Study notes taken from Shaykh Abdul-Muhsin al-Abbad’s explanation of al-Muwatta:

Lesson 1:

Before beginning, I wanted to mention some points regarding the imams of the four famous
schools of thought which the people of the Sunnah follow, namely Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam
Malik, Imam ash-Shafi’i and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal – may Allah have mercy upon them all:
-The first of them was Abu Hanifa, whose name was: an-Nu’man bin Thabit bin Zawkaa
(following the same pattern as Salmaa as mentioned in the dictionary). It was said that his
grandfather was from Persia and thus he was of Persian descent as mentioned by some
scholars.
-Imam Malik came after him and his name was: Malik bin Anas bin Malik bin Abu ‘Amir bin
‘Amir al-Asbahi. Asbah: i.e from Yemen. Their lineage is traceable to Qahtan and thus he is
Qahtani.
-Imam ash-Shafi’i: Muhammad bin Idris bin Abbas. His lineage is traceable to al-Muttalib bin
Abd-Manaf, the brother of Hashim, who was the grandfather of the Prophet – peace be
upon him. al-Muttalib bin Abd-Manaf was therefore the paternal uncle of Abdul-Muttalib
bin Hashim. Abd Manaf had 4 children: Nawfal, Abd Shams, al-Muttalib and Hashim. Ash-
Shafi’i is an ascription to one of his grandfathers who was called Shafi’. He is also called ‘al-
Muttalibi’, an ascription to al-Muttalib bin Abd Manaf. The scholars trace the lineage of the
scholars who have a common ancestry with the Prophet – peace be upon him – until they
meet. Other examples include ‘Abu Bakr at-Taymi’, an ascription to Taym bin Murrah, and
‘Umar bin al-Khattab al-Adawi’, an ascription to Adiyy bin K’ab, as this is where their family
trees converge with the Prophet’s – peace be upon him.
-Imam Ahmad’s name was: Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal bin Hilal ash-Shaybani, an
ascription to one of his grandfathers. His lineage is traceable to Rabi’ah bin Nizar, the
brother of Mudar. He was from ‘Adnan, as was Imam ash-Shafi’i.
Dictionary are very helpful in learning about the biographies in terms of the pronunciation
of names.
There are 21 ancestors between ‘Adnan and the lineage of the Prophet – peace be upon
him. Quraysh are the descendants of Fihr bin Malik, the 11th ancestor of the Prophet – peace
be upon him. The Prophet’s full name is: Muhammad the son of Abdullah, the son of Abdul
Mutalib, the son of Haashim, the son of Abdi Manaaf, the son of Qusay, the son of Kilaab,
the son of Murrah, the son of Ka`ab, the son of Luway, the son of Ghalib, the son of Fahar,
the son of Maalik, the son ofNadhar, the son of Kinanah, the son of Khuzaymah, the son of
Mudrikah, the son of Ilyaas, the son of Mudhar, the son of Nazaar, the son of Ma`ad, the son
of Adnaan.
-Permissibility of the name ‘Abdul-Muttalib as was done with Abdul-Muttalib bin Rabi’ah
and the grandfather of the Prophet – peace be upon him – whose name was Shaybah.
-Birth and death dates of the 4 imams: Abu Hanifa: 80-150AH (70 years); Malik 93-179H (86
years); ash-Shafi’i 150-204H (54 years); Ahmad: 164-241H (77 years).
The former two were born in the first century and died in the second century AH, while the
latter two were born in the second century and died in the third AH.
‫فنعمانهم قن وطعق لمالك * وللشافعي در ورام ابن حنبل‬
Qinn – 150AH Qaf=100 and Nun=50
Qaf=100 Ayn=70 Ta=9
Dal=200 Ra=4
Ra=200 Alif=1 Meem=40
Their narrations are mentioned in all 6 canonical hadith collections.
Abu Hanifa – Tirmidhi and Nasa’i.
Malik and Ahmad’s narrations are reported in all 6 books.
ash-Shafi’i – the 4 Sunan and al-Bukhari in disconnected (mu’allaq) form, not in his Sahih.
Imam Muslim did not report his narrations, which does not mean there was anything wrong
with him as their books did not include all the authentic narrations nor all the reliable
narrators. Ibn as-Salah mentions this was not their aim in the first place, hence al-Hakim and
others who compiled their books based on the authentic narrations not included in Bukhari
or Muslim. Moreover, al-Hakim mentioned narrations which were included in the first place.
Abu Ubayd al-Qasim bin Sallam was another narrator whom neither Bukhari nor Muslim
reported from in their authentic collections of Prophetic traditions, although al-Bukhari did
mention some of his narrations in disconnected form (ta’liq), but not within the main body
of his book – as did Abu Dawud and an-Nasa’i. This doesn’t mean that there is anything
wrong with him. Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned the famous jurists in each of the main cities at
the beginning of his book ‘I’lam al-Muwaqqi’in’ and among them Abu Ubayd, whom he
praised greatly.
Another example is Abdullah bin az-Zubayr al-Makki – the first teacher Bukhari mentions in
his opening narration – is not mentioned by Muslim except in his introduction.
3 of the 4 imams narrated from each other – Ahmad from Shafi’i from Malik, for example in
the narration: “The soul of the believer is a bird hanging in Paradise”.
