UAE Friday sermon highlights Imam Malik’s pursuit of knowledge

First Sermon (Khutbah One)

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the earth and the heavens, who has made the scholars the inheritors of the prophets. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and we bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace, and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his companions, and those who follow them.

To proceed: I advise you, o servants of Allah, and myself to have taqwa of Allah.  Allah, the Exalted, says: And fear Allah. And Allah teaches you. And Allah is Knowing of all things (Al-Baqarah: 282).

O believers: In the month of Rabi' al-Awwal, the gentle breezes of the remembrance of the birth of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) blow upon us. With this, his love increases in our hearts, his biography lives on in our souls, and the emulation of his guidance grows within us, acting in accordance with the words of Allah the Almighty: That you may believe in Allah and His Messenger and honor him and respect the Prophet and exalt Allah morning and afternoon (Al-Fath: 9).

And part of the sincerity of loving him and the excellence of caring for his guidance (peace and blessings be upon him) is to recognize the status of those noble scholars who dedicated their lives to serving his Hadith (peace and blessings be upon him). Among their most prominent figures is Imam Malik bin Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, the scholar of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, who filled the earth with knowledge, and whose school of thought (Madhhab) spread in the East and the West, until it was said: When the scholars are mentioned, Malik is the star.

He was born in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah and grew up in a household that was a wellspring of knowledge and a destination for those seeking Prophetic guidance. His grandfather was among the scholars of the Tabi'in (the generation following the Companions), and his father and both his uncles were Hadith scholars. As for his mother, she was a prudent and wise woman who valued knowledge and recognized its people. When Malik came to her as a young boy, seeking her permission to pursue knowledge, she said to him, Come, put on the clothes of knowledge. She dressed him in his finest garments and then said, Go now, and record knowledge. She directed him to its pure wellspring and its trusted source, Rabi'ah bin Abi 'Abdul-Rahman, who was among the most learned people of his time, and she told him, Learn from his manners before his knowledge. 

Through this, his character was refined, his understanding progressed, and he dedicated himself to seeking the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from his early youth, exerting his utmost effort in that path and upholding the high status of his teacher.

He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I used to come to Nafi' at midday, with no trees to shade me from the sun, until he came out. When he emerged, I would leave him for a while, then greet him and ask him: 'What did Ibn Umar say about such-and-such?' And he would answer me.

Sincerity in seeking knowledge had filled his heart, and so his efforts were blessed, and he began issuing fatwas at the age of twenty-one, after seventy scholars of his time had attested to his qualifications, and students of knowledge sought him out from all horizons.

O servants of Allah: Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) used to revere the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with the utmost reverence, and he would exercise extreme precision in transmitting it. Thus, if he doubted a Hadith, he would discard it entirely, out of his eagerness for the accuracy of transmission from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

When students of Hadith came to him, he would go in, bathe, apply perfume, and wear his finest clothes, then he would come out to them with a sense of humility (Khushu'), saying, I love to honor the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He used to say: I do not love for anyone whom Allah has blessed, except that the effect of His blessing be seen upon him, especially the people of knowledge, in honor of knowledge.

Among his pieces of advice to students of knowledge is his saying: It is incumbent upon one who seeks knowledge to possess dignity, tranquillity, and fear (of Allah).

His assembly was one of dignity and knowledge, free from disputation, for he was the one who said: Disputation in knowledge removes the light of knowledge from the heart of the servant and breeds resentment. He used to say to his students: Whoever raises his voice while the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah is being recited is as if he has raised his voice above the voice of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He would remind them of the words of their Lord: O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet (Al-Hujurat: 2),

O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you (An-Nisa': 59).

I say this, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness.

Second Sermon (Khutbah Two)

 All praise is due to Allah alone, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, after whom there is no prophet.

To proceed: O believers, Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) realized that knowledge and issuing fatwas (legal rulings) are a trust, and he acted according to the saying of the Almighty: O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence] (Al-Anfal: 27).

A man asked him about a matter, and he said, I do not know it. The man said, I have travelled to you from a distant land. He replied, Then inform your people that I do not know it. So, contemplate his integrity in issuing fatwas and his deep sense of responsibility regarding them. Reflect also on how he taught his students to seek help from Allah; for if he was asked about a matter, he would say before even hearing the question: What Allah wills; there is no power except by Allah. 

He lived his entire life preoccupied with knowledge and the obedience of his Lord, filling both his day and night with them.

He was among the best of people in character toward his family and children, and he used to say: In that lies the pleasure of your Lord, an increase in your wealth, and an extension of your lifespan.

When death approached him, he testified to the Oneness of Allah (recited the Shahadah) and then said: To Allah belongs the command before and after (Ar-Rum: 4).  

 He passed away in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwara in these very days of the month of Rabi' al-Awwal in the year 179 AH, and he was buried in Al-Baqi' next to Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). May Allah grant him, and all the other four Imams, vast mercy.

He lived and studied in his homeland, took knowledge from trustworthy sources in his time, and benefited people with his knowledge. He was known for his diligence and hard work, his careful verification and exactitude in knowledge, his moderation and tolerance, the breadth of his jurisprudence, his sincerity, his dignity, his humility, and his fear of Allah. So, take hold, O servant of Allah, of his advice, as he says: It is upon you to sit with the one whose words increase your knowledge and whose actions invite you to the state of the Hereafter.

 Read his biography, learn his jurisprudence, emulate his guidance, and strive diligently to seek knowledge from the institutions of the homeland.

And whoever wishes to seek more, let him follow its official channels, for knowledge is a trust, and verifying its source is safety.

O Allah, send prayers, peace, and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions. And be pleased, O Allah, with Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, and with all the noble Companions

O Allah, we ask You for comprehensive goodness, the sources of righteousness, the treasures of Your bounty, and the vastness of Your forgiveness.

O Allah, perpetuate for the State of the UAE its glory, victory, stability, prosperity, goodness, and affluence.

O Allah, protect Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the President of the State, be for him a helper and a supporter, and bless his life and his deeds.

O Allah, grant success to him, his Vice-Presidents, his brothers the Rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince, in what You love and are pleased with.

O Allah, have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and the Sheikhs of the Emirates who have passed on to Your mercy, and admit them by Your grace into Your spacious gardens.

O Allah, encompass the martyrs of the homeland with Your mercy and forgiveness.

O Allah, have mercy on the Muslim men and Muslim women: the living among them and the dead.

Servants of Allah: Remember Allah, the Supreme and Majestic, and He will remember you, and thank Him for His blessings, and He will increase you.

And establish the prayer.