Ibn Wahb and other men of knowledge permitted writing. Munawalah (transmission of ahadith from the writing of a man of knowledge which he has written with his own hand and which he has said is what he heard directly from so and so and which he commands the student to narrate) is stronger than ijazah (transmitting his ahadith learnt orally from him with his permission) if the writing is authentic.
[Imam] Malik said, “I never wrote on these tablets.”
He said, “I said to Ibn Shihab, ‘Did you use to write knowledge down?’
He said ‘No.’ I said, ‘Were the ahadith repeated to you?’ He said, ‘No’.”
This statement is not an affirmation of the sovereignty of the people. The ‘people’ here are the people of Madinah of the generations of the Companions, the Followers and the Followers of the Followers who transmitted the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in practice as well as with ahadith.
{Kitab al-Jami by Ibn Abi Zayd al~Qawarani, Translated by Hajj Abd as~Samad Clarke}