“No one could surpass Mālik in the authenticity of Aḥādīth.” (Tartīb al-Madārik – 1 / 63)

He would not make mistakes or incorrectly grade a narration as authentic, whereas the reality is that it is a weak narration.

Yaḥyā ibn Sa’īd al-Qaṭṭān mentioned:

ما في القوم أصح حديثاً من مالك. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك – 1 / 64)

 “No one amongst the people has (transmitted Aḥādīth) more authentic than Mālik.” (Tartīb al-Madārik- 1 / 64)

These are great Muḥaddithūn who are testifying on his behalf. They had his narrations in front of them, and they knew well what was authentic and what was not. Moreover, their claim is with Ism Tafḍīl. They are emphasising that Imām Māliks narrations are the most authentic.  Again, they knew well the narrations of all the others, hence, their comparison is fair.

When scholars of this calibre make claims like these, then they indeed hold a lot of merit.

2. Very strict in what he narrated in general and he would very selectively choose any narration that he would normally narrate.

Ismā’īl Ibn Abī Uwais (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) said:

سمعت خالي مالك بن أنس يقول ان هذا العلم دين فانظروا عمن تأخذون دينكم لقد أدركت سبعين ممن يقول: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عند هذه الأساطين ، وأشار الى مسجد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم،  فما أخذت عنهم شيئا ، وان أحدهم لو اؤتمن على بيت مال لكان أمينا إلا أنهم لم يكونوا من أهل هذا الشأن وقدم علينا ابن شهاب فكنا نزدحم على بابه (الإنتقاء في فضائل الثلاثة الأئمة الفقهاء – ص: 46)

“I heard my uncle Mālik bin Anas saying, ‘Indeed this knowledge is the religion, so be wary of who you attain it from. I have met seventy of those who quote the Messenger of Allāh by these pillars – and he indicated to the Masjid of the Messenger of Allāh – but I have not taken any knowledge from them. If one of them had to be appointed in charge of the Bayt al-Māl (public treasury), he would most definitely be trustworthy, but they are not from the people of this matter (science). Ibn Shihāb came to us and we would crowd at his door.” (Al-Intiqā – 46)

Imām ‘Alī ibn al-Madīnī (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) said:

إذا حدث مالك عن رجل من أهل المدينة ولا تعرفه فهو حجة، لأنه كان ينتقي. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك – 1 / 68)

‘Allāmah Abū Bakr al-Isbahāni (347 – 428) said:

وكان أول من انتقى الرجال من الفقهاء بالمدينة وأعرض عمن ليس ثقة في الحديث ولم يكن يروي إلا ما صح ولا يحدث إلا عن ثقة مع الفقه والدين والعقل والنسك رضي الله عنه (رجال مسلم – 2 / 220)

“He was the first from the jurists of Madīnah who carefully selected narrators and discarded those who were untrustworthy, and who would not narrate except that which was authentic and would be very specific to only narrate from trustworthy narrators, who also possessed knowledge in jurisprudence and religion, and intelligence and asceticism – may Allāh be pleased with him.” (Rijāl Muslim – 2 / 220)

Since he was an authority and expert, it is fine to blindly follow him. In his introduction of At-Tamhīd, ‘Allāmah bn ‘Abd al-Barr mentioned:

لعلم الإسناد طرق يصعب سلوكها على من لم يصل بعنايته اليها ، ويقطع كثيرا من أيامه فيها ، ومن اقتصر على حديث مالك رحمه الله، فقد كفى تعب التفتيش والبحث ، ووضع يده من ذلك على عروة وثقى لا تنفصم ، لأن مالكا قد انتقد وانتقى وخلص ، ولم يرو إلا عن ثقة حجة ….(مقدمة التمهيد – المطبوع في خمس رسائل – ص: 143)

“The knowledge of Isnād has different methods that are challenging to attain if not approached with special attention, and if he does not dedicate a large portion from his time towards it. But whoever confines himself to the narrations of Mālik, may Allāh shower His mercy on him, then he has sufficed himself from the strenuous task of inspecting and researching, and he has grasped an unbreakable handle, because verily Mālik has analysed, carefully selected and thus concluded. And he specifically only narrated from reliable narrators that were considered to be a Ḥujjah.” (Muqaddimah at-Tamhīd – 143)

3. Would discard a narration on the slightest doubt

If Imām Mālik (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) had a shred of doubt on the authenticity of a narration, he would rather not narrate it.  He would prefer to err on the side of caution. Imām ash-Shāfi’ī said:

كان مالك إذا شك في الحديث طرحه كله. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك – 1 / 73)

“If Mālik doubted any narration, he discarded it totally.” (Tartīb al-Madārik – 1 / 73)

There three reason are enough for one to accept narrations from Imām Mālik. However, in addition to the above three points, Imām Mālik exercised more caution and added additional stringent laws and strict principles for what he narrated in the Muwaṭṭa.

