Abdullah Muhammad bin Idris 

al- Shaf'ee was a descended from the Hashimi family of the

Quaraish tribe to which the Holy Prophet (SAW)  belonged.
He was born in Gaza, Palestine, and was raised in Makkah, his parents' home town. He
memorized the holy Qur'an while he was still a young child. When he reached fifteen, his
knowledge was so thorough, Muslim Ibn Khalid Al-Zinji, the Mufti of Makkah, told him: "O
Abu Abdullah, give fatawa (religious rulings), for by Allah it is time for you to do so!"

Al-Shafi'i traveled extensively for the sake of spreading knowledge. He went to Madinah, met
Imam Malik, memorized many ahadith, and learned the Muwatta of Imam Maliki. He also
visited Iraq twice. By the second time he arrived there, he was so famous for his knowledge, that
many Iraqi scholars followed him and rejected the innovations and deviations they espoused
before. He then left for Egypt where he stayed until he died in 204 Hijri. There he taught the
jurisprudence of the Qur'an and Sunnah. He also taught linguistics, poetry and genealogy, and
debated people who were fanatically following their madhahib (schools of thought). Most of
them were of the Maliki school of thought. They saw in him a wise and pious man so acquainted
with their madhahib but without any fanaticism. Through him, they were able to see their flaws,
and learned to seek the truth wherever it was.

But what earned Al-Shafi'i the title of the revivalist of the second century  was that he was the
one who put the fundamentals of jurisprudence (usul Al-Fiqh). Scholars before him used to
gather the ahadith they heard in their countries, and when a hadith seemed in contradiction with
another, they used their personal judgment to decide which one is the most acceptable.
Then at the time of Al-Shafi'i, the Prophet's ahadith were gathered from different
countries, and the disagreements among the scholars increased until Al-Shafi'i wrote his
famous book, Al-Risalah, which is considered the foundation of Islamic jurisprudence. In
it, Al-Shafi'i relied on the literal meaning of the Qur'an, then on the authentic Sunnah. He
strongly argued for the acceptance ahadith provided they were authentic. He considered
following and applying the Sunnah as equally important as following the Qur'an. He
supported the use of consensus and discouraged the use of one's personal judgment without
relying on the Qur'an, the Sunnah, the consensus or the juristic reasoning by analogy
(Qiyas). One of the things that distinguished Al-Shafi'i from other scholars was that he
himself wrote the fundamentals of his school of thought, as well as other books that are
considered the body of his jurisprudence.

Al-Shafi'i revival movement had many achievements:

 He brought people back to follow the Sunnah after a lot of confusion had spread among
them.
 He was committed to relying on evidence, and rejecting blind imitation. He said: "If a
hadith is proved authentic, then it becomes my belief." He also said: "If you see that my
words contradict the hadith, then apply the hadith and disregard my words."
 When he saw the opinions of some scholars before him were not based on the Qur'an or
the Sunnah, and had no foundations, he worked toward putting the fundamentals of
jurisprudence, and wrote down his famous book, Al-Rissalah.
 He was the first to distinguish and separate between the application of discretion in legal
matters (Istihsan), and the juristic reasoning by analogy (Qiyas).
  He did not confine himself to the knowledge of hadith or fiqh, but he was also well
versed in Arabic linguistics, poetry, and genealogy. Al-Karabissi, a famous scholar of the
time of Al-Shafi'i said: "I have seen nothing nobler than Al-Shafi'i's study sessions.
People of hadith used to attend them as well as people of jurisprudence and poetry. Most
of the well-known scholars in poetry and linguistics used to visit him, and they would
listen to his discourse on all these disciplines."

Baghdad in Iraq and Cairo in Egypt were the chief centres of Imam Shafiee's activities. It is from
these two cities that teachings of the Shafi-ee school spread . During the time of Sultan
Salahuddeen (Saladin), the Shafi-ee Madhhab was the most prominent in Egypt, and to this day
the Imam of the Al-Azhar Masjid is always a Shafi-ee and the Shafi-ee Madhhab is industriously
studied along with that of the other three schools of the Sunnis.

During his life Imam Shafi-ee also suffered from political intrigues. For instance, after studying
under Imam Malik in Medina he was sent to fill an office in Yemen, where he was accused of
political involvement which resulted in his arrest.

He was taken as prisoner to Haroun al-Rasheed. The Khalifah however found him innocent and
the Imam was honourably released.
Imam Shafiee died in the Year 204 A.H./ 820 C.E. and  was laid to rest in Egypt

Major Works:
Kitab al-Risalam Fi-Usul al-Fiqh commonly known as Al-Risala
Kitab al-Umm

One of his Sayings:

Imam Ghazali in his Ihya quotes Imam Shaf'ee as saying:
"I used not to take food with satisfaction for the last 16 years, as a full stomach makes the
body heavy, makes the heart hard, increases sleep and renders a man lazy for Worship"

Imaam’s Family Lineage (Father’s Side): Muhammad bin Idriss bin al-Abbas bin Usman bin
Shafi’ ibn al-Sa’ib bin Ubaid bin ‘Abd Yazid bin Haashim bin al-Muttalib bin ‘Abd Manaaf bin
Qusayy bin Kilaab bin Murrah. The Imaam’s Lineage connects with the Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam)’s Lineage from ‘Abd Manaaf bin Qusayy.

