A BRIEF HISTORY OF IMAAM SHAFFI RAHIMAHULLAH Abu ʿAbdillah Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi‘i (Arabic: ابو عبدالله محمد بن إدريس الشافعيّ) A Muslim jurist, who lived from (767 — 820 CE / 150 — 204 AH).. Often referred to as Shaykh al-Islām he was one of the four great Imams of which a legacy on juridical matters and teaching eventually led to the Shafii school of fiqh (or Madhhab) named after him. Hence he is often called Imam al-Shafi‘i... 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. The oldest surviving biography goes back to Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi (died 327H/939) and is no more than a collection of anecdotes, some of them fantastic. The first real biography is by Ahmad Bayhaqi (died 458H/1066) 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 point of view. FAMILY: Al-Shāfi‘ī belonged to the Qurayshi clan Banu Muttalib which was the sister clan of the Banu Hashim to which the Prophet Muhammad and the Abbasid caliphs belonged. Hence he had connections in the highest social circles, but he grew up in poverty... PERSONAL LIFE: Many stories are told about the childhood and life of ash-Shafii, and it is difficult to separate truth from myth: Tradition says that he memorized the Qur’an at the age of seven; by ten, he had memorized the Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas; he was a mufti (given authorization to issue fatwa) at the age of fifteen. He recited the Qur’an every day in prayer, and twice a day in Ramadan.. Some apocryphal accounts claim he was very handsome, that his beard did not exceed the length of his fist, and that it was very black. He was also known to be very generous. He was also an accomplished archer, a poet, and some accounts call him the most eloquent of his time. Some accounts claim that there were a group of Bedouin who would come and sit to listen to him, not for the sake of learning, but just to listen to his eloquent use of the language. Even in latter eras, his speeches and works were used by Arabic grammarians. He was given the title of Nasir al Sunnah, the Defender of the Sunnah. He loved the Islamic prophet Muhammad very deeply. Al Muzani said of him, “He said in the Old School: ‘Supplication ends with the invocation of blessings on the Prophet, and its end is but by means of it.’” Al-Karabisi said: “I heard al-Shafi’i say that he disliked for someone to say ‘the Messenger’ (al-Rasul), but that he should say ‘Allah’s Messenger’ (Rasul Allah) out of veneration for him.” He divided his night into three parts: one for writing, one for praying, and one for sleeping.. 767 – 786: AL-MANSUR TO AL-HADIS ERA: EARLY LIFE, STUDIES WITH AZ-ZANJI IN MAKKAH He was born in Gaza, near the town of Asqalan. While still a child, his father died in Syria and thus his mother decided to move to Mecca when he was about two years old. 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... He is reported to have studied under Muslim Ibn Khalid az-Zanji, the Mufti of Mecca at his time and is considered the first teacher of Imam ash-Shafii... STUDIES WITH IMAM MALIK IN MADINAH He moved to Medina in his quest to learn Islam, as was the tradition of acquiring knowledge. There, he was taught by the famous Imam Malik ibn Anas. He memorized Muwatta Imam Malik at a very early age whereby Imam Malik was very impressed with his memory and knowledge... 786 – 809: HARUN AL-RASHIDS ERA After that he lived in Mecca and Baghdad, until 814/198. Among his teachers were Malik ibn Anas and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī, whom he studied under in Madinah and Baghdad. He was appointed as a judge in Najran in the time of Harun ar-Rashid. Sunnis portray that his devotion to justice, even when it meant criticizing the governor, caused him some problems, and he was falsely accused of aiding the Alawis in a revolt. He was taken in chains before the Caliph at Raqqa in 803/187. Shaybānī was the chief justice at the time, and his defense of Shafii, coupled with Shafii’s own eloquent defense, convinced Harun ar-Rashid to dismiss the charge, and he directed Shaybānī to take Shafii to Baghdad. He was also a staunch critic of Al-Waqidis writings on Sirah. In Baghdad, he developed his first madhhab, influenced by the teachings of both Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik. Thus, his work there is known as “al Madhab al Qadim lil Imam as Shafi’i,” or the Old School of ash-Shafii. Al-Shafii left Baghdad in 804/188, possibly because Hanafi followers had complained to Shaybani that Shafii had become somewhat critical of the school during their disputations; as a result, Shafii is said to have participated in a debate with Shaybani over their differences, though who won the debate is disputed. After spending some time teaching in Mecca, where Hanbal is said to have heard him lecturing at the Sacred Mosque,Shafii eventually returned to Baghdad in 810/194. 809 – 813: AL-AMINS ERA Muhammad ibn Harun al-Amin (787–813) (Arabic: محمد الأمين بن هارون الرشيد), Abbasid Caliph. He succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid, in 809/193 and ruled until he was killed in 813/197... 813 – 820: AL-MAMUNS ERA Caliph Al-Mamun is said to have offered Shafii a position as a judge, but Shafii declined the offer. In 814/198, Shafii decided to leave Baghdad for Egypt, although the precise reasons for this move are uncertain. It was in Egypt that Shafii dictated his works to students. Several of his leading disciples would write down what Shafii said, and Shafii would then have them read it back aloud so that corrections could be made. Shafiis biographers all agree that what works we now have under his name are the result of those sessions with his disciples.. DEATH: At least one authority says that Shafii died as a result of injuries sustained from an attack by supporters of a Maliki follower named Fityan. The story goes that Shafii triumphed in argument over Fityan, who, being intemperate, resorted to some form of abuse. The Governor of Egypt, with whom Shafii 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. Fityans supporters were enraged by this treatment, and they attacked Shafii in retaliation after one of Shafiis lectures. Shafii died a few days later. However, Shafii is also said to have suffered from some sort of intestinal illness, so the precise reason for Shafiis death is unknown. He died at the age of 54 on the 30th of Rajab in 204 AH (20 January 820 AD) in al-Fustat, Egypt, and he was buried in the vault of the Banū ‘Abd al-Hakam, near Mount al-Muqattam. The qubba was built in 1212/608 by the Ayyubid Al-Kamil, and the mausoleum remains an important site today.. LEGACY: Al-Shāfi‘ī developed the science of fiqh unifying revealed sources - the Quran and hadith - with human reasoning to provide a basis in law.. With this systematization of sharia he provided a legacy of unity for all Muslims and forestalled the development of independent, regionally based legal systems. The four Sunni legals schools or madhhabs- keep their traditions within the framework that Shafii established. Al-Shāfi‘ī gives his name to one of these legal schools Shafii fiqh - the Shafii school - which is followed in many different places in the Islamic world: Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Somalia, Yemen as well as Sri Lanka and southern parts of India. Saladin built a madrassa and a shrine on the site of his tomb. Saladins brother Afdal built a mausoleum for him in 1211 after the defeat of the Fatamids. It remains a site where people petition for justice. Among the followers of Imam al-Shāfi‘ī’s school were: Bayhaqi Hakim al-Nishaburi Jalaluddin Suyuti Al-Dhahabi al Ghazali Ibn Hajar Asqalani Ibn Kathir Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi Al-Mawardi WORKS He authored more than 100 books. Al-Risala — The best known book by al-Shafii in which he examined principles of jurisprudence. The book has been translated into English. Kitab al-Umm - his main surviving text on Shafii fiqh Musnad ash-Shafii (on hadith) - it is available with arrangement, Arabic Tartib, by Ahmad ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Banna In addition to this, al-Shafii was an eloquent poet, who composed many short poems aimed at addressing morals and behaviour.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 21:13:24 +0000