A Call for
Coexistence
Episode 7
In the name of Allah,
the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon
Prophet Muhammad (SAWS).
Today we are going to look at the life of Imam
Malik as one of the four Imams of Islamic jurisprudence. However, it is
important to stress before we start the meaning and idea behind our program. Its
name, A Call for Co-Existence, is inspired by the meaning of the word “exist”.
It is all about how people can exist and respect each other; how to understand
others; not necessarily to adopt their ideas and believe in them, but at least
to reach out for them and stretch a hand of friendship. It is to learn how to be
decent in disagreeing with others and how to see our differences as
opportunities and not obstacles in the face of our relationships.
Being different from one another is one of Allah’s
greatest blessings. It is only through each others’ different contributions to
the world that our lives gains richness, content and value. If everyone is to
isolate self from others or to share the exact same thoughts as others, life
will hold no real value and will be so shallow!
Today as we briefly look at Imam Malik’s life, we
look at an example of success of a person who was able to gather people around
him. Amazingly and unlike Imam ash-Shafi'y, who only lived for 54 years, Imam
Malik lived for 94 years during which he was able to build continuous success
and attract people who wanted to listen to his preaching and learn from him.
Imam Malik started preaching about Islam when he
was only 17 year old after 70 of great Islamic scholars approved him to do so
and confirmed his eligibility. Can you imagine! 77 years of continuous support
and admiration for that man! That can only mean that he had a special way or a
secret of how to gather thousands of people from every color and way of thinking
and motivate them to keep listening to the same scholar! Today, we will try to
find that secret and discover how he managed to do so.
It is important to mention at this point that
Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) actually predicted in one hadith
that there would be a great Islamic scholar that people would seek from all
directions and would not find except in Madinah. The Prophet’s companions had no
doubt that the scholar mentioned in the hadith was Imam Malik Ben Anas that is
why he was known as Imam of Madinah. Can you imagine the honor!
Just so you can understand the importance of the
work of the four Imams of Islamic jurisprudence, we will mention the simple fact
that after Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) passed away, what was left from his
legacy was a body of ahadith
and verses of Quran which were relatively limited in number. The four Imams
shouldered the responsibility of extracting values, meanings, and solutions from
that limited body to almost all issues to come in people’s life thereafter!
It is also important to note that Imam Malik was
born, lived his entire life and later died in Madinah. He never left it except
to Makkah to do Hajj
or Umrah.
That is an amazing detail, especially in light of the fact that a great scholar
such as ash-Shafi'y actually traveled to 10 different countries to gain,
confirm, and spread his knowledge. So how could Imam Malik achieve such success
and popularity on the span of 94 years while living in one city?!
The location of his lecture was always the same. It
was at one of the noblest locations; between the Prophet’s house and pulpit
(where the sermon is typically delivered) which the Prophet described as a piece
of heaven. Imam Malik used to deliver two types of lectures. The first one was
to a limited number of people who were to be his successors in teaching. The
second one was for everybody else. To give you an indication of his popularity,
you need to know that he was sought by thousands that they could not all fit
together in one place. He used to have helpers who organized people by their
nationalities. He would call on people from each nationality one at a time to
listen to his lecture because of lack of space!
How could he find the ways to attract those people
from different cultures to keep coming back in such large numbers! If we find
the answer to that question, we will find the secret for having a peaceful
co-existence with others. His students were from various countries and
continents. Something that has been known to modern universities only recently!
He had students from Asia, Europe and Africa.
So what is his secret?! Can we follow his
footsteps? Is it possible that conflicting people in Iraq or Lebanon would be
guided by Imam Malik’s example and stop fighting? Even on the personal level, is
it possible for a husband and wife or for all people in society to co-existence
in peace following his example? We are still to know his secret talent.
When we follow the legacy of Imam Malik, we see
that for more than 70 years, he taught thousands of people from different
cultures. That means that he spoke to three generations of people and I can not
help wondering, how was he able to do that for that many years and with him
aging to reach 94 years of age! What is more surprising was who were among his
students! Look at his attendants including four caliphs; Al-Hady, Harun
Al-Rasheed, Al-Ameen and Al-Ma’mun. Among his students were princes, leaders and
governors. Among his students were great scholars as well, such as Abu-Hanifa,
13 years his senior and ash-Shafi'y, 20 years old and learning! What an amazing
pool of attendants!
