Muwatta Malik
Browse 13 chapters. Select a chapter to begin reading.
What is Muwatta Malik?
Muwatta Malik is a hadith collection compiled by Imam Malik. Sirah's current dataset contains 272 source records across 13 available chapters. Browse the chapter index to read the available Arabic texts, translations and grading labels. These figures describe the records available here; editions can differ in numbering and chapter divisions.
- Sirah dataset
- 272 source records
- Available chapters
- 13
- Compiler
- Imam Malik
- Source records
- Collection imported into Sirah's database
Sirah displays source records and does not independently authenticate narrations. Read the source methodology
Sirah dataset: 272 source records across 13 available chapters. Historical descriptions below may use a different edition’s numbering.
Collection history
Al-Muwatta is the earliest written compendium of Hadith and Islamic law that has survived intact to the modern day. Compiled by Imam Malik ibn Anas (rahimahullah), the foundational scholar of Madinah, it represents both a collection of authentic prophetic traditions and a record of the consensus and continuous practice ('amal) of the scholars and people of Madinah in the first two centuries of Islam.
Compiler biography
Imam Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi 'Amir al-Asbahi (93–179 AH / 711–795 CE) was born and lived his entire life in the blessed city of Madinah. Known as Imam Dar al-Hijrah, he was the teacher of Imam al-Shafi'i and spent over fifty years delivering lectures and rulings from the Prophet's Mosque. His primary transmission chain—Malik from Nafi' from Abdullah ibn 'Umar—is renowned in the science of hadith as the 'Golden Chain' (Silsilat al-Dhahab) for its impeccable authenticity.
Collection methodology
Imam Malik spent over forty years compiling, reviewing, and refining the Muwatta, which earned its name because the scholars of Madinah 'agreed upon' (wata'a) its contents and found it easy to navigate. The collection systematically organizes narrations according to legal topics—purification, prayer, trade, judicial decrees, and ethics—blending marfu' hadiths from the Prophet, mawquf statements from the Companions, and maqtu' rulings from the foremost Tabi'in.
Scholarly significance
Before the compilation of Sahih al-Bukhari, Imam al-Shafi'i famously remarked: 'There is no book on earth after the Book of Allah that is more sound than Malik's Muwatta.' It served as the foundation for the Maliki school of jurisprudence and remains one of the most revered monuments of early Islamic civilization.
Reading sources on Sirah
Sirah displays hadith records from HadithAPI and additional collections imported into its database. Texts, translations and grading labels reflect the available source records; Sirah does not independently authenticate narrations or verify manuscripts.
Read our data and editorial methodology