Muwatta of Imam Malik, narrated by Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi

Author's name: Imam Malik ibn Anas

The care given to the Prophet's Sunnah began during the Prophet's lifetime (peace and blessings be upon him) and increased over the years, for this is part of God's preservation of the religion. The Sunnah is a clear explanation of the Holy Quran. God provided the Prophet's Sunnah with eminent scholars to preserve, record, care for, and defend it, and to clarify what is authentic and what is not. Among the first of these luminaries who undertook this task so admirably was Imam Malik, whose book, Al-Muwatta', is the first work whose attribution to its author is definitively established. Its fame spread throughout the Muslim world. It was also the first work to combine Hadith and Fiqh, prioritizing Hadith and Athar (narrations from the Companions), as they are the foundation upon which Fiqh is built. Imam Malik excelled in his work, Al-Muwatta', by its ingenious arrangement and easy-to-understand organization.