The Position of the Mālikī School; A response to claims that the Maliki school is against the Ash’ari school.
The opponent said:
According to the Mālikī school:
The āfiẓ of the Maghreb and its erudite notable, Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, narrated with his chain from the jurist of the Mālikī school in the east (In Iraq), Ibn Khuwayz Mindād [1] , that he said in the book of testimonies, explaining the words of Mālik: ‘The testimony of the people of innovation and desires is not allowed.’: ‘According to Mālik and the rest of our companions, the people of desires are the people of theological rhetoric. Hence, every practitioner of theological rhetoric is from the people of desires and innovation—be they Ash’arī or other than that. Their testimony shall never be accepted in Islām. They should be abandoned and chastised for their innovation. If they persist upon it, repentance should be sought from them.’
Response:
1. Applying the statements of the great Imāms such as Mālik and others to the Ash’arīs is a mistake. Imām Abūl asan al-Ash’arī was born after the death of Imām Ahmad—who was the last of the four Imāms—not to mention Imām Mālik. The people of theological rhetoric in the time of Imām Mālik were the Jahmiyya and Mu’tazila who had espoused falsehood. Their intent was not to defend the creed of the people of truth or give it victory. Imām al-Bayhaqī responded to this misconception when he said:
Allāh knows best, but by theological rhetoric, they only meant the theological rhetoric of the people of innovation. During their epoch, it was only the innovators that were known for theological rhetoric. As for Ahl al-Sunna, very infrequently did they engage in theological rhetoric until they were obliged to do so afterwards.
2. The opponent used the words of Ibn Khuwayz Mindād al-Mālikī against the Ash’arī school, yet the reality is that he was not considered reliable in his knowledge or citations.
āfiẓ b. ajr al-‘Asqalānī said in Lisān al-Mīzān:
He possesses odd (reports) from Mālik and personal opinions and interpretations that the elite of the school did not reach , such as his view that the slaves are not included in the (Divine) address directed to free people, and that the singular report (Khabar al-Wāhid) benefits knowledge…
…Abūl Walīd al-Bājī spoke ill of him stating that he was not skilled in investigation, nor was he strong in jurisprudence. He used to claim that in the school of Mālik, it is not permissible to witness the funeral prayer of a practitioner of theological rhetoric, accept their testimony, marry them, or entrust them. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr also criticized him as well. [2]
Imām Abūl Walīd al-Bājī said concerning him:
I did not hear any mention of him among the scholars of the Iraqis. He used to completely shun theological rhetoric and have aversion towards its people, so much so that this led to loathing of the practitioners of theological rhetoric among Ahl al-Sunna. He ruled that the people of theological rhetoric were people of desires, concerning whom, Mālik said what he said with regards to their testimonies and marriages.
Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ said concerning him:
“He possesses oddities from Mālik. He also has personal legal views that the erudite of the school did not reach . He was not skilled in investigation, nor was he strong in jurisprudence.” [3]
So this is the view of some of the leading Mālikī scholars and jurists, such as Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Bajī, and Qāḍi ‘Iyād, not to mention the view of one of the leaders in al-Jarh wal-Ta’dīl (criticism and lauding of adīth narrators), āfiẓ b. ajr. Likewise, there is no doubt that most of the Mālikī jurists are Ash’arīs.
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[1] Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Abd Allah, (or b. ‘Alī). D.390 Hijrī
[2] Lisān al-Mīzān; 5/329 Dār al-Fikr ed.
[3] See: Tartīb al-Madārik of Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ; 4/606, al-Dībāj of Ibn Farhūn; 2/229, Tārīkh al-Islām of Imām al-Dhahabī; rank 39/40, pg 217, and al-Wāfī bil-Wafayāt of al-Ṣafadī; 2/52.
(Taken and adapted from the works of Ustadhs Abdullah al-Ghali and Salah al-Din al-Idlibi. May Allah reward them)