To puzzle you even more, there were two big
conflicting political powers at that time; Umayyad and Abasside. The amazing
thing was that people and leaders of both groups loved Imam Malik and trusted
his opinions in spite of the fierce conflict between them! So, how could he
reach that status while there were numerous scholars at that time?!
To further prove that he was an exceptional figure;
let’s see what he was offered by Harun Al-Rasheed as a symbol of the peak of
power in the Islamic history of rulers. Al-Rasheed requested that Imam Malik
would accept to go to Iraq to teach his children; an idea that did not appeal to
Imam Malik since he believed that people should make an effort to seek knowledge
and not the opposite! Malik in his wisdom sent a note to the caliph that said
“To the Emir (commander) of believers, may you be graced and honored by Allah!
The knowledge that I have is only part of what your family contributed to the
world. If you honor it, it gains grace. If you humiliate it, it becomes
worthless! O’ Emir of believers, knowledge is sought and it should not seek
people!” After Al-Rasheed read that he agreed with Malik and ordered his sons to
travel to where Malik is in Madinah to learn from him. As a sign of modesty, he
asked that they get treated as common attendants and not as the caliph’s sons.
Later Al-Rasheed visited Al-Madinah and requested
that Malik would go to him in his palace where he stayed. Malik repeated his
famous phrase “Knowledge is sought and it should not seek anyone!” The caliph
then argued that he would go to Malik; however, he wanted it to be a private
lecture with no one else attending. Malik suggested that if knowledge goes to
the elite privately denying the public the right of learning, then neither the
public nor the elite gets its benefit. Once more, Al-Rasheed agreed and went to
where Malik is giving his lecture. His servants offered him a seat while all of
Imam Malik’s students were seated on the floor. Malik, not wanting to offend
Al-Rasheed, greeted people as usual and started his lesson with a Qudsi (sacred)
hadith
saying that Allah (SWT)
says that he raises those who humble themselves in his worship and he puts down
those who look down on others. Malik then sends a smile to Al-Rasheed who gets
what Malik intended to politely tell him and then he gives away his seat and
joins the rest of the students on the floor.
So, what was it then that gave Malik such influence
on others?! Was it his leadership qualities? He was known for his exceptional
charisma as narrated by Saeed Ibn Hend who said that he never feared anyone more
than Abd Al-Rahman Al-Dakhel, however, when he saw Imam Malik, he feared him
more. We know that he had a fair complexion unlike most of the Arabs at that
time with blonde hair and blue eyes. However it can not be his charisma or alone
that placed him in such a high status.
Was it his intelligence then?
He was known for that as described by his teacher,
Rabiia, who said that he never met someone wiser than Malik. Rabiia used to
refer to Malik as the ‘wise one’ among his students. However, it can not only be
his mental qualities that gave him success and influence.
Was it his piety and strong faith?
For he was known for that as well, he was often
seen crying while giving his lectures when he reflects on the place where he was
sitting and that it was once occupied by Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). He never
related to any hadith except while he was in a state of
ablution. His students would knock his door
for their lesson time. If it was a day of regular lecture, he would be with them
shortly. However, when it was a day to speak of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), he
would take his time to dress up and wear perfume before mentioning the Prophet.
His relationship with Allah and the Prophet was so special that he never mounted
an animal in Madinah just out of respect to the Prophet (SAWS) who lived there!
However, it can not be that faith alone that made him this exceptional; since
there were so many others in his time that were known for their piety but never
had his influence!
We may agree that all the above qualities
contributed to Imam Malik’s success. However, there were two main things that
made him excel and exceed everyone else’s efforts. He used to think of two
things that made him gain the trust and respect of others. First, he always
placed others’ interests above his; second, he always tried to ask people to do
only what they could handle.
And that is the art of co-existence which we are
trying to reach today! He always placed himself in others’ place. Can you do
that? Imagine if everyone adopted the same goal. Imagine if a husband puts
himself in his wife’s place and asks himself why she is disagreeing with him the
way she is! Or if you place yourself in the place of your teenage son and try to
understand why he is acting the way he is. Imam Malik used to think that way. He
used to think of others and try to look for what benefits them.
