Global Intifada

“According to Ibn al-Madini, Malik [r]followed the opinion (qawl) of Sulayman ibn Yasar, who followed the opinion of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab [ra]. Malik’s madhhab then, as has been frequently noted, was the madhhab of ‘Umar [ra]. Indeed, Ibn Taymiyyah states that the judgments of ‘Umar form the second major source of the ‘amal of the Madinans after the sunna of the Prophet, and this is immediately evident from the large number of judgments from ‘Umar recorded in the Muwatta.

‘Umar’s [ra]importance as an authority is a reflection of the circumstances prevailing during his caliphate (13-23 AH). Before him, Abu Bakr’s [ra] short caliphate (11-13 AH) had seen a preoccupation with the wars of the Ridda and was a time of consolidation rather than expansion. As a result, there are very few judgments recorded from that period. Umar’s [ra] caliphate, on the other hand, was not only considerably longer, but also witnessed a period of major expansion outside Arabia and relative stability inside Arabia which allowed for, as it indeed also necessitated, the development of legal activity on a much larger scale than had previously been the case as new situations arose and people needed to know how to deal with them in the light of the Qur’an and the sunna. This development is reflected in the large number of judgements from ‘Umar [ra] referred to above.

Malik obviously had a high regard for ‘Umar [ra]. He considered his reign to be a righ of justice in practice, which was the prime goal of the shari’a, and he saw ‘Umar’s [ra] judicial activity as a genuine extension of the Prophetic sunna. It thus seems fitting that when Malik taught in the mosque in Madina he is said to have consciously chosen the place where ‘Umar [ra] used to sit, which was also the place where the Prophet [saw] used to put his bedding when doing i’tikaf.

After the hadith of the Prophet [saw] and the judgements of ‘Umar [ra], two other sources are particularly prominent in the Muwatta: the opinions of ‘Umar’s [ra] son, ‘Abdallah ibn Umar [ra], and the opinions of the great Madinan Successors, such as the ‘Seven Fuqaha’ referred to above. ‘Abdallah ibn ‘Umar [ra] is said to have been the most like ‘Umar [ra] of all ‘Umar’s [ra] sons. He was one of the longest-lived of the Companions and by the end of his life had acquired considerable knowledge not only of the sunna of the Prophet but also of the judgments of his fatehr and others since that heyday of the Madinan caliphate. Indeed, Malik relates that Ibn Shihab told him not to deviate from the opinion of Ibn ‘Umar [ra] because Ibn ‘Umar [ra] had lived for sixty years after the death of the Prophet and there was nothing about the Prophet that had escaped him.

Of the Successors, Ibn ‘Umar’s [ra] knowledge was transmitted in particular by his son Salim (who, in turn, is said to have been the most like Ibn ‘Umar [ra] of Ibn ‘Umar’s sons) and his mawla Nafi’, who, as we have seen, was one of Malik’s main teachers. The importance of all three men as authorities of knowledge has already been mentioned.

There are other Successors who are particularly associated with the madhhab of ‘Umar [ra] and feature prominently in the Muwatta: Sulayman ibn Yasar’s [ra] connection has already been noted, while Sa’id ibn al-Musayyyab [ra], described by Malik as the most learned man in Madina in his time, is also said to have been the most knowledgeable (ahfaz) wit regard to the judgements of ‘Umar [ra]. Mention should also be made here of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-’Aziz [r], whose judgements in his capacity both as governor of Madina and, later, caliph of the Muslims, figure prominently in the Muwatta. This ‘Umar [ra] was particularly impressed by his predecessor of the same name and keen to emulate him, and Malik was in turn particularly impressed by ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-’Aziz.”

-p 32-33 of “The Origins of Islamic Law: The Qur’an, the Muwatta, and Madinan Amal” by Yassin Dutton-

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