Imaam’s Family Lineage (Mother’s Side): Fatimah bint ‘Abdullah bin al-Hasan bin al-Hussain
ibn Ali bin Abi Talib. The relations of the mother say that the only two to be born Haashimi
in the family lineage were Hadhrat Ali bin Abi Talib and al-Imaam Al-Shafi’ee.

Place of Birth: Imaam Shafi’ (RA) was born in the year 150 A.H. the year the Great Imaam
Abu Hanifah had passed away in. He was born in Ghizza (Asqalaan) in Palestine. When he
was two year old his mother took him to a tribe in al-Hijaz who were dwellers of the country
of Yemen. His mother kept him there until he reached the age of ten years. A time came
when she felt that the family was in jeopardy of being forgotten and wasted so she took her
son (Imaam Shafi’ee) to Makkah.

His Education: The Imaam was from a very poor family in his youth and when he was sent
to school his family could not afford to pay the teacher for his teachings. The teacher used
to inadequately teach the children and anytime he taught something inadequately and then
left the children, the Imaam would seize the opportunity and teach them the teacher’s
lesson and suffice the children. When the teacher would see this and he understood that the
Imaam was doing it he let him continue to do so. This way the Imaam would suffice his
tuition through satisfying the teacher by teaching the children his lesson. This continued and
the Imaam learned the whole Qur’an by the time he reached seven years.

The Imaam himself used to say: “After I finished learning the Qur’an I would go to the
Masjid and sit with the Scholars the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa
Sallam) and Islamic matters. I used to live in Makkah among tent dwellers in such a state of
poverty that I could not even afford to by paper to write, so I would write on bones
instead.”

It is also reported that the Imaam used to recite Hadith in the Masjid of the Prophet
(Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) at the age of thirteen years old. It is also reported that the
Imaam’s voice was very melodious and sweet. Al-Haakim reports by the authority of Bahr
bin Nasr saying: “When we wanted to cry we would say come let us go to this young
Muttalibee man to hear him recite the Qur’an. We would reach him and he would initiate his
recitation until when the people would start falling down in front of him and the sounds of
everyone weeping and yelling could be heard by him he would stop.”

His Teachers: Among his eminent teachers were:

1. Muslim bin Khalid al-Zangi (a Mufti of Makkah during the year 180 A.H. (796 A.D.)

2. Sufyaan bin Uyainah al-Hilaali (one of the three distinguished scholars of that time in
Makkah)

3. Ibrahim bin Yahya (a scholar of Madinah)

4. Malik bin Anas (Imaam Shafi’ee used to recite Hadith to Imaam Malik after the
memorizing of his book, Muwatta Imaam Malik). The Imaam stayed in Madinah until Imaam
Malik passed away in the year 179 A.H. (790 A.D.)

5. Wakee’ bin al-Jarraah bin Maleeh al-Kofi

6. Muhammad bin Hasan al-Shaibaani (a scholar of Busrah, and distinguished student of the
Great Imaam Abu Hanifah (RA)

7. Hammaad bin Usama al-Haashimi al-Kofi

8. Abdul-Wahhab bin Abdul-Majeed al-Busri

His Marriage: He married Hameedah bint Nafi’ bin Unaisah bin ‘Amr ibn Usman bin Affan.

Some Distinctive Characteristics:

1. His eloquent style of speech and abundant knowledge of the Arabic language

2. His Family Lineage-as a set standard reported by al-Hakam bin ‘Abdil-Muttalib that the
Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, “Indeed Banu Haashim and Banu al-Muttalib are
the same (ie. of the same family lineage). (Ibn Majah, 22, Kitaabul-Wasaaya/46 Chapter
Division of Khumus/ Hadith No. 2329
3. Complete memorization of the Qur’an with recognition of its rules and its implications in
all aspects of Islamic Knowledge of which others during his time did not yet reach to

4. His deep foresight in Hadith and comprehension of authentic and defective narrations

5. His understanding in the principles of Hadith and Fiqh

6. His rulings in Hadith Mursal (incompletely transmitted narrations) and completely

transmitted narrations.

7. Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal used to say about Imaam Shafi’ee, “Our napes were in the
hands of the Companions of Abu Hanifah (RA) when it came to hadith (ie. we were inclined
to them more) until we saw Imaam Shafi’ee, he was the most knowledgeable in the Book of
Allah and the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) that he would even suffice
one who was not well informed in Hadith.

8. Al-Karaabeesi says about the Imaam, “Al-Shafi’ee was a mercy from Allah upon the
followers of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam).

9. Al-Humaidee says, “We used to want to refute the arguments of the Ashab-ul-Ra’iy, but
we were not well informed to do so until Imaam Shafi’ee came along and opened up the
way for us.

