Introduction and Creed: The Maliki Primer

Al-Muqaddimah al-Qayrawaniyyah, also known as the Risalah of Ibn Abi Zayd, is one of the most important introductory texts in Maliki jurisprudence. Its author, Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (310–386 AH / 922–996 CE), was the leading Maliki scholar of his era in North Africa, earning the title Malik al-Saghir (the little Malik) for his mastery of the school's tradition. Written as a basic guide for students and ordinary Muslims, the Risalah covers the essentials of Islamic belief, worship, social transactions, and morality in concise, accessible Arabic.

The text opens with a chapter on creed (aqeedah) before turning to practical law — an unusual structure that reflects Ibn Abi Zayd's conviction that correct belief is the foundation of correct practice. This integrated approach, presenting theology and law together, made the Risalah an ideal teaching tool and it has been used in Islamic schools across North and West Africa for over a thousand years.

The Creed Chapter

Ibn Abi Zayd opens with the profession of faith: there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger. He then presents a systematic summary of the beliefs required of every Muslim: belief in God's existence and unity, His eternal attributes (life, knowledge, power, will, hearing, sight, and speech), His transcendence above likeness to created things (tanzih), and the reality of His revelation and prophets.

The text affirms that the Quran is the uncreated speech of God — a position that became central to Sunni theology after the Mutazilite controversy over the createdness of the Quran. It affirms the reality of the Day of Judgment, the Resurrection, the Bridge (sirat), the Scale of deeds (mizan), Paradise, and Hell. It affirms divine predetermination of all things without making God the author of human injustice, balancing divine sovereignty with human moral responsibility.

The Maliki Tradition

Ibn Abi Zayd's legal positions throughout the Risalah follow the transmitted Maliki school as developed in Qayrawan (modern Tunisia) from Malik ibn Anas's Madinah tradition. The Maliki school is characterized by its special weight given to the practice of the people of Madinah (amal ahl al-Madinah) as a source of law alongside the Quran and Sunnah, on the grounds that Madinah was the city of the Prophet and its practices represent a living transmission of his example.

Ibn Abi Zayd's location in Qayrawan — a major center of Maliki learning in the Islamic West — meant that his Risalah became the primary vehicle through which Maliki jurisprudence was transmitted to sub-Saharan Africa, where it remains the dominant legal school to this day. The text was memorized by students across the Sahel, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, and beyond, and dozens of commentaries were written on it over the centuries.