The Maliki School & Its Contribution to Islamic Culture

By the middle of the eleventh century the imami Shi'a had established a worldly mode of living which was based on "the perpetual expectation of the world to come." His vision was established in intentional opposition to the reigning political powers. Here imamism can be seen emerging as a religion of salvation. In order to obtain this salvation a good Muslim must live in accord with the hadith of the Prophet, by emotional identification with martyrdom or through gnostic vision and mystical union with the divine being. Through consolidation of these doctrinal beliefs the Badhadi Shi'a emerged as a sectarian community within Islam. During this same time period students of law and theology formed their own study groups in an attempt to establish autonomous authority in religious matters. What was emerging was an increased institutionalization of Islam. The Maliki school, one of the dominant schools of law originating in the late seventh century, evolved in response to these structural changes in Islamic society. To understand and evaluate the role of the Malikis in Islamic society is to better understand the unique history of Andalus.

The law applicable to Muslim subjects of the Umayyads was the Koran. Although many regulations were herein specified, it was still necessary for a scholarly class of people to interpret these holy writings. What transpired is that several rival schools of Islamic