Imam Ash-shafi'ee: The Grand Jurist For The Sunnah

Everything was placid in the large valley except for
the voice of a two-year old child who was weeping.
His mother embraced him, took him close to her
chest, and patted his shoulders with tenderness and
compassion. The youngster quickly went into sleep as
his mother stared at the far horizon saying in a low
weakened voice : “may Allah have mercy on your
soul: father of Muhammad (her husband); you took us
with you from Makkah to Gaza in search of our daily
bread and good life, yet you died and were buried
here. Here am I on my way to Makkah again to have
your son raised among his tribe and clan 'Banu Al-
Muttalib'.”
The poor mother went into a bitter fit of weeping and
crying as she remembered those few years she had
spent in Palestine with her beloved husband, who
was the best husband, brother, and friend for her.
However, the happy and beautiful days passed as
quickly as clouds, or as a short but pretty dream.
In the honorable Makkah, the mother lived with her
child in the protection of her husband's family. She
raised her son by giving him a good education and
instructions, flowing on him her love and compassion,
so the youngster grew up with a well balanced
psyche, a peaceful nature, and great ethics. The
virtuous mother took on her shoulders the
responsibility of teaching her son the Quran, reading,
and writing so that he may be well acquired with
both religious and other fundamental knowledge.
Thus, she sent her son to one of the small elementary
schools despite her poverty and inability to save the
instructor's wage. Yet, Muhammad went to his first
day at school almost unable to walk properly, and
when the instructor saw Muhammad, he sort of
belittled him and told him: “O my son, just sit next to
me and listen carefully to your elders so that you
may get used to reading and memorization.”
However, the young Muhammad Ibn Idrees Ash-
Shafi'ee may Allah have mercy upon him was
glittering with intelligence and ingenuity. He used to
incredibly quickly learn by heart whatever he heard
from what the teacher dictated to his students. Every
single day in the small school his knowledge
increased along with his enthusiasm to learn more.
His teacher then loved him more and actively pushed
him forward. The youngster naturally became more
and more distinguished, until his teacher told him one
day, “My son, you are highly smart and intelligent to
the extent that I hardly make any effort with you
that is worth any wage. All I need from you is to
teach on my behalf when I am not present.” The
youngster rushed happily to his mother to tell her the
happy news that she would not have to pay
anymore for the teacher. The virtuous mother was
glad for her son's excellence and encouraged him
even more to study. This led him to embark actively
on the completion of learning the Quran by heart
which he finally completed when he was only seven
years old.
Being in great happiness for her son's completion of
the memorization of the Quran in that fast manner,
she started thinking how could she best direct this
smart child towards more excellence. She sent him to
attend the lessons given around the Sacred Mosque
of Makkah. The boy started to listen to prominent
scholars; and as he did not have the price for paper
on which to write what he listened to, he used
parchment, palm tree leaves, and camel shoulder
bones. During this early period of his quest for
knowledge, Imam Ash-Shafi'ee may Allah have
mercy upon him intelligently realized the importance
of the learning the classical Arabic language from its
pure sources, in order to understand the Quran and
the Sunnah, (the Prophet Muhammad's sallallaahu
`alayhi wa sallam (may Allah exalt his mention)
sayings, acts, and approvals) in the best possible
way. He went to the Huthayl tribe, which was
among the most eloquent Arab tribes, and stayed
with them for long years in which he learned their
eloquence, memorized their poems, studied the
biographies of Arabs from pre-Islamic era as well as
the Islamic era, and learned the skill of knighthood
and archery. He eventually became a brave unrivaled
knight and a skillful archer who rarely missed his
target.
As years passed, Imam Ash-Shafi'ee may Allah have
mercy upon him returned to his beloved hometown
Makkah. No sooner had he quenched his longings to
his mother, he continued his quest for knowledge
enthusiastically. He headed for the Grand Mufti
(Religious Jurist) of Makkah, the Sacred Mosque,
Muslim Ibn Khalid Az-Zinji who became the first
teacher for him in Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence). He
also, started studying Hadeeth under the supervision
of Sufyan Ibn 'Uyaynah, the narrator of the Sacred
Mosque. In a short time, Imam Ash-Shafi'ee may
Allah have mercy upon him rose to prominence as an
excellent Islamic scholar. His mentor, Muslim Ibn
Khalid gave him permission to answer the religious
enquiries when Imam Ash-Shafi'ee was only fifteen.
He told him proudly, “O Muhammad! Give fatwa and
answer the questions of people. By Allah! Now it is
opportune for you to give fatwa." His other mentor,
Sufyan Ibn 'Uyaynah, used to refer enquirers to him
while he turned towards him and pointed "ask this
boy.”
