The name of this hadith book is 'Muwatta imam malik'
The author’s full name is Abu Abdullah Mālik ibn Anas ibn Mālik Ibn Abī 'Āmir Ibn 'Amr Ibnul-Hārith Ibn Ghaimān Ibn Khuthail Ibn 'Amr Ibnul-Haarith.
He was born on c. 711A.D. and died in 795A.D. (93 AH - 179 AH )and is better known as "Imam Malik," the "Sheikh of Islam," the "Proof of the Community," and "Imam of the Abode of Emigration."
He was one of the most highly respected scholars of “fiqh” in Sunni Islam. Imam Shafi, who was one of Malik's students for nine years and a scholarly giant in his own right, stated, "when scholars are mentioned, Malik is like the star among them." The Maliki Madhab, named after Malik, is one of the four schools of jurisprudence that are followed by Sunni Muslims to this day.
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The “Muwa” is an early collection of hadith comprising the subjects of Muslim law, compiled and edited by Imam Malik.
It is considered to be from the earliest extant collections of hadith that form the basis of Islamic jurisprudence alongside the Qur'an. 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 Prophet Muhammad.
Imam Malik composed the 'Muwatta' over a period of forty years to represent the "well-trodden path" of the people of Madinah. Its name also means that it is the book that is "many times agreed upon"- about whose contents the people of Madinah 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.
Imam 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."
The Imam behind him more than a dozen works including his world famous Muwatta. His treatises deal with religious and ethical matters and Islamic jurisprudence. According to Shah Waliullah Muwatta, is a collection of the most authentic Traditions of the Prophet selected by Imam Malik after thorough investigation of their sources. The Imam compiled his book after a thorough verification and sifting of the Traditionals and included only those which he considered correct. The reliability of the reports and reporters was his chief consideration and he took pains to ensure that no incorrect report should find place in his book.The book contains approximately 46 Chapters. Formerly, Muwatta included ten thousand Traditions, but in the revised edition, the Imam reduced the number of 1,720 only. It is considered that out of these 1,720 Hadiths,only 600 are toally authentic (“Sahi”). 222 Hadiths mentioned in this text is considered unreliable (“Zaif”) and differed by many Islamic Scholers. 613 verses were “Moukoof” which was Sahabi’s Statements. The rest 285 verses are Tabai’s Statement. This book has been translated into several languages and has sixteen different editions.
His contemporaries and later Traditionalists and religious scholars have formed a very high opinion about his intellectual attainments. According to Abdur Rahman ibn Mahdi, there is no Traditionalist great than Imam Malik in the world. Imams Ahmad bin Hanbal and Shafi speak very highly of him as a Traditionlist. The learned Imam was also a great jurist; for more than 60 years he gave Fatwas in Medina.
Imam Malik was known for his integrity and peity. He always lived up to his convictions. Neither fear nor favour could ever deflect him from the right path. He was among the members of the glorious society of early Islam who could not be purchased and whose undaunted courage always proved as a guiding star for the freedom fighters.