After that initial precaution, he continuously edited it year after year.

Qāḍi Ibān ibn al-Muntāb (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) says:

أن مالكا روى مائة ألف حديث جمع منه في موطئه عشرة آلاف ثم لم يزل يعرضها على الكتاب والسنة ويختبرها بالآثار والأخبار [ حتى وصلت ] إلى خمسمائة (النكت للزركشي – 1 / 194)

“Mālik narrated a hundred thousand narrations, from which he gathered ten thousand, then he continuously reviewed it and compared it with the Qurān and Sunnah and cross-checked it with Āthār and Akhbār (until it reached) five hundred.” (An-Nukat liz-Zarkashī – 2 / 196)

قال عتيق الزبيري: وضع مالك الموطأ على نحو من عشرة آلاف حديث فلم يزل ينظر فيه سَنة ويسقط منه حتى بقي هذا ولو بقي قليلاً لأسقطه كله. يعني تحرياً. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك – 1 / 102)

ʿAtīq az-Zubayrī said, “Mālik compiled the initial Muwaṭṭa with approximately ten thousand Aḥādīth, then continued looking through it yearly, and deleting from it until this remained. And if he remained for a little while longer, he would have deleted it all, out of caution.” (Tartīb al-Madārik – 1 / 102)

Due to this, at the time of his death, thousands of narrations were found in the possession of Imām Mālik, and most of those narrations are not in the Muwaṭṭa. Ibn Farḥūn quotes

ولما مات مالك رحمه الله تعالى خرجت كتبه فأصيب فيها فناديق عن ابن عمر رضى الله تعالى عنهما ليس في ‌الموطأ منه شيء إلا حديثين. الديباج المذهب في معرفة أعيان علماء المذهب (1 / 112)

Considering the aforementioned, very senior Muḥaddithīn went through the Muwaṭṭa, and they realised that they can safely conclude that everything is indeed authentic. Ibn ‘Uyaynah (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) said:

ما نحن عند مالك، إنما كنا نتبع آثار مالك، وننظر الشيخ، إن كان كتب عنه مالك، كتبنا عنه. (سير أعلام النبلاء – 8 / 73)

“What are we in front of Mālik! We simply just follow the footsteps of Mālik and we would observe the Shaykh; if Mālik wrote from him, we too would document from him.” (Siyar A’lām an-Nubalā- 8 / 73)

Hence, Imām Mālik could very confidently tell the person who asked him about a particular narrator that if that narrator is in his books, it would mean that he is reliable. Bishr ibn ‘Umayr (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) quotes him saying:

هل رأيته فى كتبي؟ قلت لا ، قال: لو كان ثقة لرأيته في كتبي (الإنتقاء في فضائل الثلاثة الأئمة الفقهاء – ص:47)

“Have you seen him in my books?” I replied, “No.” He said, “If he was trustworthy, you would see him in my books.” (Al-Al-Intiqā- 47)

Imām Shāfi’ī testified:

ما أعلم شيئا بعد كتاب الله أصح من موطأ مالك. (مناقب الشافعي للبيهقي – 1 / 507)

“I do not know of any book, after the Book of Allāh, which is more precise than the Muwaṭṭa of Mālik.” (Manāqib ash-Shāfiʾī lil-Bayhaqī – 1 / 507)

A master of Ḥādīth, ‘Abdur Raḥmān ibn Mahdi (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him), mentioned the same. Qāḍhi ‘Iyāḍh (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) relates that he said:

لا أعلم من علم الإسلام بعد القرآن أصح من موطأ مالك. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك – 1 / 101)

“After the Qurān, I don’t know of any other Islāmic knowledge which is more authentic than the Muwaṭṭa of Mālik.” (Tartīb al-Madārik – 1 / 101)

