The Muwatta of Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani (Arabic Edition) [Hardcover]

Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani (Author), Abdus Samad Clarke (Translator), Mohammed Abdurrahman (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2004

Translated by Mohammed Abdurrahman & Abdus Samad Clarke

This quote from one of the greatest authorities on hadith of all time is sufficient recommendation. The version of the Muwatta narrated by Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, one of the two leading pupils of Imam Abu Hanifah, directly from his three years of study with Imam Malik will be of particular interest not only to students of Hanafi fiqh, but also to students of hadith in general.

Imam Malik composed the Muwatta’ over a period of forty years to represent the "well-trodden path" of the people of Madina. Its name also means that it is the book that is "many times agreed upon"— about whose contents the people of Madina were unanimously agreed—and that is "made easy and facilitated". Its high standing is such that people of every school of fiqh and all of the imams of hadith scholarship agree upon its authenticity. Imam Shafi’i said, "There is not on the face of the earth—after the Book of Allah—a book which is more sahih than the book of Malik." Shah Wali Allah Dihlawi (1114-1176 AH) said, "My breast expanded and I became certain that the Muwatta’ is the most sahih book to be found on the earth after the Book of Allah."

Imam Malik

Imam Malik is the imam of the imams, the leader of the people of knowledge of Madinah, Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi ‘Amir al-Asbahi al-Madani, born in 94 AH, 95 AH or even 99 AH. He was called the Man of Knowledge of Madina. People of knowledge understood that it was him the Prophet saw indicated in the hadith from Abu Hurayra, "People will soon beat the livers of their camels [in travelling in search of knowledge] but they will not find a man of knowledge more knowledgeable than the man of knowledge of Madina." Among his pupils were the Imams Sufyan ath-Thawri, Sa’id ibn Mansur, ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Awza’I who was older than him, Layth ibn Sa’d who was one of his peers, Imam al-Shafi’i, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, the Malikis ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi, Ibn Wahb, and Dhu’n-Nun al-Misri. He died in 179 AH on the morning of the 14th of Rabi’ al-Awwal.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani

He is Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Farqad al-Shaybani. Muhammad was born in Wasit in 132 AH, and grew up in Kufa. He was a pupil of Abu Hanifah. Imam Shafi’i said, "I have not seen anyone more eloquent than him. I used to think when I saw him reciting the Qur’an that it was as if the Qur’an had been revealed in his language." He also said, "I have not seen anyone more itelligent than Muhammad ibn al-Hasan." Dhahabi said, "He narrated from Malik ibn Anas and others, and he was one of the great oceans of knowledge and fiqh, and he was strong [when he narrated] from Malik." Muhammad said, "I stood at Malik’s door for three years and I heard [the Muwatta’] from him [with] more than seven hundred hadith." He died in Rayy in 189 AH.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 652 pages
• Publisher: Turath Publishers; Revised edition (August 2004)
• Language: Arabic
• ISBN-10: 0954738004
• ISBN-13: 978-0954738006
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > Arabic

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent work., October 19, 2004

By 

Durayd Shidimi - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Muwatta of Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani (Arabic Edition) (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating book; not only does it provide a deep insight into the early community of the Sahabas, particularly the caliphate of Sayyiduna Umar, but also an insight into the early interaction between the Hanafis and Malikis.

Imam Muhammad transmits the hadith and athar he took from Imam Malik, then, where Imam Malik's verdict differs from Imam Abu Hanifa's, he provides supplementary hadiths from which the Hanafi position is derived.

Each section is concluded with a comment from Imam Muhammad, summarising the verdicts of the Imams.

The book has additional sections on Jarh and Ta'dil, and biographies of Imam Muhammad, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, all the narrators of the hadith.

A must have for every serious Muslim.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hanafis do it again, March 20, 2011

By 

TheBit - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Muwatta of Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani (Arabic Edition) (Hardcover)

This is a translation of the Muwatta of Imam Malik as transmitted to Imam Muhammad ibn Al Hasan Ash shaybani, who was one of the two major students of Imam Abu Hanifa. It is probably the most famous transmission of the Muwatta, other than Yahya ibn Yahya's transmission, which is simply called the Muwatta, which is why Imam Muhammad's transmission is coined "The Muwatta of Imam Muhammad." The difference in Imam Muhammad's transmission is that he always comments on the hadith, showing where he and his teacher Abu Hanifa agree or disagree with Imam Malik. Where he disagrees, he will often quote his own hadith to prove his point.

The translation is great. The Arabic is presented right on top of the Arabic. Everything is translated, including the chain of narrators, as well as Imam Muhammad's comments.

The best part of this work is that Allamah Abdul Hayy al Lucknawi's introduction of his commentary to this work is translated here as well. In it, Allamah Lucknawi shows that the Hanafi maddhab is steeped in hadith, contrary to the claims of a certain other group. In addition, Abu Hanifa's position in hadith is highlighted, along with the position that the Muwatta holds amongst the hadith transmitters. Lucknawi's jarh and ta'dil (narrator criticism and authentication) of the rijal (men in the transmission chains) of the Muwatta is also included in the end, so that a student of hadith can do basic authentication of the hadith himself.

A must buy!

5.0 out of 5 stars the most accessible way to Shaybani, November 27, 2011

By 

David Reid Ross "zimriel" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Muwatta of Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani (Arabic Edition) (Hardcover)

Shaybani wasn't really out to transmit Malik's Muwatta'. He wrote this work, because already in Malik's lifetime, it was clear that the Muwatta' was going to revolutionise all the schools of Sunnism, and not just in Madina.

I have to say this for those students of hadith and Sunna who imagine that this book is just going to be another boring recension of "the Muwatta'", which you can already get for free on the 'web via the Bewley translation. This is a different animal. Bewley just translated Laythi's recension (also: Abu Mus'ab's recension, also out there somewhere, isn't all that different). What Shaybani did was to take an earlier version of Malik's work and to REACT to it, from the standpoint of the Iraqis.

So if you want a snapshot of Malik's developing thought (from a non-Maliki source) - you need this. And as has been mentioned by other commenters, if you're a Hanafi and you want the first Hanafi response to Malik's work - you need this.

I must warn that Shaybani did not always transmit the entirety of what Malik knew. I have found spots where what he transmitted omits what Laythi and Abu Mus'ab (and Shafi'i, etc) did not omit. The unfinished state of the Muwatta' then isn't always to blame for this. So be aware always that Shaybani is not of Malik's party! Shaybani has his own agenda. So Hanafis will not be able to do away with the full Maliki literature.

As for how the editors and translators did with Shaybani's work: I don't have the manuscripts, so I can't speak to the editing, but I have no complaints with the translation. I would fault the footnoting for not taking enough notice of Laythi etc, where Shaybani made deliberate changes (or wasn't aware of Malik's later work); but on a certain level if you aren't comparing it to the other widely-available versions yourself then to some degree it's your own fault if you mess up.

The layout of this book is highly readable and the appendices give you a good-enough overview of who transmitted what and when. Arabic readers can go to Mizzi where they need more.