Mālik was once sentenced to a lashing by the governor of Medina, the cousin of Caliph Abū Ja'far al-Manṣūr for narrating a hadith to the effect that a divorce obtained under coercion was invalid. The hadith in question had momentous political implications, because it supported those who argued that the caliph's authority was similarly invalid - because it, too, had been secured by means of coercion.
Eventually, Mālik was paraded through the streets in disgrace and ordered to insult himself publicly. He is reported to have said:
"""Whoever knows me, knows me; whoever does not know me, my name is Mālik ibn Anas, and I say: The divorce of the coerced is null and void!"""
When the incident was reported to al-Manṣūr, Mālik was ordered released, and his cousin was punished.
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