Who are the four imams of Sunni Islam?
Abū Ḥanīfah in Kufa, Mālik in Madinah, al-Shāfiʿī who travelled across both, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal in Baghdad. The four mujtahids whose methodologies became the four Sunni schools of fiqh.
7 passages from 4 books in the library
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 4 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Ibn Abd al-Hakam recounted an incident with Malik where Malik emphasized the importance of seeking knowledge over other acts"
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"This hadith was narrated by Ahmad from Muad and in the authentic collections from Sahal Ibn Saad that he said this to Ali"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Al-Daraqutni in the oddities of Malik and Al-Khatib in the names of those who narrated from Malik report from Abu Hurairah"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"He established justice and arranged the armies in Malik, leaving his minister Qutub al-Zahra there, before returning to Samarkand and Bukhara."
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"They sustained heavy losses and Khalil stayed in Malik for three days, then went on to root out the remaining Tatars, who submitted to him."
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"Consequently, Khalil dispatched a governor to replace him in Malik and ordered him to come forward with a small company of his allies."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"When Abd al-malik Ibn Marwan lay dying he observed a washerman beside Damascus twisting a cloth and striking it against the washing board"
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