Malamin wannan Mazhabi, Maalik ibn Anas ibn ‘Aamir, an haife shi a Madina a shekara ta 717 CE. Kakansa, ‘Aamir, yana cikin manyan Sahabbai na Madina. Maalik ya yi karatun Hadisi a wurin az-Zuhree, wanda shi ne babban malamin Hadisi a zamaninsa, da kuma a wurin fitaccen mai ruwaito Hadisi, Naafi’, bawan da aka 'yanta na Sahabi ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar.

The founding scholar of this Madh-hab, Maalik ibn Anas ibn ‘Aamir, was born in Madeenah in the year 717 CE. His grandfather, ‘Aamir, was among the major Sahaabah of Madeenah. Maalik studied Hadeeth under az-Zuhree who was the greatest Hadeeth scholar of his time as well as under the great Hadeeth narrator, Naari’, the freed slave of the Sahaabee ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar.

Ƙarshen tafiye-tafiyen Maalik wajen Madeenah sun kasance ne kawai don Hajji, don haka ya takaita kansa galibi ga ilimin da ake da shi a Madeenah. An yi masa dukan tsanani a shekara ta 764 CE bisa umarnin Ameer na Madeenah, saboda ya yanke hukunci cewa saki da aka tilasta ba shi da inganci. Wannan hukunci ya saba wa al'adar sarakunan 'Abbaasiyyah na sanya a cikin rantsuwar biyayya da jama'a ke yi musu sharadin cewa duk wanda ya karya rantsuwar to an sake matarsa ta atomatik. An daure Maalik aka yi masa dukan har hannayensa suka lalace sosai, har ya zama ba zai iya haɗa su a kan ƙirjinsa a Salah ba, don haka ya fara yin Salah da hannayensa a gefensa, bisa wasu rahotanni.

Maalik’s only journeys outside of Madeenah were for Hajj, and thus he largely limited himself to the knowledge available in Madeenah. He was severely beaten in the year 764 CE by the order of the Ameer of Madeenah, because he made a legal ruling that forced divorce was invalid. This ruling opposed the ‘Abbaasid rulers’ practice of adding in the oath of allegiance given to them by the masses the clause that whoever broke the oath was automatically divorced. Maalik was tied and beaten until his arms became severely damaged to such a degree that he became unable to clasp them on his chest in Salaah and thus he began the practice of praying with his hands at his sides according to some reports.

Imamu Malik ya ci gaba da koyar da Hadisi a Madina tsawon shekaru arba'in, kuma ya samu damar tattara littafi mai ɗauke da Hadisan Annabi ﷺ da Asarorin Sahabbai da tabi'ai, wanda ya sanya masa suna al-Muwatta' (Hanyar da aka Tattake). Ya fara tattara Hadisan ne bisa buƙatar Khalifan Abbasawa, Abu Ja'far al-Mansur (754-775 miladiyya), wanda ya so samun cikakkiyar dokar shari'a da ta dogara da Sunnar Annabi ﷺ, wadda za a iya amfani da ita daidai a ko'ina cikin masarautarsa. Amma bayan an kammala shi, Malik ya ƙi a tilasta wa mutane shi, yana mai nuna cewa Sahabbai sun warwatsa ko'ina cikin daular Musulunci, kuma sun ɗauki wasu sassan Sunnah tare da su, waɗanda shi ma wajibi ne a yi la'akari da su a duk wata doka da za a sanya a ko'ina cikin ƙasar. Khalifa Haroon ar-Rashid (768-809 miladiyya) ma ya nemi irin wannan buƙata daga Imamin, amma shi ma an ƙi shi. Imamu Malik ya rasu a garin da aka haife shi a shekara ta 801 miladiyya, yana da shekaru 83 masu daraja.133

Imaam Maalik continued to teach Hadeeth in Madeenah over a period of forty years and he managed to compile a book containing Hadeeths of the Prophet (s.w.) and Athars of the Sahaabah and their successors which he named al-Muwatta’ (the Beaten Path). He began his compilation of Hadeeths at the request of the ‘Abbaasid caliph, Abu Ja’far al-Mansoor, (754-775 CE) who wanted a comprehensive code of law based on the Prophet’s (s.w.) Sunnah which could be applied uniformly throughout his realm. But, on its completion, Maalik refused to have it forced on the people pointing out that the Sahaabah had scattered throughout the Islamic empire and had taken with them other parts of the Sunnah which also had to be considered in any laws imposed throughout the state. Caliph Haaroon arRasheed (768-809 CE) also made the same request of the Imaam, but he was also turned down. Imaam Maalik died in the city of his birth in the year 801 CE at the venerable age of 83.133