10. Ibn Raahway was asked, “How did Imaam Shafi’ee compose all these books at such a
young age?” He replied, “Allah SWT made him intelligent and mature minded in just his
youth.”

11. Rabi’ says, “We were just sitting awhile in the Knowledge Circle of Imaam Shafi’ee after
the Great Imaam’s demise when a Bedouin Arab came along and said asked about where is
the sun and moon of this circle. When we told him that he had passed away he started
weeping heavily, and then said may Allah have mercy upon him and forgive him for verily
he was one who opened up the veils of proofs through his explanations and closed the
mouths of his disputer and opponent. He used to wash the blackened faces of their shame
and disgrace and opened the closed doors with intellect and understanding. Then he turned
away and left.”

His Humbleness:

Al-Hasan bin Abdul-Aziz al-Jarwi al-Misri reported form Imaam Shafi’ee used to say, “I have
never debated with someone who I want to make a mistake, nor do I possess any
knowledge that I want to keep to myself, rather that it should be with all and not just
related to me.”

He also said, “I have never debated with someone who I want to make a mistake. And I
have never debated someone except I say to them, O’ Allah, put the truth in his heart and
on his tongue. If I am on the truth he will follow me, and if he is on the truth then I will
follow him.”

A Scholar of Quraish:

Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal is reported to have said, “When I am questioned about some
matter that I do not know of I say to myself Imaam Shafi’ee knows about this and he will
have some say in it, because he is an ‘Alim (Scholar) of Quraish. And the Prophet
(Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, An Alim of Quraish fills the earth with knowledge.” (al-
Manaaqib, Lil-Baihaqi, Vol. 1, Page 54)

Al-Raazi says, “This Hadith is attainable by a man who possesses three characteristics: 1.
that he is from Quraish 2. that he has abundant knowledge among religious scholars 3. that
his abundant knowledge will indeed reach from east to west of the world

After saying this Al-Raazi says, “The man described above is no other than Al-Shafi’ee.”
(Musnad of Abu Dawood Al-Tabalusi, p. 39-40)

The Imaam is from Quraish and the following other Ahadith (narrations) are indications
towards him:

1. Abdullah bin Masood (RA) narrates from the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) as
saying, “Do not curse at the Quraish, for verily a scholar from there fills the earth with
knowledge. O’Allah, you have made their first taste your punishment, now make the last of
them taste your gift and favor.” (Musnad of Abu Dawood Al-Tabalusi, p. 39-40)

2. Abu Hurairah (RA) narrates that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, “O’Allah,
Guide the Quraish, for verily a scholar from there fills the earth with knowledge. O’Allah,
just you have made them taste your punishment, now let them taste your gift and favor.”
He made this supplication three times. (al-Khateeb fee al-tarikh, V.2, P.61)

3. Imaam Al-Shafi’ee is Quraishi and Muttalibi. One hadith says, “Indeed Banu Haashim and
Banu al-Muttalib are the same (ie. of the same family lineage). The Prophet (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wa Sallam) then put his fingers of both hands together. (Al-Sunan al-Kubra’, V.6,
P.340)

4. In one narration the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, “Indeed, at the beginning
of every hundred years Allah SWT sends a reformer of this Ummah who will revive the
Ummah in religion. (Al-Mustadrik, V.4, P.522, Al-Khateeb fee al-tarikh, V.2, P.61)

His Children:

First Child’s Name: Abu Usman, Muhammad (was a judge in Madinah, grew up in Syria)
Second Child’s Name: Fatimah Third Child’s Name: Zainab His Going to Egypt: The Imaam
went to Egypt in the year 199 A.H. (814/815 A.D.) during the beginning of the Mamun
Khilafah. He went back to Baghdad for a month then again returned to Egypt and stayed
until his demise in the year 204 A.H. (819/820 A.D.)

His Writings and Books:

1. Al-Risalah al-Qadeemah (Kitaabul-Hujjah)

2. Al-Risalah al-Jadeedah

3. Ikhtilaaful-Hadith

4. Ibtaal-al-Istihsaan

5. Ahkaam-ul-Qur’an

6. Biyaadhul-Fardh
7. Sifatul-al-Amr wal-Nahiy

8. Ikhtilaaf Malik wal-Shafi’ee

9. Ikhtilaaf-al-Iraqiyeen

10. Ikhtilaaf Muhammad bin Hasan

11. Fadha’il Quraish

12. Kitaabul-Umm 13. Kitaabul-Sunan

His Demise:

The Imaam became very sick at the end of his life with hemmariodal pain and passed away
in Egypt on Thursday night after Isha’ Prayer after performing Maghrib Prayer on the last
day of Rajab. We was buried in Cairo, Egypt on Friday in the year 204 A.H. (819/820 A.D.)
His Masjid in Cairo can be visited in the Imaam Al-Shafi’ee Neighborhood. May Allah be
pleased with him. Ameen. Translated by Adil Khan on 11th of Shabaan, 1422 A.H. from
Kitaabul-Umm, Printed in Beirut, Lebanon.