‫ِن َطا ِئ ٌر يعلق ْال َج َّن ِة‬ِ ‫إِ َّن َما َن َس َم ُة ْالم ُْؤم‬
Ibn Kathir points this out in his exegesis of 3:169:
‫يل هَّللا ِ أَمْ َوا ًتا‬
ِ ‫ِين قُتِلُوا فِي َس ِب‬
َ ‫َواَل َتحْ َسبَنَّ الَّذ‬
This is a tremendous, great narration whose chain includes 3 of the 4 famously followed
imams.
These 3 imams had several things in common:
-They were scholars of hadith as well as jurists, contrary to Abu Hanifa who was a jurist.
-They narrated from each other.
-All of them had the teknonym ‘Abu Abdillah’.
END OF LESSON
Q: Is the name Abd an-Nabi allowed?
A: No. The only exception to ascribing oneself as a slave to Allah’s names is Abdul-Muttalib,
due to the Prophet – peace be upon him – approving of this.
Q: Is Qahtan from the descendants of Isma’il?
A: No, but Adnan is from the descendants of Isma’il whom the Prophet – peace be upon him
– came from. Qahtan is from Yemen.
Q: Does Bukhari narrate from Ahmad?
A: Yes.
Q: Regarding the saying: If Adam was to seek intercession on behalf of so-and-so, I would
not accept it?
A: Not befitting and impossible also. It is a mistake. If one must, at least use as an example
someone who is alive.
Q: Which explanation/s are the best of al-Muwatta?
A: There are many books of varying lengths. al-Istidhkar and at-Tamhid of Ibn Abdul-Barr are
very expansive. The former is a famous Maliki book of Fiqh.
Some of the impartial books of jurisprudence are al-Majmu of an-Nawawi, which is Shafi’i,
and al-Mughni of Ibn Qudamah, which is Hanbali, and al-Istidhkar of Ibn Abdul-Barr, which is
Maliki and based on the Muwatta. The authors of the foregoing books do not restricted
themselves to their own schools of thought. It is noteworthy to mention that Bidayat al-
Mujtahid of Ibn Rushd is based on al-Istidhkar of Ibn Abdul-Barr. He mentions this and refers
readers to al-Istidhkar at the end of the book of purification, which may refer to that
chapter only, and may refer to the book in its entirety. Allah knows best.
A distinction between Ibn Rushd the grandchild and Ibn Rushd the grandfather was
necessary due to them both having the teknonym Abul-Waleed, both of them had the title
‘al-Qurtubi’ and they were both called Ibn Rushd.
Q: Why his al-Muwatta so-called?
A: Imam Malik says he presented his work to seventy scholars, all of whom agreed with him
regarding it (Wa-ta-a).
Q: What do you think of the book: “Sharh Mushkilat Muwatta Malik Riwayat ash-Shaybani”
of Mulla Ali al-Qari?
A: I don’t know anything about it.
Q: Regarding Imam Abu Hanifa and his being affected with the belief of al-Irja (those who
believe faith is restricted to belief and is unaffected by actions)?
A: Yes, he says faith is belief and saying, and did not mention actions. The explainer of at-
Tahawi’s creed mentions that the difference is terminology based and hence makes no
difference. However, it is a means to evil. Imam Abu Hanifa and others from Kufah didn’t
intend that it was not included within it. Allah mentions many a time in the Quran faith in
conjunction with action, which does not necessitate that they are exclusive to each other.
Rather the intent is that the action is what separates people and allows them to be
measured.
Q: How do we know narrators met?
Q: Can a person study by reading without attending lectures?
Q: Regarding building mosques alongside churches and printing the Quran alongside the
Torah?
‫وهللا يدعو الى دار السالم ويهدي من يشاء الى صراط مستقيم‬
This verse gathers between the nation of invitation and the nation of answering.
Q: Restricting oneself to a single school of thought?
Q: Can students of knowledge take from zakat/obligatory charity?
Q: Can the caller to pray instruct the people to stay at home due to the cold?
Q: Buying a piece of land in a distant place until a person can buy a nearer piece of land with
the intention of wealth preservation – is obligatory charity/zakat to be paid on it?
Q: Did the Prophet change all distasteful names?
Q: Regarding whether the saying of a companion constitutes proof?
Q: Regarding whether the sayings of the tabi’in/generation following the companions
constitute proof?
Q: A student who studies in a European university and is not allowed to observe prayer at
the correct time – is it permissible to pray sitting?
Q: Is there any merit in being buried in the Baqi’ graveyard over other graveyards in
Madinah?
Q: Is it allowed to use alcoholic creams for dry skin?
Q: When wiping ears in performing ablution, it causes me great pain and affects my hearing.
Is there any exemption for me?
Q: Ruling of business with one who does not pray and mocks the religion?
Q: Reading someone’s name backwards out of jest – is it permissible?
Q: Can a person supplicate for a disbeliever, that Allah lightens their punishment?
Q: What is the difference between the books al-Istidhkar and at-Tamhid?
Q: A woman was pregnant last Ramadan and still has not made her fasts up, and is now
breastfeeding – what should she do?

