Malik Dinar (, Malayalam: à ´®à ´¾à ´²à ´¿à ´Âà µ à ´¦à µÂà ´¨à ´¾à ´°à µÂâÂÂ) (died 748 CE) was a Muslim scholar and traveller. He was one of the first known Muslims to have come to India in order to teach Islam in the Indian subcontinent after the departure of King Cheraman Perumal. Even though historians have disagreed on the exact place of his death, it is widely accepted that he died at Kasaragod and that his "relics" were buried at the Malik Dinar Mosque in Thalangara, Kasaragod. This has no definite proof and has been debunked multiple times as Islamic Scholars have widely disagreed on this notion. Belonging to the generation of the tabi'i, Malik is called a reliable traditionalist in Sunni sources. He was the son of a slave from Kabul who became a disciple of Hasan al-Basri. He died just before the epidemic of plague which caused considerable ravages in Basra in 748-49 CE, with various traditions placing his death either at 744-45 or 747-48 CE.
Malik, a preacher and moralist of Basra, made a living as a teacher and translator of the Qur'an, and seems to have been interested in the question of the various readings of the scripture. During his life, Malik had the occasion to follow more or less regularly the teaching of Basran traditionists and mystics as famous as Anas b. MÃÂlik, Ibn Sërën, Hasan of Basra and Rabëÿa al-ÿAdawiyya. He was considered to have led an ascetic life himself, and tradition attributed to him several thaumaturgic gifts and miracles, including the ability to walk on water. He seems, moreover, to have been "a most eloquent ḳÃÂṣṣ" or popular orator of religious sermons who admired, in particular, the eloquence of his contemporary al-ḤajòjòÃÂjò "whom he naturally could see at Baá¹£ra."
According to Ibn al-Faḳëh, "he brought honour to his native town because he was accounted one of the six Baá¹£rans who were without equals at Kà «fa." Later scholars ranging from Abà « Nuÿaym to Ibn al-Jawzë reproduce "whole hosts" of proverbial sayings from him, which clearly reflect the extent to which Malik continued to influence Sunni thinkers of all types. According to Pellat, the explicit articulation of the Sufi ideal of the "inner jihad" (the war against one's own soul), also finds its original formulation in Malik, who is believed to have said dòjòÃÂhidà « ahwÃÂþakum kamàtudòjòÃÂhidà «n aÿdÃÂþakum (âÂÂfight against your desires just as you fight against your enemiesâÂÂ), in a maxim that would wield considerable influence upon Islamic mystics through the medieval period. Malik also seems to have had an appreciation for the Christian religion, and may have even read parts of the New Testament for spiritual inspiration in imitating the example of Jesus.