Imam Malik Part 1 - Bilal Assad

Malki ibn Anas ibn Mālik ibn Abī 'Āmir al-Asbahī (Arabic: مالك بن أنس‎; 711–795 CE / 93–179 AH) is known as "Imam Malik," the "Sheikh of Islam", the "Proof of the Community," and "Imam of the Abode of Emigration."

He was one of the most highly respected scholars of fiqh in Islam. Shafi`i, who was one of Imam Malik's students for nine years and a scholarly giant in his own right, stated, "when scholars are mentioned, Malik is the star."

The Maliki Madhab/rite, named after Malik, is one of the four schools of jurisprudence that are followed by Sunni Muslims to this day. Imam Malik was a student of Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq.

Living in Madina gave Imam Malik access to some of the most learned minds of early Islam. He memorized the Quran in his youth, learning recitation from Abu Suhail Nafi' ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman, from whom he also received his Ijazah, or certification and permission to teach others. He studied under various famed scholars including Hisham ibn Urwah, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, and—along with Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Hanafi Sunni Madh'hab—under the household of the Prophet's lineage, Jafar al Sadiq. This fact may explain the mutual respect and relative peace that has often existed between the Hanafi and Maliki Sunnis, on one hand, and the Shi`is on the other.

Imam Malik died at the age of 85 in Madina in 795 and is buried in the famous Jannat ul-Baqi cemetery across from the Masjid al Nabawi. Malik's last words were related by one Isma'il Ibn Abi Uways who said, "Malik became sick, so I asked some of our people about what he said at the time of his death. They said, `He recited the shahadah (testification of faith), then he recited:

''Their affair is for Allah, before and after''.