Hanyar koyarwar Imaam Maalik ta dogara ne da ruwaito Hadisai da tattaunawa a kan ma'anoninsu a cikin yanayin matsalolin wancan zamani. Ya kan ruwaitawa dalibansa Hadisai da Asarai (maganganun Sahabbai) game da batutuwa daban-daban na shari'ar Musulunci, sannan ya tattauna abubuwan da suke haifarwa, ko kuma ya yi tambaya game da matsalolin da suka taso a yankunan da dalibansa suka fito, sannan ya ruwaito Hadisai ko Asarai masu dacewa da za a iya amfani da su wajen warware su.

Imaam Maalik’s method of teaching was based on the narration of Hadeeths and the discussion of their meanings in the context of problems of that day. He would either narrate to his students Hadeeths and Athars (statements of the Sahaabah) on various topics of Islamic law then discuss their implications, or he would inquire about problems which had arisen in the areas from whence his students came, then narrate appropriate Hadeeths or Athars which could be used to solve them.

Bayan da Malik ya kammala littafin al-Muwatta', yakan karanta shi ga almajiransa a matsayin jimlar madhhabinsa, amma yakan ƙara ko ragewa kaɗan a cikinsa duk lokacin da sabon bayani ya isa gare shi. Ya kasance yana guje wa hasashe da fiqhun zato sosai, don haka makarantarsa da masu bin ta ana kiran su Ahlul-Hadith (Mutanen Hadisi).

After Maalik completed al-Muwatta’, he used to narrate it to his students as the sum total of his Madh-hab, but would add or subtract from it slightly, whenever new information reached him. He used to strictly avoid speculation and hypothetical Fiqh and thus his school and its followers were reffered to as the people of Hadeeth (Ahl al-Hadeeth).

Imam Malik ya samo hukunce-hukuncen Musulunci daga tushen-tushen da ke biye, waɗanda aka jera su bisa ga muhimmancinsu.

Imaam Maalik deduced Islamic law from the following sources which are listed in the order of their importance.

Kamar sauran Imamai, Malik ya ɗauki Alƙur'ani a matsayin babban tushen shari'ar Musulunci, kuma ya yi amfani da shi ba tare da sanya wani sharaɗi kafin a yi amfani da shi ba.

Like all the other Iaams, Maalik considered the Qur’aan to be the primary source of Islamic law and utlized it without laying any pre-conditions for its applications.

Sunnah ta kasance Imam Malik ya yi amfani da ita a matsayin tushe na biyu mafi muhimmanci a cikin dokar Musulunci, amma, kamar Abu Hanifa, ya sanya wasu takurawa a kan amfani da ita. Idan wani Hadisi ya saba wa al'adar aiki ta mutanen Madina, sai ya ki karbarsa. Sai dai bai dage cewa Hadisi dole ne ya zama Mash-hoor (sananne ba).

The Sunnah was used by Imaam Maalik as the second most important source of Islamic law, but, like Abu Haneefah, he put some restrictions on its use. If a Hadeeth were contradicted by the customary practice of the Madeenites, he rejected it. He did not, however, insist that a Hadeeth be Mash-hoor (well-known)

kafin a iya aiwatar da shi kamar yadda Abu Haneefah ya yi. Maimakon haka, yana amfani da duk wani Hadisi da aka ruwaito masa, muddin babu wani daga cikin masu ruwaitowa da aka sani da yin ƙarya ko kuma wanda ƙwaƙwalwarsa ta yi rauni sosai.

before it could be applied as Abu Haneefah did. Instead he used any Hadeeth that was narrated to him as long as none of the narrators were known liars or extremely weak memorizers.

Imam Malik ya yi tunani cewa, tun da yawancin mutanen Madina zuriyar kai tsaye ne ga Sahabbai, kuma Madina ita ce inda Annabi ﷺ ya yi shekara goma na ƙarshen rayuwarsa, to lallai ayyukan da duk mutanen Madina ke yi tare sun kasance halal, idan ba ma an ƙarfafa su ba daga Annabi ﷺ da kansa. Saboda haka, Imam Malik ya ɗauki al'adun da mutanen Madina ke yi tare a matsayin wani nau'i na Sunnah mai inganci ƙwarai, wadda aka riwaito ta cikin ayyuka maimakon kalmomi.134

Imaam Maalik reasoned that since many of the Madeenites were direct descendants of the Sahaabah and Madeenah was where the Prophet (s.w.) spent the last ten years of his life, practices common to all Madeenites must have been allowed, if not encouraged by the Prophet (s.w.) himself. Thus, Imaam Maalik regarded common Madeenite practices as a form of highly authentic Sunnah narrated in deeds rather than words.134

Malik, kamar Abu Haneefah, ya ɗauki ijma'in Sahabbai, da kuma na malamai na gaba, a matsayin tushen shari'a na uku mafi muhimmanci.

