Imam Malik was born and lived his whole life in Madina and saw the traces of the Companions and Followers and the grave of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and all the great places there. He felt an enormous esteem for Madina and all it contained which marked his life from his earliest childhood. He maintained this deep-rooted respect until his death and it had a profound impact on his thought, his fiqh and his life in general. He gave great importance to the practice of its people in his ijtihad. Indeed, the principle of the ‘Practice of the People of Madina’ was one of the foundations of his legal method.

Malik grew up in a household which was engaged in the science of Traditions and hadith. His family was interested in the knowledge of the reports and traditions of the Companions and their fatwas. His grandfather, Malik ibn Abi ‘Amir, was one of the great men of knowledge of the Tabi’un. He related from many Companions. It is clear, however, that Anas ibn Malik, Malik’s father, was not greatly concerned with hadith since it is not known that Malik related anything from him, although Malik’s grandfather and uncles were. His family was well-known for their devotion to knowledge. Malik was originally known as ‘the brother of an-Nadr’, a brother of his who was esteemed for his knowledge. Then his own desire to seek knowledge grew to such an extent that people began to say, ‘an-Nadr, the brother of Malik.’

After memorising the Qur’an he devoted himself to memorising hadith, which was much encouraged in the environment of Madina. Malik went to the assemblies of scholars to write down what they taught and study it. Malik devoted himself to knowledge from an early age and sought it out from the people of knowledge in Madina. He confined himself to two areas of knowledge: hadith and fiqh. He did not like to argue about the reports of the various sects regarding matters about which people become confused and disagree. That was not due to any ignorance of their positions but was based on knowledge and clear evidence because he saw that delving into such things had no benefit.

“I love to honor the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (S), and I do not read Hadith without wudu”.

—Imām Mālik [d. 179H/795CE]

He learned the fatwas of the Companions from the Tabi’un and the Tabi’i’t-Tabi’in. He learned ‘Umar’s fatwas and those of Ibn Umar, ‘A’isha and other Companions. He learned the fatwas of Ibn al-Musayyab and other great Tabi’un. Their fatwas are the source of much of Maliki fiqh.

Malik lived surrounded by the traces of the Tabi’un and Companions, and he learned the fatwas of the Companions from the Tabi’un and singled out those whose opinions were best. He investigated the reports of ‘Umar and Ibn Mas’ud and other fuqaha’ of the Companions, studying their cases and rulings.

In the above video, Shaykh Ali Laraki gives an introduction to the school (madhab) of Imam Malik and the school of Madinah