Al-Shafi'i (; ; 767–820 CE; d. AH 204) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, and ascetic, and the founder and eponym of the Shāfiʿī school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He played a formative role in the systematization of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (uṣūl al-fiqh) and is regarded as its founder. His al-Risāla was among the earliest works devoted to the subject and gave Islamic legal theory a systematic form, thereby "fundamentally influencing the succeeding generations which are under his direct and obvious impact," and "beginning a new phase of the development of legal theory."
Al-Shafi'i was born in Gaza, Palestine, into the Banu Muttalib clan of the Quraysh tribe. At the age of two he was taken to Mecca, where he was raised. He subsequently lived in Medina, Yemen, Baghdad, and Egypt, and for a period served as a judge in Najran.
Among his numerous teachers was Mālik ibn Anas, from whom al-Shafi'i nevertheless differed by giving particular attention to the methods by which the Qur'an and sunna were to be applied in jurisprudence. He sought to formulate rules governing the use of qiyās (analogical reasoning), and, having subjected analogy to methodological rules, employed it to establish a middle course between conservative traditionalism and legal innovation. His treatment of legal method and the sources of law marked a new phase in the development of Islamic legal theory and became a major influence on later jurisprudence.
Introduction The biography of al-Shafi'i is difficult to trace. It was said Dawud al-Zahiri (d. 884 CE) was the first to write one, but the work has been lost. The oldest surviving biography goes back to Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi (d. 938/939 CE), but is only a collection of anecdotes, some of them fantastical. Similarly, a biographical sketch written by Zakariyya ibn Yahya al-Saji was later reproduced, but even then, a great deal of legend had already crept into the story of al-Shafi'i's life. The first real biography was written by al-Bayhaqi (d. 1065/1066 CE), but 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-Shafi'i 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. However, he grew up in poverty, in spite of his connections to the highest social circles.
Early life Born in Gaza, Palestine, near the town of Ashkelon in 767/768 CE/150 AH. His father died in Sham while he was still a child. Fearing the waste of his sharif 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-Shafi'i's early life in Mecca, except that he was brought up in poor circumstances and that from his youth he was devoted to learning. An account states that his mother could not afford to buy his paper, so he would write his lessons on bones, particularly shoulder-bones. He studied under Muslim ibn Khalid al-Zanji, the then-judge of Mecca, who is thus considered to be his first teacher.Ibn Kathir, Tabaqat Ash-Shafi'iyyin, Vol 1. Page 27 Dār Al-Wafa' By the age of seven, al-Shafi'i had memorised the Quran. At ten, he had committed Malik ibn Anas's Muwatta to heart, at which time his teacher would deputise him to teach in his absence. Al-Shafi'i was authorised to issue rulings at the age of fifteen.
Modern accounts also report that, while living in Mecca in modest circumstances, al-Shāfiʿī became strongly interested in poetry and archery, activities associated with Arabic tribal aristocratic culture. Later biographical traditions link his early eloquence to time spent among the Hudhayl, a tribe famed for the purity of its Arabic, and describe him as a highly skilled archer. Some sources also attribute to him a short treatise on archery, later cited in connection with Kitāb al-Umm.E. Chaumont, "al-Shāfiʿī," in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. (EI²), Brill.
Apprenticeship under Malik ibn Anas Al-Shafi'i moved to Medina in desire for further legal training, 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, while another stated that he was in his twenties. According to Ibn Abī Ḥātim al-Rāzī, while still in Mecca al-S̲h̲āfiʿī obtained a copy of the Muwaṭṭaʾ—the principal work of Mālik—and learned it by heart before introducing himself to Mālik in persistently asking his permission to recite it to him. There, he was taught for many years by the famous Malik ibn Anas, who was impressed with his memory, knowledge, and intelligence. By the time of Malik's death in 179 AH (795 CE), al-Shafi'i had already gained a reputation as a brilliant jurist. Even though he would later disagree with some of the views of Malik, al-Shafi'i accorded the deepest respect to him by always referring to him as the "Teacher".
Political turmoil in Yemen At the age of thirty, al-Shafi'i was appointed as the Abbasid governor in the Yemeni city of Najran. He proved to be a just administrator but soon became entangled with factional jealousies. In 803 CE, al-Shafi'i was accused of aiding the Alids in a revolt, and was thus summoned in chains with a number of Alids to the caliph Harun al-Rashid at Raqqa. 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, Muhammad al-Shaybani, was present at the court and defended al-Shafi'i as a well-known student of the sacred law. What was certain was that the incident brought al-Shafi'i in close contact with al-Shaybani, 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.