Hence, two inspiring approaches were initiated by
him. The first one was that he always believed that wherever the benefit of the
peoples was, then Allah’s rules were supportive. That was his approach in
reading and interpreting the Qur’an and ahadith. He always looked at the rules
knowing that he would find benefits for people. The second one was that he
believed that Islam is based on allowing people all pleasures except for the
things that was named as sinful deeds. He preferred to define the best scholar
as the one who gave people permission to enjoy Allah’s blessings as long as it
was proven by Islam. He always tried to look at the situation beforehand and try
to see how to make it easy on people. When he could not, then he would say that
he did not know the answer to the issue raised instead of saying something harsh
that would burden people.
That is why thousands of people followed him
and gathered around him because he wanted the best for others and the easiest
for them in the light of Shariah.
He built his approach on three verses from the Qur’an, which can be translated
as:
“..and
has not laid upon you in religion any hardship…“
(TMQ,
22: 78).
“Allah wills for you ease, and He does not will
difficulty for you...” (TMQ, 2:185).
“Allah wills to lighten (things) for you, and
man was created a weakling“(TMQ, 4:28).
It is interesting to note that one of the easiest
approaches towards marriage was indeed Imam Malik’s. He built his approach on a
story that happened during Prophet Muhammad’s time when a man came to him saying
that he and his wife had fair complexion, however, his wife gave birth to a boy
with a dark complexion. The man was doubtful of his wife’s fidelity! The Prophet
asked him if he had animals to which the man said yes. He then asked him if his
animals included one that was not of the same color. The man said yes. The
Prophet inquired how that could happen. The man guessed that perhaps it took its
color from an ancestor. Then the Prophet suggested that it could be the same
case with his son. The Prophet did not wish to open a door of doubt between the
man and his wife and that is where Imam Malik extracted his approach.
Ablution is another example of Imam Malik’s search
for uncomplicated solutions for Muslims. When you make
ablution and then later you are not sure
whether or not your ablution is still valid,
Malik would ask such questions: Can you swear that your
ablution is not valid? Are you sure it is not?
If you can not say a clear yes, then your
ablution is valid according to Malik. Malik is
the scholar who would lose appetite when asked by someone to find a way out of a
problem! He would keep thinking hard to find that way out. He would ask the
person to stay in the city till he found that solution. That was one of the
great reasons behind his success.
Imam Malik is the writer of the first book in
Islam; ‘Al-Mu’ata’ which contained all his thoughts and ideas. The name of the
book itself is driven from an Arabic word which mean easiness and sensitivity to
others. That book contained 12,000 ahadith with their interpretations by
scholars and hence it was the first of its kind. It gained huge popularity and
it paved the way to many notable scholars such as al-Bukhari and ash-Shafi'y.
Imam Malik was once asked about the thing that was
closest to his heart. He said it was to bring happiness to a Muslim through
dedicating his work and life to take away his/her burdens. He used his knowledge
to help others. He would follow Prophet Muhammad’s example of taking the easier
option that complied with shariah.
It is time now to see how he came to think that
way!
This is a message to all parents for a certain
situation in Malik’s childhood inspired him to be so. Malik used to be a playful
child who loved to chase pigeons and follow singers. He never cared about
studying, something that bothered his family which was known for its knowledge
and status. Malik’s father decided to handle this situation by holding a
knowledge competition for his sons. In the competition, Malik’s younger brother
won!
All the father did was to smile at Malik saying
that chasing the pigeons kept him away from seeking knowledge. Malik got upset
and said that he would excel in something else such as signing. His mother said
gently that a singer without a good voice was worthless even if he enjoyed good
looks! He asked her what to do then! She said that singing would not get him
far, but knowledge might! On the next day, she bought him clothes usually worn
by scholars at their time. Imam Malik was very excited and immediately asked and
asked her how to go about seeking knowledge. His mother then suggested that he
go to Rabiiah in order to learn manners before knowledge.
That story was told by Imam Malik himself at the
age of 70! It was the wisdom of his parents in dealing in a gentle way with
their son’s issue that helped to raise such a great scholar! That is another
example of coexistence! His parents did not force him or insult him. They just
gave him hints on how to be better. This is a message to all. Do not force
people to do things. It is a message to the West. Do not force us to follow your
lead.
I hope you got
the idea. Put yourself in the place of others. Do not force others or pressure
them in any way. Go easy on them and respect them. This is a message to every
husband and wife, to our brothers and sisters in Iraq to end the bloodshed. I
urge you to think about other people’s benefits and interests. I hope we all
benefit from that powerful message.