Maalik like Abu Haneefah considered the Ijmaa’ of the Sahaabah, as well as that of later scholars, as the third most important source of Islamic law.

Imam Malik ya ba wa maganganun Sahabbai cikakken muhimmanci, ko sun saɓa wa juna ko sun yarda, sannan ya saka su a littafinsa na Hadisi, al-Muwatta'. Sai dai, ijma'in Sahabbai ya fi a ba shi fifiko a kan ra'ayin kowane Sahabi daya-daya. Inda babu ijma'i, to ana ba da fifiko ga ra'ayin Sahabbai daya-daya a kan ra'ayin nasa.

Imaam Maalik gave full weight to the opinions of the Sahaabha, whether they were conflicting or in agreement, and included them in his book of Hadeeth, al-Muwatta’. However, the consensus of the Sahaabah was given precedence over individual opinions of the Sahaabah. Where there was no consensus, their individual opinions were given precedence over his own opinion.

Malik yana amfani da nasa hukuncin tunani (ra'yi) a kan al'amuran da ba su cikin tushen da aka ambata a baya. Sai dai ya kasance yana matuƙar taka-tsantsan wajen yin hakan, saboda son-zuciyar da ke cikin irin wannan tunani.

Maalik used to apply his own deductive reasoning on matters not covered by the previously mentioned sources. However, he was very cautious about doing so because of the subectivity of such forms of reasoning.

Imam Malik kuma ya ba wasu al'adu da aka samu a wurin wasu mutanen Madina kadan wani nauyi, muddin ba su saba wa Hadisai sanannu ba. Ya yi hujja da cewa irin wadannan al'adu, duk da cewa ana samunsu a lokuta kebantattu kawai, dole ne an gada su daga magabata, kuma Sahabbai ko ma Annabi da kansa ﷺ sun amince da su.

Imaam Maalik also gave some weight to isolated practices found among a few people of Madeenah so long as they were not in contradiction to known Hadeeths. He reasoned that such customs, though occurring only in isolated instances, must also have been handed down from earlier generations and sanctioned by the Sahaabah or even the prophet (s.w.) himself.

Dalilin Istihsaan wanda Abu Haneefah ya kawo shi ma Maalik da almajiran sa sun yi amfani da shi, sai dai sun kira shi da sunan Istislaah, wanda ma'anarsa neman abin da ya fi dacewa. Yana shafar al'amuran da suke da alaƙa da jin daɗin mutane, amma Shari'ah ba ta yi musu nassi na musamman ba. Misalin Istislaah shi ne hukuncin Khalifa 'Alee na cewa dukkan rukunin mutanen da suka halarci kisan kai suna da laifi, duk da cewa mutum ɗaya ne daga cikinsu ya aikata kisan da kansa. Wani misalin kuma shi ne haƙƙin shugaban Musulunci na karɓar haraji daga masu arziki banda Zakkah, idan maslahar ƙasa ta buƙata, alhali a Shari'ah an ƙayyade Zakkah kawai. Imaam Maalik ya kuma yi amfani da ƙa'idar Istislaah wajen fitar da hukunce-hukunce da suka fi dacewa da bukatun da suka taso daga yanayin zamani, fiye da waɗanda aka fitar ta hanyar Qiyaas.

The principle of Istihsaan developed by Abu Haneefah was also applied by Maalik and his students except that they called it by the name Istislaah which means seeking that which is more suitable. It deals with things which are for human welfare but have not been specifically considered by the Sharee’ah. An exaple of Istislaah is found in Caliph ‘Alee’s ruling that a whole group of people who took part in a murder were guilty even though only one of the group had actually committed the act of murder. Another example is the right of a Muslim leader to collect taxes from the rich other than Zakaah if the interest of the state demands it, whereas in Sharee’ah only Zakaah has been specified. Imaam Maalik also applied the principle of Istislaah to deduce laws more in keeping with needs which arose from current situations than those deduced by Qiyaas.

