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Early Islam in Medina

Malik and His Muwatta’

Yasin Dutton author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:18th May '23

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Early Islam in Medina cover

This book considers early Islam in Medina and Imam Malik’s transmission of the Sunna in his Muwatta’.

This book considers the transmission of the Sunna through the lens of the great Madinan legal scholar, Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH/795 CE), in his renowned book al-Muwatta’, or 'The well-trodden path'. It considers not only the legal judgements preserved in this book, but also the key scholars involved in the transmission of these judgements, namely, Malik’s teachers and students. These different transmissions provide very strong evidence for the reliability of Malik’s transmission of the Sunna.

Overriding these textual considerations is the concept of ‘amal, or the Practice of the People of Medina. This is accepted as a prime source by Malik and those following him, but is effectively rejected by the other schools, who prefer hadith (textual reports) as an indication of Sunna. Given the contested nature of ‘amal in both ancient and modern times, and the general unawareness of it in contemporary Islamic studies, this source receives extended treatment here. This allows for a deeper understanding of the nature of Islamic law and its development, and, by extension, of Islam itself.

Yasin Dutton’s Early Islam in Medina is a survey of the traditional as well as modern scholarship on the nature of legal interpretation and practice in early Islam before the consolidation of the formal schools of law. Eschewing complex historical and legal debates that have rendered scholarship on early Islam impenetrable to a general audience, Dutton’s text fills a lacuna by offering an accessible defence of the Malikite school and its foundation in Madinan practice rather than hadith texts. * Ovamir Anjum, Imam Khattab Chair of Islamic Studies and Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Toledo, USA *
A great analysis on the school of Medina and the impact and content of the Muwatta, which is essential to understanding the development of Islamic law in the early period. * Hamza Yusuf, President and Senior Faculty Member, Zaytuna College, USA *
Professor Dutton has built on his extensive work in this area to gift contemporary scholarship yet another key contribution…This book is highly recommended to all those interested in the Qur’an…those readers who would hope to imagine post-colonial Islamic futures…[and] may be of benefit to those who would seek a revival and renewal of their own practice of Islam. * The Muslim World Book Review *

ISBN: 9781350261907

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

152 pages