The very great critic and scholar, Abū Zur’ah (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) said:

لو حلف رجل بالطلاق على أحاديث مالك التي بالموطأ أنها صحاح كلها لم يحنث، ولو حلف على حديث غيره كان حانثاً. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك – 1 / 103)

“If a man takes an oath of divorce on (the fact that) the Aḥādīth transmitted by Mālik in the Muwaṭṭa is all authentic then his oath would not break, however if he takes an oath on any other book then he’s oath will break.” (Tartīb al-Madārik- 1 / 103)

• • The book became Mutawātir (widely circulated throughout the world) in the life of Imām Mālik.

Since there were no publishing houses in that time, it took a good few decades, and even a century or two for every other book to reach countries on the other end of the world. However, the Muwatta already spread worldwide in the life of the author. The transmitters were from different parts of the world:

Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā at-Tamimī was from Afghanistan, `Ali ibn Ziyad was in Tunis, Yahya bin Yahya hailed from Cordoba, al-Qa`nabi lived in Basra (or perhaps Makka), Suwayd ibn al-Hadithah in northern Iraq, Abu Mus`ab in Madina, and Ibn Bukayr, Ibn al-Qasim and Ibn Wahb were all in Egypt.

• • It was the first books to be put in the sequence of the chapter of Fiqh.
  • The author was from the Atbā’ at-Tābi’īn

Shāh Waliyy Allāh (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) mentioned:

فلا يخفى أنه لا يوجد اليوم كتاب من مؤلفات إمام من تبع التابعين غير الموطأ (تسهيل دراية الموطأ – ص: 18)

“It is clear that there is no book that exists today from the writings of an Imām who followed the Tābiʿīn other than the Muwaṭṭa.” (Tashīl Dirāyah al-Muwaṭṭa – 18)

This refers to major Ḥadīth collections to be circulated widely, otherwise the Ṣaḥīfah of Hammām ibn Munabbih (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) was written even before.

• • The Muwaṭṭa set the standard and became a model for those who came thereafter.

Since it was the first book to be written in this style and sequence, the authors after Imām Mālik used his model. Shaykh ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) writes:

أنه من مؤلفات منتصف القرن الثاني من الهجرة، فهو سابق غير مسبوق بمثله، إذ هو أول كتاب في بابه، وللسابق فضل ومزية، إذ هو الإمام الذي سن التأليف الحديثي على أبواب الفقه، واقتدى به المؤتمون من ورائه مثل عبد الله بن المبارك، والبخاري، ومسلم، وسعيد بن منصور، وأبي داود، والترمذي، والنسائي، وابن ماجه وسواهم.

فهو بسبق حائز تفضيلا * مستوجب ثناءنا الجميلا (تقدمة التعليق الممجد على موطأ محمد – 1 / 22)

“It is of the writings of the middle of the second century after the Hijrah. He is thus unprecedented with such a work. 

As it is the first book in its field, the pioneer has virtue and merit, for he is the Imām who enacted Ḥadīth compositions under jurispudic chapters. His method was then adhered to by personalities such as ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak, Bukhārī, Muslim, Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr, Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī, Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah and others.

Superior is he for his preceding

Of beautiful tribute deserving.”

(Taqdimah at-Taʾlīq al-Mumajjad – 1 / 22)

 ‘Allāmah Ibn al-‘Arabī (May Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) says:

إعلموا – أنار الله أفئدتكم – أن كتاب الجعفي هو الأصل الثاني في هذا الباب والموطأ هو الأول. (عارضة الأحوذي – ص: 5)

“Take note – may Allāh enlighten your hearts – that the Book of Juʾfī is the second origin in this chapter and the Muwaṭṭa is the first.” (ʿĀriḍah al-Aḥwadhī – 5)

• • People are unanimous on the high caliber of the author

Shāh Waliullāh (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) explained that there is consensus on the greatness of the author:

ولا يوجد كتاب اتفق أهل الحديث على جلالة قدر مصنفه مثل الموطأ (تسهيل دراية الموطأ – ص: 18)

“There is no book in which the people of ḥadīth agree on the magnificence of its compiler like the Muwaṭṭa.” (Tashīl Dirāyah al-Muwaṭṭa – 18)

• • Since the author was an expert in Ḥadīth and in Fiqh, he knew well which narrations pertaining to Fiqh would be perfect for his book.
  • (As an outcome of point 7) Seventy of the Fuqahā of that glorious era examined and approved of his book.
  • (As an outcome of point 7) A person who studies the Muwaṭṭa well will gain Faqāhah:

كذلك تيقَّنْت أن طريق الإجتهاد وتحصيل الفقه (بمعنى معرفة أحكام الشريعة من أدلتها التفصيلية) مسدود اليوم (على من رام التحقيق) إلاَّ من وجه واحد، وهو أن يجعل المحقِّق الموطّأ نصب عينيه (تسهيل دراية الموطّأ في كتاب المسوّي شرح الموطّأ – 29)

“I was certain that the way of Ijtihād and acquiring Fiqh (in the sense of recognising the rulings from the elaborate evidences) is barricaded today (for those who aim to research further) except through one facet: which is that the investigator makes the Muwaṭṭa his core focus. (Tashīl Dirāyah al-Muwaṭṭa – 29)

Hence, ‘Allāmah ibn ‘Asākir (d. 571 AH) quotes in Kashf al-Mughaṭṭā fī Faḍl al-Muwaṭṭa with his chain to Imām ash-Shāfi’ī (may Allāh Ta’ālā be pleased with them both) that he said:

ما نظرت في موطأ مالك إلا ازددت منه فهما وعلما (كشف المغطا في فضل الموطا – ص: 12)

“I did not contemplate on the Muwaṭṭa except that my understanding and knowledge increased tremendously.” (Kashf al-Mughaṭṭā – 12)

• • The calibre of students who narrate the Muwaṭṭa range from Fuqahā, Muḥaddithūn, to even Mujtahids. 

Even Imām Muḥammad dedicated around three years of his life to go and study the Muwaṭṭa.

قال الشافعي: قال محمد بن الحسن: أقمت عند مالك ثلاث سنين وكسرا، وسمعت من لفظه أكثر من سبع مئة حديث،(سير أعلام النبلاء – 8 / 75)

“Ash-Shāfi’ī said: Muḥammad Ibn al-Ḥasan said: “I lived with Mālik for three years and a while more, and I heard him utter more than seven hundred Aḥādīth.” (Siyar A’lām an-Nubalā – 8 / 75)

• • This book has been unanimously passed on from generation to generation with Tawātur.

This is appreciated when considering how other books were transmitted. Shaykh Muṣṭafā al-Aʿḍamī writes about Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:

وإذا رسمنا شجرة الرواة نجد أن الكتاب اشتهر عن طريق الفربري، مع أن هناك عدة روايات قد اندثرت. وكذلك صحيح مسلم فقد انتشر الكتاب عن طريق تلميذين له، وهكذا بقية الكتب الستة. أما الموطأ فقد انتشر في حياة مالك رحمه الله ووصل من أفغانستان إلى الأندلس، وقد رواه ما يقارب مائة شخص، وقد مات من هؤلاء الرواة بعضهم قبل وفاة الإمام مالك بعشرين سنة تقريبا. (تقدمة الأعظمي على الموطأ 1 / 188)

“If we draw up the chain of narrators, we find that the book (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī) became famous through Firabrī, although there are many narrations that have been lost. Likewise, the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim was spread through two of his students. similar are the rest of the Six Books. As for the Muwaṭṭa, it spread during the life of Mālik- may Allāh have mercy on him- Its reach extended from Afghanistan to Andalusia, transmitted by approximately one hundred narrators. Some of these narrators passed away nearly twenty years before the demise of Imām Mālik.” (Taqdimah al-Aʿḍamī ʿAlā al-Muwaṭṭa – 1 / 188)

When something gets transmitted in this way, it becomes as if we got the book directly from the author. In Fawātiḥ ar-Raḥamūt, it is mentioned:

بل التواتر كالمشافهة في إفادة العلم ، ومن ثم كان ثلاثيات البخاري رباعيات لنا ، لأن صحيحه متواتر عنه ، فكأنا سمعنا من البخاري ، فلم يزد إلا واسطة واحدة ، وهي نفسه فتدبر (فواتح الرحموت – 2 /145)  

“Rather, Tawātur is on par with attaining a narration in person in conveying conviction. Hence the Thulāthiyyāt (narrations with three links) of al-Bukhārī are Rubāʿiyyāt (with four links) for us, this is because his Ṣaḥīḥ is narrated Mutawātir from him, it is as if we have heard it directly from al-Bukhārī, he only added one medium, which is himself.” (Fawātiḥ ar-Raḥamūt – 2 / 145)

• • All scholars, irrespective of their background or what school of thought they follow, praised this book and respected and revered this noble work.

