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The Muwa??a (Arabic: ???????) is an early collection of hadith comprising the subjects of Muslim law, compiled and edited by the Imam, Malik ibn Anas.
It is considered to be from the earliest extant collections of hadith that form the basis of Islamic jurisprudence alongside the Qur'an.[2] Nonetheless, is not merely a collection of hadith; many of the legal precepts it contains are based not on hadith at all. The book covers rituals, rites, customs, traditions, norms and laws of the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Imam Malik composed the 'Muwatta' over a period of forty years to represent the "well-trodden path" of the people of Medina. Its name also means that it is the book that is "many times agreed upon"- about whose contents the people of Medina were unanimously agreed. Its high standing is such that people of every school of fiqh and all of the imams of hadith scholarship agree upon its authenticity.
The Muslim Jurist, Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i famously said, "There is not on the face of the earth a book – after the Book of Allah – which is more authentic than the book of Malik." |
