Contemporary Hanafi works, classic Maliki works...

I have a cousin who is Maliki. The books that he's studying from are 1,000 years old and all the information chain to the nabi. The books that I have are from South Africa, for example Taleemul Haq, Sunnats, and the sin book. The problem is that these books were published in 1998. I don't see any chain that connects these books to the sahabahs or the Nabi. How can one rely on these books or the internet? There is a sister who just came from S. Africa and her husband is a mufti. She told one of my friends that oral sex is permissible when the female is on her cycle. There is a well respected shaykh from Mauritania who came to my city to teach Maliki fiqh, should I follow Maliki fiqh or Hanafi?

Assalamu alaykum

In the name of Allah the Most Magnificent Most Splendid.

Both the Maliki and the Hanafi schools go back to the Prophet Muhammad (upon him be peace). It is just that more Hanafis have worked on converting Arabic source texts of their school into the English language and composing new and simpler text books in English in the last century to facilitate for English readership.

Maybe your friend has access to the Arabic language and is able to read the Arabic source texts of the Maliki school or has an instructor who teaches them from such source texts. You may also study such classic short texts with qualified Hanafi scholars if you can gain access to one.

The answers that you read on this list by the various Hanafi scholars are based on source texts that are more than a thousand years old too.

Talim al-Haq is based on some of the most popular Hanafi source texts (f: such as Imam Shurunbulali’s Nur al-Idah).

Sunnats by Mufti Saleji is based directly on the hadiths of the Messenger (upon him be peace) and is not necessarily a Hanafi book per se, but can be utilized by followers of all schools to learn the blessed practices of our beloved Messenger (upon him be peace).

If you are thinking of in-depth study into any school, then you must select one which you will have easy access to its scholars and texts to have your thirst quenched, and you will feel comfortable with it. This could be the Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i or true Hanbali madhhab.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam

Abdurrahman Mangera