First published in 1989. This is the first translation of the Muwatta' in the English language. Imam Malik came from a family of learning and grew up in Madina al-Munawarra which was the capital of knowledge at that time, especially the knowledge of hadith. Known as one of the great reciter’, Malik's predisposition for retention and understanding of knowledge he took it upon himself to serve the shari'a and to preserve the Prophetic sunna. He did this by relaying it from those notable Tabi'un with whose knowledge he was satisfied and whose words he thought worthy of conveying and by his work he opened the way for all later writers and cleared a path for the compilation of Islamic law.

If the Qur'an is the first written formulation of Islam in general, Malik's Muwatta' is arguably the first written formulation of the Islam-in-practice that becomes Islamic law. This book considers the methods used by Malik in the Muwatta' to derive the judgements of the law from the Qur'an and is thus concerned on one level with the finer details of Qur'anic interpretation. However, since any discussion of the Qur'an in this context must also include considerations of the other main source of Islamic law, namely the sunna, or normative practice, of the Prophet, this latter concept, especially its relationship to the terms of hadith and amal (traditions and living tradition), also receives considerable attention, and in many respects, this book is more about the history and development of Islamic law than it is about the science of Qur'anic interpretation. This is the first book to question the hitherto accepted frameworks of both the classical Muslim view and the current revisionist western view on the development of Islamic law. It is also the first study in a European language to deal specifically with the early development of the Madinan, later Malik, school of jurisprudence, as it is also the first to demonstrate in detail the various methods used, both linguistic and otherwise, in interpreting the legal verses of the Qur'an. It will be of interest to all those interested in the underlying bases of Islamic law and culture, and of particular interest to those involved in studying and teaching Islamic studies, both at undergraduate and research level. It will also be of interest to those studying the relationship between orality and literacy in ancient societies and the writing down of ancient law.

The first written treatise of Islamic law, Imam Mālik's 8th century CE Muwaṭṭaʾ provides an unparalleled window into the lives, rituals, laws, and customs of Medina's early Muslim community. Based on the 2013 Muwaṭṭaʾ, The Royal Moroccan Edition, this translation with extensive notes makes this early legal text widely accessible.

The classic Moroccan text from which generations learnt the basics of Islam, Iman and Ihsan.

Kitab Ash-Shifa bi ta'rif huquq al-Mustafa, (Healing by the recognition of the Rights of the Chosen One), of Qadi 'Iyad (d. 544H/1149CE) is perhaps the most frequently used and commented upon handbook in which the Prophet's, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, life, his qualities and his miracles are described in every detail. Generally known by its short title, Ash-Shifa, this work was so highly admired throughout the Muslim world that it soon acquired a sanctity of its own for it is said: "If Ash-Shifa is found in a house, this house will not suffer any harm... when a sick person reads it or it is recited to him, Allah will restore his health." Ash-Shifa gathers together all that is necessary to acquaint the reader with the true stature of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with the esteem and respect which is due to him, and with the verdict regarding anyone who does not fulfil what his stature demands or who attempts to denigrate his supreme status - even by as much as a nail paring. QADI 'IYAD His full name was Abu al-Fadl 'Iyad ibn Musa ibn 'Iyad ibn 'Imran ibn Musa ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Musa ibn 'Iyad al-Yahsubi, the famous Imam. He was born in Ceuta in the month of Sha'ban, 496 AH and lived there although his family originated from Andalusia. According to his son, Muhammad, his ancestors originated in Andalusia and then moved to the city of Fes, staying in the Qarawiyyin at some point. 'Imrun moved to Ceuta after having lived in Fes. Qadi 'Iyad was the Imam of his time in hadith and its sciences. He was a scholar of tafsir and its sciences, a faqih in usul, a scholar in grammar, language and Arabic speech, as well as in the battles and lineages of the Arabs. He had insight into judgements and had the legal competence to write contracts. He preserved and knew the Maliki madhhab. He was an excellent poet, familiar with literature and an eloquent orator. He was steadfast, forbearing and a good companion. He was generous and gave a lot of sadaqa. He was constant in action and tenacious in the truth. He died in Marrakesh in the month of Jumada al-Akhira or Ramadan in 544 AH. AISHA BEWLEY Aisha Abdurrahman at Tarjumana Bewley is one of today's most prolific translators of classical Arabic works into English. For more than thirty-five years she has been concerned with making the contents of many classical Arabic works more accessible to English-speaking readers. She is co-translator of The Noble Qur'an A New Rendering of its Meaning in English. Other works include Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik, The Meaning of Man, Mu'awiya - Restorer of the Muslim Faith, A Glossary of Islamic Terms, Islam: The Empowering of Women and Muslim Women, a Biographical Dictionary.

Rijal is a biography of the narrators of the Muwatta of Imam Muhammad, most particularly their standing as scholars of hadith. Since the majority of narrators here are among the great authorities of the Companions, the Followers, and Followers of the Followers later confirmed by al-Bukhari and Muslim and the rest of the major hadith scholars, this work will prove indispensable for the serious student of the sciences of the narrators of hadith.