Lesson 2:

-The imams of the 4 schools of thought became famous contrary to others although they
had contemporaries who were people of knowledge and whom the people referred to, due
to the fact they had followers who gathered their sayings, organised them and gave them
concern. Some examples are: Imam al-Awza’i in the Levant, Sufyan ath-Thawri in Kufah, al-
Layth bin S’ad in Egypt. Ibn al-Qayyim mentions the scholars in each land in his introduction
to I’lam al-Muwaqqi’in.
-The existence of these 4 schools of thought is greatly beneficial, as it makes it easy for
people to refer to issues which have been organised and ordered so they can become
acquainted with them. However, a person must, when studying the various opinions and
sayings, place emphasis on learning the associated evidences and proofs in order to know
which of them in is in conformity and which of them are not. A person should not restrict
himself to blindly following only one school of thought, but should gather between
jurisprudence and prophetic traditions, or understanding the sayings with their evidences
from the Quran and the authentic hadith. Al-Khattabi mentions at the start of his book
entitled ‘Ma’alim as-Sunan’ that a person who engrosses themselves with either to the
detriment of the other will not maximise their benefit. Being acquainted with hadith is akin
to having a strong foundation whereas having knowledge of jurisprudence is similar to
having a building: they are interdependent.
-It is imperative to note that the truth is whatever the proof indicates. This should be the
methodology of a person.
-Many scholars learnt a particular school of thought alongside study of the proofs and then
went on to regard opinions outside their initial school of thought as preponderant.
Whenever they found the proof conflicted with their school of thought, they would forsake
the latter in favour of the former. Shaykhul-Islam bin Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Rajab
and Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhab were all broadly Hanbali, in the sense they studied it
initially, however they studied the evidences too, and would diverge from their school of
thought many a time. The same can be said of the Shafi’i school of thought with regards to
Imam adh-Dhahabi, Ibn Hajr, Ibn Kathir, an-Nawawi and others – they would all give
precedence to the proof over their schools of thought. Likewise, the Maliki scholars such as
Ibn Abdul-Barr and the Hanafi scholars such as at-Tahawi, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad bin al-
Hasan would all do the same. Ibn Hajr cites specific examples for each school of thought in
this regard. For instance, Asbagh bin Faraj who was one of Bukhari’s teachers, said regarding
wiping over the socks while resident: “The evidence has more right to be followed than
Malik’s difference of opinion.” Another example is al-Qarafi who said regarding washing a
vessel with earth if a dog licks it is authentically established, so it is strange that the Maliki’s
did not share this view.” He himself was a Maliki. Similarly, Ibn al-Arabi differed with the
Maliki school of thought by saying that the funeral prayer in absence of the body was not
specific to the Prophet – peace be upon him – but inclusive of his nation likewise.
-An-Nawawi, who was Shafi’i, is reported to have said: There are two narrations mentioning
performing ablution after consuming camel meat, and hence they should be followed,
despite the majority of scholars – among them the Shafi’i scholars – not sharing this opinion.
-Ibn al-Qayyim in exegesis of the verse mentioning the “middle prayer” asserts that Imam
ash-Shafi’i in his most recent opinion held it to be the dawn prayer. However, he would also
say: “If a narration is correct, then it is my opinion” and based on this, Ibn al-Qayyim
declared his opinion to be the Asr prayer, other than what he himself explicitly stated.
-Studying a school of thought is good and beneficial but must be done in conjunction with
learning the evidences. Neglecting either leads to deficiency.
-Many followers of the schools of thought follow their imams in matters of jurisprudence
but not matters of creed. Imam al-Ashari recanted at the end of his life, however these
people remain upon his old ideology which conflicts with the methodology of the imams of
the 4 famous schools of thought.
-Blind following of one of the 4 schools of thought is acceptable if a person is unable to
ascertain the evidence regarding a matter. Bigoted blind following which causes a person to
ignore evidences is what is blameworthy. For someone in need of following an opinion,
Allah says: “Fear Allah as much as you are able.”
-From the good deeds of King Abdul-Aziz was that he banned the people from praying
behind their own individual imams in the Grand Mosque in Makkah. This was something I
witnessed the people practicing when I performed my obligatory hajj. Shaikh Taqiuddin al-
Hilali mentioned to me that one of the blind followers said to an individual who knew the
