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Example_of_Abu_Jamrahs_Prophetic_Sayings_Explanation, page : 9
An example of the tremendous respect these knowledgeable scholars had for the
hadiths, is found in an event which took place during the second generation,
when Imam Malik, the Imam of Medina, may Allah have mercy on him, was
visited by a caliph. Imam Malik did not come out immediately to greet him, and
when he came the caliph commented, "O Malik, do you continue to insult
princes?" Imam Malik replied, "By Allah I do not, I heard you from inside and
understood that you came only to hear a Prophetic saying. I was in a state of
minor impurity at that time, and I hate to relate a Prophetic saying whilst in such a
state, so I made ablution and then came out."
There were other occasions when Imam Malik was asked by jurists to teach
whereupon he would inquire the nature of the subject to be taught. If the reply
was that of jurisprudence he would teach in whatever status he happened to be
in, however, if the request was to teach a Prophetic saying, he would purify and
perfume himself, wear his best clothes and on occasions stand over a vessel of
smoldering musk and wooden incense, and only then would he transmit the
hadith. There are many such stories concerning Imam Malik's manners and the
great respect he held the hadith, so much so that he became known as the
hadiths, is found in an event which took place during the second generation,
when Imam Malik, the Imam of Medina, may Allah have mercy on him, was
visited by a caliph. Imam Malik did not come out immediately to greet him, and
when he came the caliph commented, "O Malik, do you continue to insult
princes?" Imam Malik replied, "By Allah I do not, I heard you from inside and
understood that you came only to hear a Prophetic saying. I was in a state of
minor impurity at that time, and I hate to relate a Prophetic saying whilst in such a
state, so I made ablution and then came out."
There were other occasions when Imam Malik was asked by jurists to teach
whereupon he would inquire the nature of the subject to be taught. If the reply
was that of jurisprudence he would teach in whatever status he happened to be
in, however, if the request was to teach a Prophetic saying, he would purify and
perfume himself, wear his best clothes and on occasions stand over a vessel of
smoldering musk and wooden incense, and only then would he transmit the
hadith. There are many such stories concerning Imam Malik's manners and the
great respect he held the hadith, so much so that he became known as the