Kamar Abu Haneefah, Maalik ya yi la'akari da al'adu da halaye na zamantakewa iri-iri na mutane a ko'ina cikin duniyar Musulunci a matsayin yuwuwar tushen dokoki na biyu, muddin ba su saba wa ko dai nassin Shari'ah ko ruhinta ba.135

Like Abu Haneefah, Maalik considered the various customs and social havits of people throughout the Muslim world as possible sources of secondary laws as long as they did not contradict either the letter or the spirit of the Sharee’ah.135

Misali, bisa ga al'adar ƙasar Siriya, kalmar Daabbah tana nufin doki, alhali ma'anarta ta gaba ɗaya a harshen Larabci dabba ce mai ƙafafu huɗu. Saboda haka, idan aka yi kwangila a Siriya da ke buƙatar biyan kuɗi a cikin sigar Daabbah, a shari'ance hakan yana nufin doki, alhali a sauran sassan duniyar Larabawa sai an bayyana shi a fili cewa doki ne.

According to custom in Syria, for example, the word Daabbah means a horse, whereas its general meaning in Arabic is four legged animal. Hence, a contract made in Syria requiring payment in the form of a Daabbah would legally mean a horse whereas elsewhere in the Arab world it would have to be more clearly defined as a horse.

Daga cikin manyan almajiran Maalik da ba su kafa madhhabi nasu ba daga baya, akwai al-Qaasim da Ibn Wahb.

The most notable of Maalik’s students who did not later form their own Madh-habs were al-Qaasim and Ibn Wahb.

Al-Qaasim an haife shi a ƙasar Masar, amma ya yi tafiya zuwa Madinah inda ya yi karatu a wurin malaminsa kuma jagoransa na tsawon sama da shekaru ashirin. Ya rubuta wani littafi mai faɗi a kan fiqhun madhhabi, wanda ya zarce ma al-Muwaṭṭa' na Malik kansa, kuma ya sanya masa suna al-Mudawwanah.

Al-Qaasim was born in Egypt but travelled to Madeenah where he studied under his teacher and mentor for a period of more than twenty years. He wrote an extensive book on the Fiqh of the Madh-hab, eclipsing even al-Muwatta’ of Maalik himself and called it al-Mudawwanah.

Ibn Wahb ya kuma yi tafiya daga Misra zuwa Madinah domin ya yi karatu a wurin Imam Malik. Ya yi fice wajen fitar da hukunce-hukuncen shari'a har Malik ya ba shi lakabin al-Mufti, wato wanda ke bayyana dokokin Musulunci a hukumance.

Ibn Wahb also travelled from Egypt to Madeenah in order to study under Imaam Maalik. He distinguished himself in th deduction of laws to such a degree that Maalik gave him the title of al-Muftee, which means the official expounderof Islamic law.

Ibn Wahb an ba shi muƙamin alƙalin Masar, amma ya ƙi karɓa domin ya kiyaye amincinsa a matsayin malami mai zaman kansa.136

Ibn Wahb was offered an appointment as judge of Egypt, but turned it down in order to maintain his integrity as an independent scholar.136

Malik yana da wasu shahararrun almajirai daga sauran mazhabobi.

Maalik had other famous students from other madh-habs.

Wasu daga cikinsu sun gyara madhhabinsu nasu bisa abin da suka koya daga Malik, misali, Muhammad ash-Shaybaanee, wanda yana cikin manyan almajiran Abu Haneefah. Akwai kuma wasu da suka kafa nasu madhhabin ta hanyar haɗa koyarwar Malik da ta wasu, misali Muhammad ibn Idrees ash-Shaafi'ee, wanda ya yi karatu na shekaru masu yawa a wurin Imaam Malik da kuma a wurin Muhammad as-Shaybaanee, almajirin Abu Haneefah.

Some of them modified their own Madh-habs based on what they learnt from Maalik, for example, Muhammad ash-Shaybaanee who was among the foremost students of Abu Haneefah. There were others who developed their own Madh-habs by combining Maalik’s teachings with that of others, for example Muhammad ibn Idrees ash-Shaafi’ee who studied for many years under Imaam Maalik as well as under Abu Haneefah’s student Muhammad as-Shaybaanee.

A yau, mabiyan wannan Madhhab galibi suna nan a Upper Egypt, Sudan, Arewacin Afirka (Tunisia, Algeria da Morocco), Yammacin Afirka (Mali, Nigeria, Chadi, da sauransu) da kuma jihohin Gulf na Larabawa (Kuwait, Qatar, da Bahrain).

Today, the followers of this Madh-hab are found mostly in Upper Egypt, Sudan, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco), West Africa (Mali, Nigeria, Chad, etc) and the Arabian Gulf states (Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain).