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By Muw atta.com on Nov 6, 2010 in Biographies, Imam Malik ibn Anas, The People of Madina go
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Before Malik and Abu Hanifa’s encounter, Imam Malik used to say , “Beware Advanced Students
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of the people of opinion.” Abu Hanifa’s school was called the “school of Biographies (2) Imam Malik and the Sufis

opinion.” Before their meeting, there was a lot of talk and ex change of Imam Malik ibn Anas (11) Know ledge is a Light

letters but they only met during the rituals of the Hajj. Islamic Courses (3) Imam Malik’s Preference of Madina Over Makka
Tasaw w uf (Sufism) (2) Scholars of Madina and the Maliki Madhhab
When they finally met, they chose to address three issues which were The Maliki Madhhab (6) The Shield of the Scholar
v iewed differently by each party . The first jurisprudential issue was about The People of Madina (5) Why Do the Malikis Pray With Their Hands to the
how to address hy pothetical questions; things that had not taken place y et. Words of Wisdom (3) Sides?
In Imam Malik’s juristic school of thought, we should not imagine situations Youtube Videos (1) The Scholars are Fathers
and ask about things that hav e not happened, as this distracts people from Meeting of Imam Malik & Imam Abu Hanifa
already ex isting issues and lead to controv ersy . Imam Malik brought his
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ev idence from v arious ay ahs and ahadith. He stated the ay ah where Allah Muw atta.com on Imam Malik’s Preference of
(SWT) say s what can be translated as, “They ask y ou concerning the new Madina Over Makka
moons (Literally : crescents).” (TMQ, 2:1 89). Such questions are Respiratory Therapist on Imam Malik’s
meaningless. Allah (SWT) replies in the ay ah, that can be translated as, “Say , Preference of Madina Over Makka
“They are fix ed times for mankind, and (for) the Pilgrimage.” (TMQ, 2:1 89) Muw atta.com on Know ledge is a Light
abdullah on Know ledge is a Light
His other ev idence was that Omar Ibnul-Khattab (RA) cursed the one who
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asked about situations that hav e not happened and used to say , “Do not
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engage us with things that hav e not happened, keep people busy with the
truth instead.”

People used to come to Imam Malik and ask him hy pothetical questions and
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 he used to get angry and tell them not to ask about things that hav e not
happened y et. Those people were usually from Iraq where Imam Abu
Hanifa was, who supported this kind of questions.

As for Imam Abu Hanifa, his approach was based on inv enting situations
that hav e not happened. He inv ented 60, 000 such situations.

In their meeting Imam Malik disapprov ed Imam Abu Hanifa’s v iew. Abu
Hanifa replied that the circumstances in Iraq are different from Madinah.
Iraq is the capital of the Caliphate and ev ery day there are new things being
introduced and they should be prepared, while in Madinah problems are
fix ed and limited.

Then, he gav e an ex ample when he discussed with his students a situation of

a woman whose husband trav eled and was absent for so long that she
thought he was dead and hence she married another man. Suddenly , the
man returned. What should be done then? Imam Malik wondered why they
would ask about things that hav e not happened, but Abu Hanifa said that in
Iraq, where soldiers went on conquests, this might occur and they should
be ready for such situation. Imam Malik was silent.

Imam Abu Hanifa reminded him of what the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa
sallam) said when a man came to him say ing, “Imagine if a man comes to
take my money , what shall I do?” The Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa
sallam) told him not to giv e it to him. The man asked again, “Imagine if he
fights me?” The Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) urged him to fight
him too. The man asked, “Imagine if he killed me? The Prophet (salla Allahu
‘alay hi wa sallam) said that he would be a marty r. The man asked once more
“Imagine if I killed him?” The Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) said
that the man killed would go to the hellfire.

Abu Hanifa said that the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) was asked
by about a hy pothetical situation four times. When Malik said that this was
for a purpose, Abu Hanifa replied, “In Iraq we do it for a purpose too.”
Then, Al-Lay th Ibn-Sa’ad said, “Glory to Allah. By Allah, y ou are enriching
Islam.” Imam Malik kept people away from indulging in triv ial issues and
Imam Abu Hanifa was questioning the future to protect people. That was
what the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) did. He forbad asking

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 about things that are hy pothetical and replied to an important situation that
could happen in the future.

Both Imams reached a conclusion of holding on to what they were doing,

but to then integrate both approaches for the benefit of Islam.

The four principles prev iously mentioned certainly to this debate. Their
difference of opinion is a natural phenomenon because the minds and
env ironment of Iraq are unlike those of Madinah. Their difference of
opinion resulted in an env ironment that enriched Islam. The calm and
honest dialogue helped in presenting the v arious opinions and truths from
all aspects. Meanwhile, the manner of conv ersation between both men was
civ ilized, polite and outstanding.

The issues they discussed were not petty . Nowaday s some people leav e the
obligatory issues related to the unity of the Muslims and dispute ov er triv ial
matters. Both Imams differed on core issues, but there was lov e and
understanding between them.

The second issue which the imams disagreed on was that of the consensuses.
In Islam, in order to reach a solution for any question is look it up in the
Qur’an. If y ou did not find it, to look it up in ahadith, if not; then apply the
rule of the consensus of the scholars.

Imam Malik believ ed that the consensus should be that agreed by the
people of Madinah only because the companions of the Prophet (salla
Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) liv ed and died there and so did his nine wiv es who
saw all his actions and witnessed all his deeds. They are about 1 0,000
companions.

A man came to Imam Malik and asked him about disputed matters. The
Imam said, “Search for the opinion of the people of Madinah. When y ou find
it, be sure that it is the truth.” He said to another one, “Y ou can find
knowledge in Madinah, as Qur’an was not rev ealed in Euphrates (meaning
Iraq and Abu Hanifa’s school).”

Imam Abu Hanifa was 1 3 y ears older than Imam Malik, y et he respected
him. He replied, “Malik, the conquests during the reign of Omar Ibnul-
Khattab distributed the Companions (RA) all ov er the world. Y ou say that in
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 Madinah there are 1 0,000 companions. In the last battle of the Prophet
(salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) there were about 1 20,000 companions, so
where are the rest? Y ou cannot deny that Omar Ibnul-Khattab sent the
companions particularly to teach people in different countries.”

He started to numerate some companions such as Mo’az Ibn-Jabal whom

the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) described to be the most
knowledgeable and sent him to Y emen. Also, he mentioned Abdullah Ibn-
Mas’od whose way of reciting Qur’an was recommended by the Prophet
(salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) for the people. He added the names of Abu-
Dthar, Zobair Ibnul-A’wam, and Sa’ad Ibn-Abu-Waqqas in Egy pt, Hudthay fa
Ibnul-Y aman, Abdullah Ibn-Mas’od, and Ali Ibn-Abu-Talib in Iraq, Abu-
Ubay da Ibnul-Jaraah, Bilal and Abul-Dardaa’ in Sy ria, etc.

Then, he narrated the hadith of the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam)
where he said that his companions are like the stars any of which can guide
people. Imam Abu Hanifa went on to say that the brilliance of Omar Ibnul-
Khattab is what led him to send the companions all ov er world and kept
some in Madinah to keep a balance. Thus, Imam Abu Hanifa showed Imam
Malik that the distribution of the companions was for the sake of the
integration of the ummah.

Al-Lay th ibn Sa’d said, “By Allah, this also, is an integration of the ummah.”

When y ou look from another angle y ou can see another aspect of the truth.
This is the v irtue of difference; to help y ou see the truth from all its aspects.
If all people think alike, they will see only one side of the truth, but Allah
(TWT) whose name is the Truth wants y ou to see all the sides.

The third issue tackled in the meeting was about the school of opinion and
hadith. Imam Abu Hanifa ex pands the ex planation of the ahadith to the
ex tent that he concluded 1 00 lessons from one hadith. Imam Malik saw that
it as an ex aggeration and ov erloading the hadith which the Prophet (salla
Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) did not want.

Imam Abu Hanifa replied that in Iraq, Greek, Roman and Persian
philosophies and sciences are inv ading them, so he needs to keep people
fix ed on the path of the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam). That is why

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 he was searching in ahadith to counter the new ideas. On the other hand in
Madinah, there are none but the companions and their followers, so there is
no need for ex pansion in elaborating ahadith. Al-Lay th Ibn-Sa’ad said, “This
too is integration” Both Imams complement one another in keeping Islam.

If y ou discuss y our problems calmly and honestly with y our wife of

husband, many problems will be solv ed. Similarly , if the politicians in Iraq,
Darfur, and Lebanon, the religious scholars and the scientists do the same,
many problems will be solv ed.

After the two Imams left the meeting, Al-Lay th Ibn-Sa’ad, an Egy ptian
Imam whose juristic school of thought was just as superior as the other four
Imams but had no students to spread it, was keen on knowing the
impression of both sides.

He went to Imam Malik and asked him. Malik wiped his sweat and said, “By
Allah, Abu Hanifa made me sweat. By Allah, he is a true jurist. I’v e nev er
seen a man debating like that. By Allah, if he told y ou that this iron rod is
made out of gold, he would conv ince y ou.”

Al-Lay th went to Imam Abu Hanifa who said, “I debated hundreds of men,
but hav e nev er seen a man accept the truth as fast as him.”

We need to teach the coming generations these manners. This is important

for ev ery one; journalists, politicians, people working in the media, scholars,
husbands and wiv es, parents and children.

What happened after that? First, Imam Abu Hanifa sent his son Hammaad to
Madinah to learn the jurisprudential approach of Malik and his book ‘Al-
Mu’ata’. Then, Imam Malik asked for the books of Abu-Hnifa to benefit from
them.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Ibn ul-Hasan, a student of Abu Hanifa’s, held a

session in Iraq to present the approach of Malik.

Once, Imam Abu Hanifa sent to Imam Malik consulting him on an issue
before announcing his opinion to the public. Abu Hanifa did not agree about
naming a sinful person a disbeliev er. Imam Malik agreed, so Abu Hanifa
announced it. This did not arise from one meeting only , but there were
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 numerous correspondences which contributed more to their integration.

The Abbassid Caliph Al-Mansour once came to Imam Malik offering him to
cancel all other jurisprudential approaches, making Malik’s approach
prev ail, and also writing his book in gold and keeping it inside the Ka’ba.

Imam Malik who once rejected all other approaches and asserted on the
opinion of the people of Madinah told him not to do so because the
companions of the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alay hi wa sallam) are spread all
ov er the world. Those were Abu Hanifa’s words from their encounter.

Look at the superb manners and morals of differentiating with someone as

well as handling the truth.

The first principle indicates that difference is a univ ersal fact that needs to
be respected. Y ou hav e to respect that v ariation is a part of our ex istence.
The second principle shows that v ariation complements us; it is an
adv antage and not a drawback. Y ou hav e to look at this as an enriching
adv antage. The third principle is that at the moment of dispute, calm and
honest dialogue helps y ou see the truth from all perspectiv es. Truth is one,
but it has many aspects and paradigms. The fourth and final principle is that
at the moment of conflict; nev er forget the proper manners of dialogue. Y ou
must believ e in those four principles as the basis of coex istence.

Source: Islamiology blog

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Na m e (r equ ir ed)

E-m a il (w ill n ot be pu blish ed) (r equ ir ed)

W ebsit e

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