Was Imam Malik (Allah Be Pleased with Him) Considered a Tabi‘i (Follower of the Companions)? If So, Which Companion Did He Meet?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

How can Imam Malik be classified as a Tabi‘i if he didn’t meet a Sahabi? If I’m mistaken, please clarify and provide the Sahabi he learned from. Similarly, if Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim learned from Tab‘ al-Tabi‘in and not directly from a Tabi‘i, how are they considered Tab‘ al-Tabi‘in?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Imam Malik (Allah be pleased with him) is not considered a Tabi‘i (follower of the Companions) as he is not recorded to have ever met a Companion of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). [Abu Zahra, The Four Imams]

Imam Malik was born approximately 89 AH and passed away 173 AH. It was hypothetically possible that he met a Companion as the last Companion to pass away was Abu Tufayl, ‘Amir Ibn Wathila who passed away in the year 110 AH. [Ibid.]

However, there is no narration or self-report that he did so. Despite that, Imam Malik met and learned from some of the greatest Tabi‘un, such as Imam Nafi‘, Imam Abu Hanifa, and Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq. [Ibid.]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.