While still studying in Makkah, Imam Ash-Shafi'ee
may Allah have mercy upon him heard of the
renown scholar of Madeenah, Imam Malik Ibn Anas
may Allah be pleased with him. He wanted to
become a student of Imam Malik may Allah have
mercy upon him yet he saw with his sharp intellect
that he should not go to him unprepared and void. He
memorized Malik's famous book “Al Muwatta” in only
nine days. After that he went off to see Imam Malik
may Allah have mercy upon him in his house in
Madeenah. Imam Ash-Shafi'ee may Allah have mercy
upon him spoke eloquently and politely with the
Imam and told him that he wished to become his
student. The Imam looked at the boy for a long time
as the boy was telling his story of how he sought
knowledge so far. The Imam had an astonishing
physiognomy and a penetrating insight; he told him:
“My son! By the Will of Allah you will have a great
future. Tomorrow come to me and bring with you
someone who could read the Muwatta' well as I fear
you would not be able to read it by yourself.” Imam
Ash-Shafi'ee may Allah have mercy upon him
responded with the same politeness “Imam, I will
read it myself from memory without a book.”
Imam Ash-Shafi'ee may Allah have mercy upon him
remained in the company of Imam Malik may Allah
have mercy upon him for a long time. The Imam
loved him a lot, and in 179 A.H after Imam Malik
passed away, Imam Ash-Shafi'ee may Allah have
mercy upon him returned to Makkah from Madeenah
equipped with a great load of knowledge which had
influenced his life. In Makkah he was wedded to
Hameedah Bint Nafi', a grand daughter of Caliph
'Uthman Ibn 'Afan may Allah be pleased with him
and had two sons and a daughter from her.
In the courtyard of the well of Zamzam and next to
Prophet Ibraheem's Maqam (the stone on which he
stepped up to put the bricks in the Ka'bah), Imam
Ash-Shafi'ee may Allah have mercy upon them sat
down to teach people and around him many students
were gathered from everywhere. His circle became
very prominent in the Sacred Mosque of Makkah and
even became well known outside Makkah until it
reached Iraq. Abdur-Rahman Ibn Mahdi, one of the
scholars of Iraq sent him a letter requesting that he
authors a book on the evidences of legislation from
Quran, Sunnah and the consensus of the religious
scholars, as well as other issues upon which the
science of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) is built. Imam
Ash-Shafi'ee, may Allah have mercy upon him, wrote
the book and named it Ar-Risalah (The Treatise)
which became the first book that founded what
came to be called: 'Ilm Usul Al Fiqh (The science of
the sources of Islamic Jurisprudence), of which Imam
Ash-Shafi'ee may Allah have mercy upon him was
the organizer, classifier, and the inventor of its issues.
In 195 A.H the Imam Ash-Shafi'ee may Allah have
mercy upon him traveled to Baghdad for the second
time and continued to teach there for two years.
Many studied under his supervision including Imam
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal may Allah have mercy upon him
who later said “Had it not been for Imam Ash-
Shafi'ee may Allah have mercy upon him we would
not have known the understanding of Hadeeth.”
Before he left Iraq he had finished writing his large
book Al Hujjah (the Proof), in which he put down the
essence of his new school of jurisprudence.
In 199 A.H the Imam went to Egypt where he stared
to spread his knowledge between the Egyptians who
loved him very much. More students came to him
from all over the world. Towards the end of his life,
the Imam became very sick. This illness continued
with him for four years yet it did not stop him from
teaching or lecturing. When he came back to his
house after teaching, he used to force himself to
ignore the pains of the sickness and get absorbed in
writing, and editing and proofreading the book of
Hujjah which he wrote in Iraq. After completed the
proofreading and editing works he renamed the
book’s name as Al-Umm (The Mother). The Imam
remained to follow his daily routine until illness forced
him to retire and stop teaching. His students used to
visit him to console him in his sickness. One day one
of his students entered his room and asked him:
“How do you feel this morning O Imam?” Ash-
Shafi'ee may Allah have mercy upon him answered:
“I feel that I am traveling away from this world,
away from the brothers, drinking from the cup of
death, and approaching Allah the Glorious. By Allah I
do not know if my soul will go to heaven so that I
may congratulate it, or to hell so that I may lament.”
He then went into crying. On a Friday, the last day of
Rajab in the year 204 A.H, his pure soul went up to
its Provider and Caretaker. He was buried in the
cemetery of Qurashiyyeen amidst the cemeteries of
Banu Al-Hakam in Egypt. May Allah bless the Imam's
soul and admit him into his wide paradises. Aamin

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