أنه أطبق العلماء على الثناء عليه وتبجيله، وكثر كلامهم في مدحه وتقريظه (تقدمة التعليق الممجد على موطأ محمد – 1 / 21)

“The scholars concur in their frequent and abundant praise and veneration of it.” (Taqdimah at-Taʾlīq al-Mumajjad – 1 / 21)

For example, Imām Shāfi’ī called it: ‘The best book.’ Abūl Qāsim ad-Dimashqī narrates with his chain to Imām ash-Shāfi’ī (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) that he said:

ما أعلم كتابا بعد كتاب الله أولى من كتاب الموطأ (كشف المغطا في فضل الموطا – ص: 39)

“I do not know of any book, after the Book of Allāh which is more favorable than the Muwaṭṭa.” (Kashf al-Mughaṭṭa – 39)

Imām Aḥmad, who had a different Madhab, did not only praise the book; rather, he studied it multiple times. ‘Allāmah al-Khalīlī says:

وقال أحمد بن حنبل كنت سمعت الموطأ من بضعة عشر نفسا من حفاظ أصحاب مالك فأعدته على الشافعي لأني وجدته أقومهم به (الإرشاد في معرفة علماء الحديث – 1 / 231)

Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥambal said, ‘I heard the Muwaṭṭa from approximately ten narrators from the students of Mālik that were Ḥuffāẓ, but I revised it with Ash-Shāfiʿī because I found him to be the most accurate of them all.” (Al-Irshād – 1 / 231)

• • Senior scholars described this book as the most beneficial book that a person can study

Ibn ‘Abdil Bar (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) quotes with his chain to Imām Mālik that he said:

ما كتاب بعد كتاب الله أنفع من كتاب مالك بن أنس (الاستذكار – 1 / 12)

“There is no book, after the Book of Allāh, more beneficial than the Book of Mālik ibn Anas.” (Al-Istidhkār – 1 / 12)

‘Abdur Raḥmān ibn Mahdi (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) shared the same testament. Qāḍhi ‘Iyāḍh (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) relates that this great scholar said:

ما كتاب بعد كتاب الله أنفع للناس من الموطأ. وقال لا أعلم من علم الإسلام بعد القرآن أصح من موطأ مالك. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك – 1 / 101)

“There is no book, after the Book of Allāh, which is more beneficial for the people than the Muwaṭṭa.” He also said, “After the Qurān, I don’t know of any other Islāmic knowledge which is more authentic than the Muwaṭṭa of Mālik.” (Tartīb al-Madārik – 1 / 101)

• • It has been described as a book which is the most precise, accurate and correct.

Yūnus ibn ‘Abd al-‘A’lā quotes Imām ash-Shāfi’ī as saying:

ما في الأرض بعد كتاب الله أكثر صوابا من موطإ مالك بن أنس 

“After the book of Allāh, there is no book more accurate than that of Mālik ibn Anas.”

• • Just as Imām Mālik (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) dedicated his life to the Muwaṭṭa, he was blessed with loyal students who also dedicated their lives to the Muwaṭṭa, spending numerous years in its service. And it did not stop with the students; rather, throughout the centuries, there were scholars who spent years and decades teaching the Muwaṭṭa.

Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ (544 AH) says:

‌لم ‌يعتن بكتاب من كتب الحديث والعلم اعتناء الناس ‌بالموطأ فإن الموافق والمخالف اجتمع على تقديره وتفضيله وروايته وتقديم حديثه وتصحيحه. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك – 2 / 80)

In Siyar A’lām an-Nubalā, ‘Allāmah Dhahabī (748 AH) mentioned the names of 140 books that are related to the Muwaṭṭa. He did not intend to mention all, nor did he claim to do so.

