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Mālik b. Dīnār, مالك بن دينار | |
|---|---|
 The grave adornment (Mazar) of Malik Dinar | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | |
| Died | 748 C.E. |
| Resting place | Malik Dinar Mosque,Thalangara,Kasaragod,Kerala,India |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Profession | Preacher, Theologian, Mystic |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced by | |
Malik Dinar (Arabic:مالك دينار,romanized: Mālik b. Dīnār,Malayalam: മാലിക് ദീനാര്) (died 748 CE)[2] was a Muslim scholar and traveller. He was one of the first knownMuslims to have come toIndia in order to teachIslam in theIndian subcontinent after the departure of King Cheraman Perumal.[citation needed] Even though historians have disagreed on the exact place of his death, it is widely accepted that he died at Kasaragod and that his "relics" were buried at theMalik Dinar Mosque inThalangara,Kasaragod. This has no definite proof and has been debunked multiple times as Islamic Scholars have widely disagreed on this notion. Belonging to the generation of thetabi'i, Malik is called a reliable traditionalist in Sunni sources. He was the son of a slave fromKabul who became a disciple ofHasan al-Basri.[2][3] He died just before the epidemic of plague which caused considerable ravages inBasra in 748-49 CE, with various traditions placing his death either at 744-45 or 747-48 CE.[4]
Malik, a preacher and moralist ofBasra, made a living as a teacher and translator of theQur'an,[5] and seems to have been interested in the question of the variousreadings of the scripture.[6] During his life, Malik had the occasion to follow more or less regularly the teaching of Basran traditionists and mystics as famous asAnas b. Mālik,Ibn Sīrīn,Hasan of Basra andRabīʿa al-ʿAdawiyya.[7] He was considered to have led anascetic life himself, and tradition attributed to him severalthaumaturgic gifts and miracles, including the ability to walk on water. He seems, moreover, to have been "a most eloquentḳāṣṣ"[8] or popular orator of religious sermons who admired, in particular, the eloquence of his contemporary al-Ḥaj̲j̲āj̲ "whom he naturally could see at Baṣra."[9]
According toIbn al-Faḳīh, "he brought honour to his native town because he was accounted one of the six Baṣrans who were without equals at Kūfa."[10] Later scholars ranging from Abū Nuʿaym[11] toIbn al-Jawzī[12] reproduce "whole hosts" of proverbial sayings from him,[13] which clearly reflect the extent to which Malik continued to influence Sunni thinkers of all types. According to Pellat, the explicit articulation of theSufi ideal of the "innerjihad" (the war against one's own soul), also finds its original formulation in Malik, who is believed to have saidd̲j̲āhidū ahwāʾakum kamā tud̲j̲āhidūn aʿdāʾakum (“fight against your desires just as you fight against your enemies”),[14] 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 theNew Testament for spiritual inspiration in imitating the example ofJesus.[15]
