Imam Malik's Respect of Teaching Ahaadeeth

His respect of Teaching of Hadith:

After Abdullah bin Umar (Radhi Allahu Anhu) and his servant and pupil, Nafi' (RA) the great Imaam narrated Hadith and taught from the age of 17 to about 79. He gave service to the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam), giving lessons of Fiqh and issuing Fatawa for 62 years of his life.

Before the Imaam would narrate any Hadith he would or dictate Hadith to others he would:

1- Perform wudhu or take a bath
2- Put on his best and most expensive clothing
3- Groom himself
4- Put on musk or another fragrance
5- Proceed to the gathering of Hadith with the utmost dignity and respect.

In every gathering coal ambers of 'Uood (a special and beautiful fragrance derived from a unique tree) would be burnt continuously until the lesson was over. In the Imaam's gatherings there would always be plush and expensive mats or carpeting spread out on the floor and when he would arrive there would be pin-drop silence out of the respect for him the people would remain totally quiet.
In the gatherings their would be the students all around the sitting place of the Imaam, just like how a king's servants would gather around his throne. There would be Muftis, Ulama, and leaders present in the gathering.
Such respect was present in these gatherings that anyone who pass by would think that a king must be delivering his message and one who sit down in it would be taken away with awe.

Abdullah bin Mubarak reports that one time the Imaam was bitten by a scorpion under his garment over ten times while narrating Hadith. During the narration of the Hadith he did not stop in order to remove it, rather he continued to narrate until the end. I noticed the discoloration of his face when the Imaam was being bitten. Afterwards when all the people had left, I came to the Imaam and asked him what had happened. He replied, "A scorpion was biting me under my garment, I could not have kept my patience because of myself restraint, rather it was out of the respect of the Hadith of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) that I did not remove it.

Subhanallah!!!