Malik Dinar (,

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

: മാലിക് ദീനാര്‍) (died 748 CE)Al-Hujwiri, "Kashf al-Mahjoob", 89 was a Muslim scholar and traveller. He was one of the first known

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

to have come to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in order to teach

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

after the departure of King Cheraman Perumal. Even though historians do not agree on the exact place of his death, it is widely accepted that he died at Kasaragod and that his relics were buried at the

Malik Dinar Mosque The Malik Dinar Mosque, also known locally as the Malik Deenar Masjid and Malik Deenar Juma Masjid, and officially known as the Hazrath Malik Deenar Grand Juma Masjid, is a Sufi Sunni mosque and dargah, located in Thalangara, in the town of K ...

Thalangara Thalangara is a part of Kasaragod Town, the district headquarters of the Kasaragod district in the South Indian state of Kerala. Malik Denar Juma Masjid and Dargah is located here. Its economy is dependent on remittance from expatriate workers ...

Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and the administrative headquarters of the Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kera ...

. Belonging to the generation of the ''

tabi'i The tābiʿūn (, also accusative or genitive tābiʿīn , singular ''tābiʿ'' ), "followers" or "successors", are the generation of Muslims who followed the companions (''ṣaḥāba'') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and thus received their ...

'', Malik is called a reliable traditionalist in Sunni sources. He was the son of a slave from

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

who became a disciple of

Hasan al-Basri Abi Sa'id al-Hasan ibn Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as al-Hasan al-Basri, was an ancient Muslim preacher, ascetic, theologian, exegete, scholar, and judge. Born in Medina in 642,Mourad, Suleiman A., “al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī”, in: ''Encyc ...

.Ibn Nadim, "Fihrist", 1037 He died just before the epidemic of plague which caused considerable ravages in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

in 748-49 CE, with various traditions placing his death either at 744-45 or 747-48 CE.

Life

Malik, a preacher and moralist of

, made a living as a teacher and translator of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

, and seems to have been interested in the question of the various

readings Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word re ...

of the scripture. During his life, Malik had the occasion to follow more or less regularly the teaching of Basran traditionists and mystics as famous as Anas b. Mālik, Ibn Sīrīn,

Hasan of Basra Abi Sa'id al-Hasan ibn Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as al-Hasan al-Basri, was an ancient Muslim preacher, ascetic, theologian, exegete, scholar, and judge. Born in Medina in 642,Mourad, Suleiman A., “al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī”, in: ''Encyc ...

and Rabīʿa al-ʿAdawiyya. He was considered to have led an

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

life himself, and tradition attributed to him several

thaumaturgic Thaumaturgy () is the practical application of magic to effect change in the physical world. Historically, thaumaturgy has been associated with the manipulation of natural forces, the creation of wonders, and the performance of magical feats th ...

gifts and miracles, including the ability to walk on water. He seems, moreover, to have been "a most eloquent '' ḳāṣṣ''" or popular orator of religious sermons who admired, in particular, the eloquence of his contemporary al-Ḥaj̲j̲āj̲ "whom he naturally could see at Baṣra." According to Ibn al-Faḳīh, "he brought honour to his native town because he was accounted one of the six Baṣrans who were without equals at Kūfa." Later scholars ranging from Abū Nuʿaym to Ibn al-Jawzī reproduce "whole hosts" of proverbial sayings from him, which clearly reflect the extent to which Malik continued to influence Sunni thinkers of all types. According to Pellat, the explicit articulation of the

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

ideal of the "inner ''jihad''" (the war against one's own soul), also finds its original formulation in Malik, who is believed to have said ''d̲j̲āhidū ahwāʾakum kamā tud̲j̲āhidūn aʿdāʾakum'' (“fight against your desires just as you fight against your enemies”), in a maxim that would wield considerable influence upon Islamic mystics through the medieval period. Malik also seems to have had an appreciation for the Christian religion, and may have even read parts of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

for spiritual inspiration in imitating the example of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

.Pellat, Ch., “Mālik b. Dīnār”, in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''

Legacy

* Malik Deenar Islamic Academy * Malik Deenar Research Congress *

and

dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

, sometimes spelled as ''Malik Deenar Masjid''

Bibliography

* Ibn Ḳutayba, ''Maʿārif'', 470, 577 * ’Ibn Saʿd, ''Ṭabaḳāt'', vii/2, 11 * Ṭabarī, iii, 281 * Abu ’l-ʿArab, ''Ṭabaḳāt ʿulamāʾ Ifrīḳiya'', ed. and tr. M. Ben Cheneb, Algiers 1915-20, 17 * Makkī, ''Ḳūt al-ḳulūb'', iv, 187 * Nawawī, ''Tahd̲h̲īb'', 537 * Pellat, ''Milieu'', 99-100, 257.

References

{{Authority control Sunni Sufis Tabi‘un Islam in India Islam in Kerala Year of birth unknown 648 deaths Tabi‘un hadith narrators

Life

Legacy

See also

Bibliography

References