He was
famous for his piety and integrity and courageously stood up, and was
prepared to suffer, for his convictions. For example, when the governor
of Medina demanded and forced people to take the oath of allegiance to
Khalifa al-Mansour, Imam Malik issued a Fatwa that such an oath was not
binding, because it was given under duress. This resulted in many
people finding courage to express their opposition, but the Imam was
arrested, found guilty of defiance and publicly flogged. When
al-Mansour, learnt of this outrage, he apologized to the Imam and
dismissed the governor. Sometime later the Khalifa sent him three
thousand Dinars for his travelling expenses and invited him to come and
reside in Baghdad. Imam Malik refused the offer and indicated that he
preferred to continue his residence in Medina where the Holy Prophet was
buried.
When
the Khalifa Haroun-al-Rasheed visited Medina when he came to perform
Hajj, he summoned him to visit him and deliver a lecture. The Imam
politely refused to go to the ruler but invited him to attend the class
of students to whom he delivered regular lectures. The Khalifa,
accompanied by his two sons, accepted the invitation and sat among the
students to hear the Imam's lecture.
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