• • The Muwatta is a primary source of the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah

‘Allāmah Ibn Taymiyyah said:

ثم هذه كتب الصحيح التي أجل ما فيها كتاب البخاري أول ‌ما ‌يستفتح ‌الباب بحديث مالك وإن كان في الباب شيء من حديث مالك لا يقدم على حديثه غيره. (مجموع الفتاوى – 20 / 325)

• • The Muwaṭṭa became one of the main resources for the narration of Madīnah and an authority for the Madani narrators

Imām ‘Alī ibn al-Madīnī (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) said:

إذا حدث مالك عن رجل من أهل المدينة ولا تعرفه فهو حجة، لأنه كان ينتقي. (ترتيب المدارك وتقريب المسالك – 1 / 68)

• • ‘Allāma al-Kawtharī (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) said:

وطالب الحديث إذا عني بادئ ذي بدء بمدارسة أحوال رجال الموطأ، فاحصا عن الأسانيد والمتون فيه، تدرج – عن دوق وخبرة – في مدارج معرفة الحديث والفقه في آن واحد بتوفيق الله سبحانه، فيصبح على نور من ربه في باقي بحوثه في الحديث، راقيا على مراقي الاعتلاء في العلم نافعا بعلمة منتفعا به، والله سبحانه ولي التسديد”. (التعليق الممجد على موطأ محمد – 1 / 31)

Benefits of The Muwaṭṭa

Besides the blessings, effulgence and spirituality that this great book exudes and besides the knowledge, wisdom and intelligence that one derives from this sublime compilation, Allāh Taʿālā has made this book a means of attaining worldly benefit. Ibn Nāṣir ad-Dīn (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) mentions:

ولجلالة قدر الموطأ كان أهل مصر – بعد موت مالك – من أصحابه يستسقون بموطئه (إتحاف السالك برواة الموطأ عن الإمام مالك – ص: 73)

“As for the majesty of the Muwaṭṭa, the people of Egypt – after the death of Mālik – would seek rain through it.” (Itḥāf as-Sālik – 73)

He obtains this from the lengthy incident that Abū Nuʿaym narrates from Ismāʿīl ibn al-Ḥabbāl al-Ḥimyarī about Imām Shāfiʿī. After mentioning how Imām Shāfiʿī borrowed the books of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah to refute the Ḥanafīs, Ismāʿīl said:

ثم خرج إلى مصر والدار لمالك وأصحابه، يحكمون فيه، ويستسقون ‌بموطئه. (حلية الأولياء وطبقات الأصفياء – 9 / 82)

“Then he went to Egypt, and the area belonged to Mālik and his companions, who ruled in it and asked for rain through his Muwaṭṭa.” (Ḥilyah al-Awliyā – 9 / 82)

A second benefit is that if a female in labor holds the Muwaṭṭa, she will deliver immediately. ʿAllāmah as-Sakhawī (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) quoted:

ذكره ابن الطحان في (تاريخ المصريين) له نقلا عن ابن وهب عن مالك، وعن غيره ‌مما ‌جرب أن الحامل إذا أمسكته بيدها تضع في الحال. (فتح المغيث بشرح ألفية الحديث – 3 / 322)

“Ibn Ṭaḥḥān mentioned in (Ṭārīkh al-Miṣriyyīn) quoting from Ibn Wahb who narrated from Mālik, who narrated from others what has been experienced that if a pregnant woman holds it in her hand, she will give birth immediately.” (Fatḥ al-Mughīth – 3 / 322)

Mawlāna Zakariyyā Kāndhlawī (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) mentions in Awjaz al-Masālik:

وأخبرتني بنت قطب الإرشاد المحدث الكنكوهي – قدس سره – أن وضعه عند رأس المرأة وقت الولادة ميسر لوضع الحمل (أوجز المسالك – 1 / 93)

“The daughter of Quṭub al-Irshād al-Muhaddith al-Gangohī – may his soul be sanctified – told me that placing it by the head of a woman at the time of childbirth facilitates easy delivery.” (Awjaz al-Masālik – 1 / 93)

He then remarks:

وهو مجرب (أوجز المسالك – 1 / 93)

“It is tried and tested.” (Awjaz al-Masālik – 1 / 93)

It has been proven that those who study this book:

• • Their wealth increases
  • Allāh helps them to pay their debts.

May Allāh Taʿālā have mercy on them all.

سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك ، أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت ، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك