al-Shafi'i

"Imam Shafi" redirects here. For the village in Iran, see Emam Safi.

For the Egyptian surname with the same Arabic spelling, see El-Shafei.

Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs ash-Shāfiʿī (Arabic: أَبُو عَبْدِ ٱللهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ, 767–19 January 820 CE) was a Muslim theologian, writer, and scholar, who was one of the first contributors of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Uṣūl al-fiqh). Often referred to as 'Shaykh al-Islām', al-Shāfi‘ī was one of the four great Sunni Imams, whose legacy on juridical matters and teaching eventually led to the formation of Shafi'i school of fiqh (or Madh'hab). He was the most prominent student of Imam Malik ibn Anas, and he also served as a judge for a time in Najran.^[6][7] Born in Palestine (Jund Filastin), he also lived in Mecca and Medina in the Hejaz, Yemen, Baghdad in Iraq, and Egypt.

al-Shafi'i اَلشَّافِعِيُّ
Title	Shaykh al-Islām
Personal
Born	767 CE 150 AH Gaza^[citation needed], Abbasid Caliphate
Died	19 January 820 CE (aged 54) 204 AH al-Fustat, Abbasid Caliphate
Religion	Islam
Era	Islamic Golden Age
Denomination	Sunni
Jurisprudence	Mujtahid
Main interest(s)	Fiqh, Hadith
Notable idea(s)	Shafi'i madhhab
Notable work(s)	Al-Risala, Kitab al-Umm, Musnad al-Shafi'i
Muslim leader
Influenced by Ja'far as-Sadiq,^[1] Malik,^[2] Sufyan ibn `Uyaynah, Muhammad al-Shaybani, Al-Layth ibn Sa'd, Sayyida Nafisa^[3]^[4]^[5]
Influenced Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh

Introduction

The biography of al-Shāfi‘i is difficult to trace. Dawud al-Zahiri was said to be the first to write such a biography, but the book has been lost.^{[8][9][10][page needed]} The oldest surviving biography goes back to Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi (died 327 AH/939 CE) and is no more than a collection of anecdotes, some of them fantastical. A biographical sketch was written by Zakarīya b. Yahya al-Sājī was later reproduced, but even then, a great deal of legend had already crept into the story of al-Shāfi‘i's life.^[11] The first real biography is by Ahmad Bayhaqi (died 458 AH/1066 CE) and is filled with what a modernist eye would qualify as pious legends. The following is what seems to be a sensible reading, according to a modern reductionist perspective.

Biography

Ancestry

Al-Shāfi‘ī belonged to the Qurayshi clan of Banu Muttalib, which was the sister clan of the Banu Hashim, to which Muhammad and the Abbasid caliphs belonged. This lineage may have given him prestige, arising from his belonging to the tribe of Muhammad, and his great-grandfather's kinship to him.^[11] However, al-Shāfi‘ī grew up in poverty, in spite of his connections in the highest social circles.^{[citation needed]}

Early life

He was born in Palestine (Jund Filastin) by the town of Asqalan in 150 AH (767 CE).^[12] His father died in Ash-Sham while he was still a child. Fearing the waste of his sharīf lineage, his mother decided to move to Mecca when he was about two years old. Furthermore, his maternal family roots were from Yemen, and there were more members of his family in Mecca, where his mother believed he would better be taken care of. Little is known about al-Shāfi‘ī's early life in Mecca, except that he was brought up in poor circumstances and that from his youth he was devoted to learning.^[11] An account states that his mother could not afford to buy his paper, so he would write his lessons on bones, particularly shoulder-bones.^[13] He studied under Muslim ibn Khalid az-Zanji, the Mufti of Mecca then, who is thus considered to be the first teacher of Imam al-Shāfi‘ī.^[14] By the age of seven, al-Shāfi‘ī had memorised the Qur’an. At ten, he had committed Imam Malik's Muwatta' to heart, at which time his teacher would deputise him to teach in his absence. Al-Shāfi‘ī was authorised to issue fatwas at the age of 15.^[15]

Apprenticeship under Imam Mālik

Al-Shāfi‘ī moved to Al-Medinah in a desire for further legal training,^[11] as was the tradition of acquiring knowledge. Accounts differ on the age in which he set out to Medina; an account placed his age at thirteen,^[12] while another stated that he was in his twenties.^[11] There, he was taught for many years by the famous Imam Malik ibn Anas,^[16] who was impressed with his memory, knowledge and intelligence.^[12][17] By the time of Imam Mālik's death in 179 AH (795 CE), al-Shāfi‘ī had already gained a reputation as a brilliant jurist.^[11] Even though he would later disagree with some of the views of Imam Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī accorded the deepest respect to him by always referring to him as "the Teacher".^[12]

Yemeni Fitna

At the age of thirty, al-Shāfi‘ī was appointed as the ‘Abbasid governor in the Yemeni city of Najran.^[12][16] He proved to be a just administrator but soon became entangled with factional jealousies. In 803 CE, al-Shāfi‘ī was accused of aiding the 'Alids in a revolt, and was thus summoned in chains with a number of 'Alids to the Caliph Harun ar-Rashid at Raqqa.^[11] Whilst other conspirators were put to death, al-Shafi'i's own eloquent defence convinced the Caliph to dismiss the charge. Other accounts state that the famous Hanafi jurist, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī, was present at the court and defended al-Shāfi‘ī as a well-known student of the sacred law.^[11] What was certain was that the incident brought al-Shāfi‘ī in close contact with al-Shaybānī, who would soon become his teacher. It was also postulated that this incident impelled him to devote the rest of his career to legal studies, never again to seek government service.^[11]

Apprenticeship under Al-Shaybānī, and exposure to Hanafī Jurists

Al-Shāfi'ī travelled to Baghdad to study with Abu Hanifah's acolyte al-Shaybānī and others.^[16] It was here that he developed his first madh'hab, influenced by the teachings of both Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik.^{[citation needed]} His work thus became known as "al Madhhab al Qadim lil Imam as Shafi’i," or the Old School of al-Shafi'i.^{[citation needed]}

It was here that al-Shāfi'ī actively participated in legal arguments with the Hanafī jurists, strenuously defending the Mālikī school of thought.^[11] Some authorities stress the difficulties encountered by him in his arguments.^[11] Al-Shāfi'ī eventually left Baghdad for Mecca in 804 CE, possibly because of complaints by Hanafī followers to al-Shaybānī that al-Shafi'i had become somewhat critical of al-Shaybānī's position during their disputes. As a result, al-Shāfi'ī reportedly participated in a debate with al-Shaybānī over their differences, though who won the debate is disputed.^[11]

In Mecca, al-Shāfi'ī began to lecture at the Sacred Mosque, leaving a deep impression on many students of law, including the famous Hanbali jurist, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal.^[11] Al-Shāfi'ī's legal reasoning began to mature, as he started to appreciate the strength in the legal reasoning of the Hanafī jurists, and became aware of the weaknesses inherent in both the Mālikī and Hanafī schools of thought.^[11]

Departure to Baghdad and Egypt

 

Imam Shafi'i Mausoleum in Cairo

Al-Shāfi'ī eventually returned to Baghdad in 810 CE. By this time, his stature as a jurist had grown sufficiently to permit him to establish an independent line of legal speculation. Caliph al-Ma'mun is said to have offered al-Shāfi'ī a position as a judge, but he declined the offer.^[11]

Connection with the family of Muhammad

See also: Ahl al-Bayt and Banu Hashim

In 814 CE, al-Shāfi'ī decided to leave Baghdad for Egypt. The precise reasons for his departure from Iraq are uncertain, but it was in Egypt that he would meet another tutor, Sayyida Nafisa bint Al-Hasan, who would also financially support his studies,^[3][4][5] and where he would dictate his life's works to students. Several of his leading disciples would write down what al-Shāfi'ī said, who would then have them read it back aloud so that corrections could be made. Al-Shāfi'ī biographers all agree that the legacy of works under his name are the result of those sessions with his disciples.^[11]

Nafisa was a descendant of Muhammad, through his grandson Hasan ibn Ali, who married another descendant of Muhammad, that is Ishaq al-Mu'tamin, the son of the Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, who was reportedly a teacher of ash-Shafi'i's teacher Malik ibn Anas^{[2][18]: 121} and Abu Hanifah.^[3][4][5] Thus all of the four great Imams of Sunni Fiqh (Abu Hanifah, Malik, his student Ash-Shafi'i, and his student Ibn Hanbal) are connected to Imam Ja'far from the Bayt (Household) of Muhammad, whether directly or indirectly.^[1]

Death

 

Imam Shafi'i tomb in Cairo

At least one authority states that al-Shāfi'ī died as a result of injuries sustained from an attack by supporters of a Maliki follower named Fityan. The story goes that al-Shāfi'ī triumphed in the argument over Fityan, who, being intemperate, resorted to abuse. The Governor of Egypt, with whom al-Shafi'i had good relations, ordered Fityan punished by having him paraded through the streets of the city carrying a plank and stating the reason for his punishment. Fityan's supporters were enraged by this treatment and attacked Shafi'i in retaliation after one of his lectures. Al-Shafi'i died a few days later.^[19] However, Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani in his biography of al-Shāfi'ī Tawālī al-Ta'sīs, casts doubt on this story saying "I do not consider this from a reliable source".^[20] However, al-Shāfi'ī was also known to have suffered from a serious intestinal illness/haemorrhoids,^[21] which kept him frail and ailing during the later years of his life. The precise cause of his death is thus unknown.^[22]

Al-Shāfi'ī died at the age of 54 on the 30th of Rajab in 204 AH (20 January 820 CE), in Al-Fustat, Egypt, and was buried in the vault of the Banū ‘Abd al-Hakam, near Mount al-Muqattam.^[11] The qubbah (Arabic: قُـبَّـة, dome) was built in 608 AH (1212 CE) by the Ayyubid Sultan Al-Kamil, and the mausoleum remains an important site today.^[23][24]

Legacy

Main article: Shafi'i

The Shafi'i school, one of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence, known as madhhabs, is named for Al-Shāfi'ī, who is also credited setting up the framework of Islamic jurisprudence by establishing the relative importance order of its different sources as follows:

1. The Qur'an;
2. Hadith. i.e collections of the words, actions, and silent approval of Muhammad. (Together with the Qur'an these make up "revealed sources");
3. Ijma. i.e. the consensus of the (pure traditional) Muslim community;
4. Qiyas. i.e. the method of analogy.^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

Scholar John Burton goes farther, crediting Al-Shafi'i not just with establishing the science of fiqh in Islam, but its importance to the religion. "Where his contemporaries and their predecessors had engaged in defining Islam as a social and historical phenomenon, Shafi'i sought to define a revealed Law."^[30]

Al-Shāfi‘ī emphasised the final authority of a hadith of Muhammad so that even the Qur'an was "to be interpreted in the light of traditions (i.e. hadith), and not vice versa."^[31][32] While traditionally the Quran is considered above the Sunna in authority, Al-Shafi'i "forcefully argued" that the sunna stands "on equal footing with the Quran", (according to scholar Daniel Brown) for – as Al-Shafi'i put it – "the command of the Prophet is the command of Almighty Allah."^[33][34]

The focus by the Muslim community on ahadith of Muhammad and disinterest in ahadith of Muhammad's companions (whose ahadith were commonly used before Al-Shāfi‘ī since most of whom survived him and spread his teachings after his death) is thought (by scholar Joseph Schacht) to reflect the success of Al-Shāfi‘ī's doctrine.^[35]

Al-Shāfi‘ī influence was such that he changed the use of the term Sunnah, "until it invariably meant only the Sunnah of the Prophet" (according to John Burton this was his "principle achievement").^[36] While earlier, sunnah had been used to refer to tribal manners and customs,^[37] (and while Al-Shāfi‘ī distinguished between the non-authoritative "sunnah of the Muslims" that was followed in practice, and the "sunnah of the Prophet" that Muslims should follow),^[30] sunnah came to mean the Sunnah of Muhammad.^[36]

In the Islamic sciences, Burton credits him with "the imposition of a formal theoretical distinction" between ‘the Sunnah of the Prophet’ and the Quran, "especially where the two fundamental sources appeared to clash".^[36]

Mutazalites

Al-Shafi'i was part of those early traditionalist theologians who strongly opposed Mutazilism and criticised the speculative theologians for abandoning the Qur'an and Sunnah through their adoption of Greek Philosophy in Metaphysics.^[38]

Structures

Saladin built a madrassah and a shrine on the site of his tomb. Saladin's brother Afdal built a mausoleum for him in 1211 after the defeat of the Fatimids. It remains a site where people petition for justice.^[39]

Followers

Among the followers of Imam al-Shāfi‘ī's school were:

• Bayhaqi^[40]
• Al-Suyuti^[41]
• Al-Dhahabi^[42]
• Al-Ghazali
• Ibn Hajar Asqalani
• Ibn Kathir
• Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi
• Al-Mawardi
• Al Muzani

Works

He authored more than 100 books.^[43] But most them have not reached us. The extant works of his which are accessible today are:

• Al-Risala – The best-known book by al-Shafi'i in which he examined principles of jurisprudence. The book has been translated into English.
• Kitab al-Umm – his main surviving text on Shafi'i fiqh
• Musnad al-Shafi'i (on hadith) – it is available with arrangement, Arabic 'Tartib', by Ahmad ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Banna
• Ikhtilaf al Hadith
• Al sunan al Ma’thour
• Jma’ al ilm

In addition to this, al-Shafi'i was an eloquent poet, who composed many short poems aimed at addressing morals and behaviour. The most famous of which is his Al-Diwan.

Anecdotal stories

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal considered al-Shafi'i as the "Imam most faithful to tradition" who led the people of tradition to victory against the exponents of ra'y.^[44] In the words of Ibn Hanbal, "at no time was there anyone of importance in learning who erred less, and who followed more closely the sunnah of the Prophet than al-Shafi'i."^[45]

Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, an 18th century Sunni Islamic scholar stated:^[46] "A Mujadid appears at the end of every century: The Mujadid of the 1st century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Umar bin Abdul Aziz. The Mujadid of the 2nd century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah Muhammad Idrees as-Shafi'i the Mujadid of the 3rd century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah Abu Hasan Ashari the Mujadid of the 4th century was Abu Abdullah Hakim Nishapuri."

Quotations

• He who seeks pearls immerses himself in the sea.^[47]
• He said to the effect that no knowledge of Islam can be gained from books of Kalam, as kalam "is not from knowledge"^[48][49] and that "It is better for a man to spend his whole life doing whatever Allah has prohibited – besides shirk with Allah – rather than spending his whole life involved in kalam."^[13]
• Ahadith from the Islamic prophet Muhammad have to be accepted without questioning, reasoning, critical thinking. "If a hadith is authenticated as coming from the Prophet, we have to resign ourselves to it, and your talk and the talk of others about why and how, is a mistake..."^[50]

Islamic scholars

v t e Early Islamic scholars

Muhammad, The final Messenger of God(570–632 the Constitution of Medina, taught the Quran, and advised his companions Abdullah ibn Masud (died 653) taught Ali (607–661) fourth caliph taught Aisha, Muhammad's wife and Abu Bakr's daughter taught Abd Allah ibn Abbas (618–687) taught Zayd ibn Thabit (610–660) taught Umar (579–644) second caliph taught Abu Hurairah (603–681) taught Alqama ibn Qays (died 681) taught Husayn ibn Ali (626–680) taught Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (657–725) taught and raised by Aisha Urwah ibn Zubayr (died 713) taught by Aisha, he then taught Said ibn al-Musayyib (637–715) taught Abdullah ibn Umar (614–693) taught Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (624–692) taught by Aisha, he then taught Ibrahim al-Nakha’i taught Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (659–712) taught Hisham ibn Urwah (667–772) taught Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (died 741) taught Salim ibn Abd-Allah ibn Umar taught Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (682–720) raised and taught by Abdullah ibn Umar Hammad bin ibi Sulman taught Muhammad al-Baqir (676–733) taught Farwah bint al-Qasim Jafar's mother Abu Hanifa (699–767) wrote Al Fiqh Al Akbar and Kitab Al-Athar, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni Sufi, Barelvi, Deobandi, Zaidiyyah and originally by the Fatimid and taught Zayd ibn Ali (695–740) Ja'far bin Muhammad Al-Baqir (702–765) Muhammad and Ali's great great grand son, jurisprudence followed by Shia, he taught Malik ibn Anas (711–795) wrote Muwatta, jurisprudence from early Medina period now mostly followed by Sunni in Africa, Sunni Sufi and taught Al-Waqidi (748–822) wrote history books like Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, student of Malik ibn Anas Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 829) wrote biographies and history books, student of Malik ibn Anas Abu Yusuf (729–798) wrote Usul al-fiqh Muhammad al-Shaybani (749–805) al-Shafi‘i (767–820) wrote Al-Risala, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni sufi and taught Ismail ibn Ibrahim Ali ibn al-Madini (778–849) wrote The Book of Knowledge of the Companions Ibn Hisham (died 833) wrote early history and As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, Muhammad's biography Isma'il ibn Ja'far (719–775) Musa al-Kadhim (745–799) Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) wrote Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni sufi and hadith books Muhammad al-Bukhari (810–870) wrote Sahih al-Bukhari hadith books Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (815–875) wrote Sahih Muslim hadith books Dawud al-Zahiri (815–883/4) founded the Zahiri school Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi (824–892) wrote Jami` at-Tirmidhi hadith books Al-Baladhuri (died 892) wrote early history Futuh al-Buldan, Genealogies of the Nobles Ibn Majah (824–887) wrote Sunan ibn Majah hadith book Abu Dawood (817–889) wrote Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith Book Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (864- 941) wrote Kitab al-Kafi hadith book followed by Twelver Shia Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923) wrote History of the Prophets and Kings, Tafsir al-Tabari Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari (874–936) wrote Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn, Kitāb al-luma, Kitāb al-ibāna 'an usūl al-diyāna Ibn Babawayh (923–991) wrote Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih jurisprudence followed by Twelver Shia Sharif Razi (930–977) wrote Nahj al-Balagha followed by Twelver Shia Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) wrote jurisprudence books followed by Ismaili and Twelver Shia Al-Ghazali (1058–1111) wrote The Niche for Lights, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, The Alchemy of Happiness on Sufism Rumi (1207–1273) wrote Masnavi, Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi on Sufism Key: Some of Muhammad's Companions Key: Taught in Medina Key: Taught in Iraq Key: Worked in Syria Key: Travelled extensively collecting the sayings of Muhammad and compiled books of hadith Key: Worked in Persia

See also

•  Islam portal

• Fiqh
• Mujaddid
• Shafi'i
• Mausoleum of Imam al-Shafi'i

References

Citations

1. . History of Islam. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
2. Dutton, Yasin, The Origins of Islamic Law: The Qurʼan, the Muwaṭṭaʼ and Madinan ʻAmal, p. 16
3. . www.sunnah.org. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
4. Zayn Kassam; Bridget Blomfield (2015), "Remembering Fatima and Zaynab: Gender in Perspective", in Farhad Daftory (ed.), The Shi'i World, I.B Tauris Press
5. Aliyah, Zainab (2 February 2015). "Great Women in Islamic History: A Forgotten Legacy". Young Muslim Digest. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
6. Day, Stephen W. (25 June 2012). Regionalism and Rebellion in Yemen: A Troubled National Union. Cambridge University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-107-02215-7.
7. Islam, M. R.; Zatzman, Gary M.; Islam, Jaan S. (13 November 2013). Reconstituting the Curriculum. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-86790-7.
8. Al-Nawawi, Tahdhib al-Asma wal-Lughat, v.1, pg.82
9. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Tawalli al-Ta`sis li-Ma'ali Muhammad bin Idris, pg.26
10. Ibn 'Asakir, History of Damascus
11. Khadduri, Majid (2011). Translation of al-Shāfi'i's Risāla – Treatise on the Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence. England: Islamic Texts Society. pp. 8, 11–16. ISBN 978-0946621-15-6.
12. Haddad, Gibril Fouad (2007). The Four Imams and Their Schools. United Kingdom: Muslim Academic Trust. pp. 189, 190, 193. ISBN 978-1-902350-09-7.
13. Ibn Abi Hatim, Manaaqibush-Shaafi'ee, pg. 39
14. Ibn Kathir, Tabaqat Ash-Shafi'iyyin, Vol 1. Page 27 Dār Al-Wafa’
15. Ibn Abī Hātim. Manāqib al-Shāfi'ī wa-Ābāduh. Dar Al Kotob Al-Ilmiyyah. p. 39.
16. A.C. Brown, Jonathan (2014). Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy. Oneworld Publications. p. 35. ISBN 978-1780744209.
17. . Archived from the original on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
18. Haddad, Gibril F. (2007). The Four Imams and Their Schools. London, the U.K.: Muslim Academic Trust. pp. 121–194.
19. Khadduri, pp. 15–16 (Translator's Introduction). Khadduri cites for this story Yaqut's Mu‘jam al-Udabā, vol. VI pp. 394–95 (ed. Margoliouth, London: 1931), and Ibn Hajar's Tawālī al-Ta'sīs, p. 86.
20. Ibn Hajar's Tawālī al-Ta'sīs, p.185 DKi 1986 edition
21. Ibn Hajar's Tawālī al-Ta'sīs, p.177 DKi 1986 edition
22. Khadduri, p. 16 (Translator's Introduction).
23. . Archived from the original on 15 December 2013.
24. "Tour Egypt :: The Mausoleum of Imam al-Shafi".
25. Schacht, Joseph (1959) [1950]. The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press. p. 1.
26. Snouck Hurgronje, C. Verspreide Geschriften. v.ii. 1923-7, page 286-315
27. Étude sur la théorie du droit musulman (Paris : Marchal et Billard, 1892–1898.)
28. Margoliouth, D.S., The Early Development of Mohammedanism, 1914, page 65ff
29. Schacht, Joseph in Encyclopedia of Islam, 1913 v.IV, sv Usul
30. Burton, Islamic Theories of Abrogation, 1990: p.14
31. J. SCHACHT, An Introduction to Islamic Law (1964), supra note 5, at 47
32. Forte, David F. (1978). "Islamic Law; the impact of Joseph Schacht" (PDF). Loyola Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review. 1: 13. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
33. al-Shafii ‘’Kitab al-Risala’’, ed. Muhammad Shakir (Cairo, 1940), 84
34. Brown, Daniel W. (1996). Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought. Cambridge University Press. p. 8. ISBN 0521570778. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
35. Schacht, Joseph (1959) [1950]. The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press. p. 4.
36. Burton, Islamic Theories of Abrogation, 1990: p.15
37. Burton, Islamic Theories of Abrogation, 1990: p.12
38. Abrahamov, Binyamin (1998). "Chapter 3: Traditionalism Against Rationalism- The Traditionalists' Criticism of the use of Rational Methods". Islamic Theology: Traditionalism and Rationalism. George Square, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN 0-7486-1102-9. Al-Shafi'ī's attitude towards the Mutazilites was no less severe. His judgement of them is that they should be smitten with palm branches and shoes in the presence of many people and then it will be said: this is the punishment of those who abandoned the Qur'an and the Sunna and turned to the Greeks.
39. Ruthven Malise, Islam in the World. 3rd edition Granta Books London 2006 ch. 4, page 122
40. The Levels of the Shafiee scholars by Imam As-Subki طبقات الشافعية للسبكي
41. Nahyan Fancy, Science and Religion in Mamluk Egypt (2013, ISBN 1136703616), page 23: "... highlighted by the latter-day Shafi'i authority, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti."
42. Scott C. Lucas, Constructive Critics, Ḥadīth Literature, and the Articulation of Sunni Islam (2004, ISBN 9004133194), page 72: "It is somewhat astonishing that al-Dhahabi, a purported adherent to the Shafi'i madhhab, does not honor al-Shafi'i with the sobriquet Shayk al-Islam." (Emphasis added.)
43. David Waines, An Introduction to Islam, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 68
44. Glodziher, Dr. Ignaz (2008). "Chapter 3". The Zahiris, Their Doctrine and their History: A Contribution to the History of Islamic Theology. Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Publishers. p. 23. ISBN 978-90-04-16241 9.
45. Glodziher, Dr. Ignaz (2008). "Chapter 3". The Zahiris, Their Doctrine and their History: A Contribution to the History of Islamic Theology. Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Publishers. p. 23. ISBN 978-90-04-16241 9.
46. Izalat al-Khafa p. 77 part 7
47. Diwan al-Imam al-shafi'i, (book of poems – al-shafi'i) p. 100; Dar El-Mrefah Beirut – Lebanon 2005. ISBN 9953-429-33-2
48. Dhammul-Kalaam (Q/213)
49. Dhahabi, as-Siyar (10/30)
50. Schacht, Joseph (1959) [1950]. The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press. p. 13.

Notes

• Burton, John (1990). (PDF). Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-0108-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
• Ruthven Malise, Islam in the World. 3rd edition Granta Books London 2006 ch. 4
• Majid Khadduri (trans.), "al-Shafi'i's Risala: Treatise on the Foundation of Islamic Jurisprudence". Islamic Texts Society 1961, reprinted 1997. ISBN 0-946621-15-2.
• al-Shafi'i, Muhammad b. Idris,"The Book of the Amalgamation of Knowledge" translated by Aisha Y. Musa in Hadith as Scripture: Discussions on The Authority Of Prophetic Traditions in Islam, New York: Palgrave, 2008

Helal M Abu Taher, Char Imam(Four Imams), Islamic Foundation, Dhaka,1980.

External links

 

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Shafi`i

• Biodata at MuslimScholars.info
• Diagram of teachers and students of Imam Shafi'i