School of law
Maliki
Traced to Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 795). Gives weight to the living practice of the people of Madinah and to public interest alongside text.
Mainly followed in: North and West Africa, parts of the Gulf and Upper Egypt.
History
Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 795) lived his whole life in Madinah, the city of the Prophet ﷺ. His guiding insight was simple: if the people of Madinah, generation after generation, prayed and traded and buried their dead in a certain way, that continuous living practice is itself strong evidence of the Sunnah.
His book, al-Muwatta, is one of the earliest surviving collections of hadith arranged by legal topic. Students carried it west, and the school became dominant across North and West Africa and Muslim Spain.
Maliki law is also known for weighing public interest (maslaha) and for a practical, community-minded approach to disputes.
Lineage of teaching
Knowledge in Islam is passed from teacher to student. This is the broad chain behind the school, oldest first.
- 1The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
- 2The Companions settled in Madinah, notably Umar and Ibn Umar
- 3The seven jurists of Madinah
- 4Nafi', the freed servant of Ibn Umar
- 5Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 795)
- 6Ibn al-Qasim, Sahnun (al-Mudawwana), Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani
- 7Khalil ibn Ishaq (al-Mukhtasar), and the scholars of Fez, Qayrawan and Timbuktu
Ten practices you would notice today
Everyday positions a follower of this school would recognise. Other schools hold different views on these points, and all remain within Islam.
- 1Hands are commonly left hanging at the sides in obligatory prayer (folding is also permitted).
- 2'Ameen' is generally said quietly behind the imam.
- 3Hands are raised at the opening takbir only.
- 4Wiping over leather socks is allowed but the school prefers washing the feet.
- 5Only touching with desire breaks wudu.
- 6Witr is prayed as two units then one, following the practice of Madinah.
- 7Combining prayers is allowed for travel, rain or genuine hardship.
- 8The local moon sighting decides the start of Ramadan.
- 9Food slaughtered by Jews and Christians is permitted, with the name of Allah's oneness upheld.
- 10Inward work — sincerity, humility, purifying the heart — is treated as part of the ordinary religious education, not an extra.
Practices kept today that the Prophet ﷺ did himself
Points where this school’s everyday practice matches something directly narrated from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Every school holds to the Sunnah as it understood it — these are examples, not a claim that others depart from it.
Following the continuous, inherited practice of the people of Madinah in worship and daily dealings.
Madinah's unbroken practice was learnt directly from the Prophet ص; he said of it: “Madinah expels its impurities as the furnace removes the impurities of iron.”
Wiping over leather socks when they were put on in a state of purity.
Al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba poured water for the Prophet ص, who wiped over his socks rather than removing them.
Keeping the prayer simple and unhurried, without added formulas.
“Pray as you have seen me praying.”
Sources & further reading
The works this school’s positions are drawn from, plus accessible introductions.
Al-Muwatta
Imam Malik (d. 795)
Hadith and Madinan practice combined; the earliest surviving law book, in English translation.
Al-Mudawwana
Sahnun (d. 854)
The record of Malik's positions transmitted through Ibn al-Qasim.
Risala of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani
Ibn Abi Zayd (d. 996)
The classic beginner's manual of Maliki practice and creed.
Mukhtasar Khalil
Khalil ibn Ishaq (d. 1365)
The concise reference relied on across North and West Africa.
A reminder
This page is a summary for orientation, not a fatwa. Differences between schools are differences of scholarship, not of faith — learn the details from a qualified, trustworthy teacher in your own community.