evidences: ‘You are not upon truth because you don’t have your own maqam/section near
the Kabah!’ The excellent response he received was: “The maqam/footstep of Ibrahim is
sufficient for all of the Muslims – we don’t need any others.”
-I have written something in this regard at the beginning of my refutation of ar-Rifa’iyy and
al-Butiyy.
-The truth does not necessarily lie with the majority as in the example of Abu Bakr when he
saw it fit to fight against those who did not pay the obligatory charity.
-Ibn al-Qayyim mentions in his book ‘ar-Ruh’ “Whoever prefers the proof of their sayings
has actually followed the 4 imams as they all stated that textual evidence is to be given
precedence over their opinions. A person should use their opinions as a guide to reach the
Prophet – peace be upon him – they guide us to the original guidelines of the Prophet –
peace be upon him. Someone who uses the stars to ascertain the direction of the Qiblah
would not turn to the stars if they were standing directly in front of the Kabah.”
-Just as a person refers to various hadith explanations to acquire different meanings and
benefits, they should do regarding matters of jurisprudence. Some of the best books are al
Mughni of Ibn Qudamah, al-Majmu’ of an-Nawawi, al-Istidhkar of Ibn Abdul-Barr. These
books are recommended because they mention the understandings of the companions and
the generation which followed them, as well as the opinions of the four schools of thought.
-Our stance in relation to the four schools of thought should be to acknowledge their virtue,
not to turn away from them but also not to blind follow them bigotedly. We love them,
praise them, follow them in accordance with the Book and the way of the Prophet – peace
be upon him – and leave that which is not in conformity of their sayings with it. Where there
is a lack of evidence regarding a matter, their opinions should be considered as they were
more knowledgeable and God-conscious than us. Caution is to be taken and a person should
choose the closest of sayings to Allah’s good pleasure and the furthest of them from doubt,
in accordance with the saying of the Prophet – peace be upon him: “Leave that which
causes you doubt for that which does not cause you doubt” and “Whoever avoids doubtful
matters has safeguarded his religion and his honour.”
-The 4 illustrious imams are from the best of the Muslims but are not infallible. Whatever
they strove and attained the truth regarding, they shall receive two rewards for, while they
still receive one reward for their mistakes. Thus, they are rewarded in all circumstances. The
Quran and the authentic traditions of the Prophet – peace be upon him – are favoured over
them. We do not insult them, nor do we favour their sayings over the Quran and Sunnah.
-Bear in mind that for 80 years before Abu Hanifah the people were not followers of any
school of thought and remained followers of textual evidence.
-Sayings of the 4 imams regarding giving precedence to the proofs over their sayings.
-See introduction of Al-Albani to his book in description of the Prophet’s prayer.
-The 4 imams are excused in the matter wherein they differed from the proofs. Imam ibn
Taymiyyah has a book ‘Raf’ al Malam an al-A-immah al-Alam’ mentioning that none of them
differed with any evidence knowingly. Excuses can be made for them in one of three ways:
either they did not consider the proof to be authentic, or they did not consider the proof
being relevant to the matter at hand, or they held a particular ruling to be abrogated.
-Blind following a particular school of thought: a person who is able to find out the evidence
must do so, and by doing so, will be following their advice. Furthermore, Ibn Taymiyyah
mentions that the truth is not restricted to their sayings only.
- A common person who is unable to seek the proofs for himself and who does not have a
scholar to ask, he may blind follow one of the four schools of thought as he has no other
choice. “Fear Allah as much as you are able.” Ibn Baz said regarding the claim that blind
following one of the four imams was from the most emphasised obligations: “Saying this in
an unrestricted sense is undoubtedly false, as it is not obligatory to blindly follow any of the
4 imams or anyone else, however great their knowledge. What is correct is that a person
follows the Quran and the way of the Prophet – peace be upon him. Blind following is
palatable if there is a genuine necessity to do so and should be done of a scholar who is of
sound creed.”
-Difference of opinion can be categorised into disagreement of variance, whereby if a
person were to follow any of the sayings in that regard, he would be acting on a portion of
the truth, such as the different wordings of the opening supplications or the
testification/tashahhud. All the scholars who strive regarding this type receive the full
reward. The other category is disagreement amounting to contradiction, such as some
scholars considering a matter to nullify one’s ablution while others do not. Here, the
scholars either receive one reward, if they do not attain the truth, and two if they do.