Apprenticeship under al-Shaybani, and exposure to Hanafi jurists Al-Shafi'i traveled to Baghdad to study with Abu Hanifah's acolyte al-Shaybani and others. Here he developed his first school, influenced by the teachings of both Abu Hanifah and Malik. His work thus became known as "al-madhhab al-qadim li-l-imam al-shafi'i", or the "old school of al-Shafi'i".
It was here that al-Shafi'i actively participated in legal arguments with the Hanafi jurists, strenuously defending the Maliki school of thought. Some authorities stress the difficulties encountered by him in his arguments. Al-Shafi'i eventually left Baghdad for Mecca in 804 CE, possibly because of complaints by Hanafi followers to al-Shaybani that al-Shafi'i had become somewhat critical of al-Shaybani's position during their disputes. As a result, al-Shafi'i reportedly participated in a debate with al-Shaybani over their differences, though who won the debate is disputed.
In Mecca, al-Shafi'i began to lecture at the Sacred Mosque, leaving a deep impression on many students of jurisprudence, including the founder of the Hanbali school, Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Al-Shafi'i's legal reasoning began to mature, as he started to appreciate the strength in the legal reasoning of the Hanafi jurists, and became aware of the weaknesses inherent in both the Maliki and Hanafi schools of thought.
Departure to Baghdad and Egypt
Al-Shafi'i 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. The caliph al-Ma'mun is said to have offered al-Shafi'i a position as a judge, but he declined the offer.
It was however in Egypt—he lectured in the mosque of ʿAmr—that al-S̲h̲āfiʿī's teaching had its greatest impact; his principal disciples were Egyptians and subsequently S̲h̲āfiʿism completed successfully with Mālikism for supremacy in Egypt . It was here that al-S̲h̲āfiʿī composed the new version of his Risāla (the one which has survived) and the majority of the texts collected in the K. al-Umm.
Modern scholarship notes that al-Shāfiʿī's final settlement in Egypt likely reflected both intellectual and social pressures encountered in the Ḥijāz and Baghdad, where Mālikī and Ḥanafī circles predominated. In Fusṭāṭ, he was able to articulate what later Shāfiʿī scholars termed his "new doctrine" (al-madhhab al-jadīd), revising aspects of his earlier legal positions developed in Iraq and consolidating his mature legal methodology.E. Chaumont, "al-Shāfiʿī," in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. (EI²), Brill.
Connection with the family of Muhammad
In 814 CE, al-Shafi'i 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, al-Sayyidah Nafisah, who would also financially support his studies, and where he would dictate his life's works to students. Several of his leading disciples would write down what al-Shafi'i said, who would then have them read it back aloud so that corrections could be made. Al-Shafi'i biographers all agree the legacy of works under his name are the result of those sessions with his disciples.
Through Muhammad's grandson Hasan ibn Ali, Nafisah was a descendant of Muhammad, and she married another descendant of Muhammad, Ishaq al-Mu'tamin. Ishaq was the son of Ja'far al-Sadiq, a teacher of al-Shafi'i's teachers Malik ibn Anas, as well as Abu Hanifah. Thus, all of the four major imams of Sunni jurisprudence—Abu Hanifah, Malik, his student al-Shafi'i, and his student Ahmad—are connected to Ja'far al-Sadiq, who was from the household of Muhammad, whether directly or indirectly.
Death
At least one authority states that al-Shafi'i died as a result of injuries sustained from an attack by supporters of a Maliki follower named Fityan. The story goes that al-Shafi'i triumphed in the argument over Fityan, who, being intemperate, resorted to abuse. The then-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 al-Shafi'i in retaliation after one of his lectures, causing him to die a few days later.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. However, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani casts doubt on this story, claiming it is not "from a reliable source".Ibn Hajar's Tawālī al-Ta'sīs, p.185 DKi 1986 edition Al-Shafi'i was also known to have suffered from a painful intestinal illness and hemorrhoids,Ibn Hajar's Tawālī al-Ta'sīs, p.177 DKi 1986 edition which kept him frail and ailing during the later years of his life. Thus, the precise cause of his death is unknown.Khadduri, p. 16 (Translator's Introduction).
Al-Shafi'i died at the age of 54 on 20 January 820 CE/30 Rajab 204 AH, in al-Fustat, Egypt. He was buried in the vault of the Banu Abd al-Hakam, City of the Dead near Mokattam. The dome was built in 1212 CE/608 AH by the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil. Al-Shafi'i's mausoleum remains an important site today.
Legacy
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: The Qur'an; Hadith. i.e. collections of the words, actions, and silent approval of Muhammad. (Together with the Qur'an these make up "revealed sources");