Muwatta
Malik
موطأ مالك
Golden Chain of Narration in Hadith Studies
Any Hadith that has a chain of narration - I heard from Imam Malik, Imam Malik heard from Nafe and Nafe heard from Ibn Umar and Ibn Umar heard from the Prophet - is considered a hadith with a golden chain of narration. Imam Malik was the student of Nafe, who was a freed slave and student of Abdullah Ibn Umar. The position of Imam Malik is very high in Islamic Jurisprudence, and his Muwatta has a compilation of around 1800 Ahadeeth which were carefully picked by the Muhadith based on sound authentication from ten thousand Hadith that he had.
The Meaning of Muwatta
Muwatta means a ‘trodden’ or a ‘beaten path’. Noted Indian Muhaddith Shah Waliullah Dehlvi explains the term trodden in context with Muwatta - It means path (of understanding and taking Deen) followed by imminent religious authorities.
Imam Malik's Contribution to Hadith Compilation
Imam Malik worked and researched in the Heejaz area (coastal area of Arabia) and Madinah so he could accumulate only those hadith and juristic verdicts which were narrated by sahaba who stayed back in Madinah after the death of the messenger of Allah and the Tabiyeen.
Imam Malik's Stance on Legal Uniformity
Imam Malik Refused to Let His Muwatta Be Declared as the Book of Constitution. Muwatta of Imam Malik grew in popularity in authenticity and richness of topics because his students carried out his work in many parts of the world. When Khalifa Mansur the Abbasid Khalifa visited Makkah for Hajj, he met Imam Malik. He offered to put his book Muwatta as the main book of jurist verdicts. Still, Imam Malik disagreed and said, “The sahaba had settled in different cities and villages and I couldn't gather those juristic views and verdicts from them. In this situation, people should not be forced to follow only one Jurist.
Variations of Muwatta Narration
Muwatta has been narrated by Imam Malik in thirty ways but only sixteen were famous. Four out of these sixteen by Yahya, Ibn Bukhair, Abu Musab, and Ibn Wahb were counted as the most authoritative and among these four, the one by Yahya surpassed them all.