Q: Are any of the four schools of thought closer to the truth than the rest?
A: Abu Hanifa’s is further away from the truth as it is based on logic and reason to a greater
extent, in contrast to the other three schools of thought. Imam Ahmad’s school of thought,
because he had a book of 40 thousand hadith, and due him having learnt from his
predecessors is all indicative of his knowledge.
Q: Did they not follow the evidences themselves?
Q: What is meant by the ‘Madhab of the People of Hadith’?
Q: Is the agreement of the four imams considered consensus?
Q: Can the truth be outside the 4 schools of thought?
Q: Will all Muslims answer the 3 questions of the grave correctly?
END
Lesson 3:

Malik bin Anas – imam of Madinah, a faqih and a muhaddith

Famously quoted as having said: Everyone’s sayings are taken from and rejected, except for
the inhabitant of this grave.
Nobody except for the Prophets is infallible, they all make mistakes occasionally. However,
they either achieve one or two rewards.
Ibn Kathir mentions Imam Malik in his exegesis of Surah al Hashr:
‫ِك ُه ُم‬َ ‫ُون هَّللا َ َو َرسُولَ ُه أُولَئ‬
َ ‫صر‬ َ ‫ار ِه ْم َوأَ ْم َوال ِِه ْم َي ْب َت ُغ‬
ُ ‫ون َفضْ ال م َِن هَّللا ِ َو ِرضْ َوا ًنا َو َي ْن‬ ُ َ ‫ين الَّذ‬
ِ ‫ِين أ ْخ ِرجُوا مِنْ ِد َي‬ َ ‫ل ِْلفُ َق َرا ِء ْال ُم َها ِج ِر‬
‫ون‬ ُ
َ ‫الصَّا ِدق‬
That he extrapolated the taxation collected from conquered peoples (fay’) is not to be given
to those who insult the Companions, as Allah mentions the ones who migrated, the
.inhabitants of Madinah and those who follow them

:Hanbali books of jurisprudence which a beginner should study

Az-Zad (al-Mustaqni’) – a summary of al-Muqni’ – then al-Kafi – then al-Mughni of Ibn -
.Qudamah
‫ما أجمل الدين والدنيا إذا اجتمعا *** وأقبح الكفر واإلفالس في الرجل‬