The death of Imam Malik ibn Anas
The imam of the abode of the Hijra, Malik ibn Anas, author of "al-Muwattaʾ," died in Madinah. To him passed the leadership of jurisprudence and hadith in Madinah, and to him the Maliki school — one of the four schools — is ascribed.
Malik was born in Madinah around 93 AH and studied under Nafiʿ, the freedman of Ibn ʿUmar, and Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri and others, until he became the landmark of Madinah to whom mounts were driven from afar. Of him it was said: "No fatwa is given while Malik is in Madinah."
He compiled "al-Muwattaʾ" with extreme care, selecting it from a hundred thousand hadiths and refining it over forty years. al-Shafiʿi said: "After the Book of Allah there is no book more correct than the Muwattaʾ of Malik."
He was awe-inspiring and dignified, honouring the hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ so that he would narrate only in purity and calm. He died in Madinah in 179 AH and was buried in al-Baqiʿ. His school today is that of the people of the Arab Maghrib, West Africa and parts of the Gulf.
Note — differing reports on the date: The well-known view is that he died in Rabiʿ al-Awwal 179 AH; some say in Safar; and of the day, the most famous reports are the 11th and 14th of Rabiʿ al-Awwal.