Imam Shafi’e is the architect of the Shafi’e school of
thought. He was born in Gaza, Palestine in the year 150 (A.H), the year
Imam Abu Hanifa (RH) passed away. Imam Shafi belonged to the noble tribe of the
Quraysh and he originated from the Hashim family, he was from the same lineage
as the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Since he was born in Makkah he was brought up in
an Arab environment and he was in contact with various Arab tribes therefore
deepening his knowledge of the Arabic language and literature. At the age of 7,
Imam Muhammad Ibn Idris Ash-Shafi’e had already memorised the entire 604 pages
of the Qur’an. At the age of 13 he had memorised the whole Muatta of Imam Malik
which is one of the prominent collections of Hadith (1720 saying on Fiqh). He
later travelled to Madina in which he studied Fiqh and Hadith with Imam Malik
Ibn Anas in which Imam Malik was impressed by Imam Shafie’s intelligence and
then provided his with financial assistance in order for him to stay and learn
fiqh. He also pursued studies in Baghdad with Imam Muhammad Ibn Hasan
Ash-Shaibani, who was a disciple of Imam Abu Hanifa (RH). He was honoured by
Imam Malik (RH) and other scholars of Madina at the age of 15 when they all
consented to declare him a Mufti. Imam Shafi’e passed away in Qairo (Egypt) at
the age of 54 after a short illness. The Shafi’e school of thought is dominant
in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Egypt. There are Prophetic Hadiths
predicting the coming of Imam Shafi’e (RH), the Prophet (SAW) said: “Oh Allah! Guide
Quraysh, for the science of the scholar that comes from them will encompass the
earth. Oh Allah! You have let the first of them taste bitterness, so let the
latter of them taste reward!” (Al-Bayhaqi, strong chain of narration)[1]
Imam Shafi’e was one of the prominent scholars of linguistic
science if classical Arabic. He had memorised thousands of poems of Arab poets
and he is considered one of the great scholars of Arabic literature by the
authors, scholars and writers of classical Arabic. Some of Imam Shafie’s
eminent teachers were: Muslim Bin Khalid Al-Zangi (Mufti in Makkah), Malik Bin
Anas (RH, founder of the Malik school of thought) and Ibrahim Bin Yahya
(Prominent scholar of Madina). Imam Shafi’e was also a prominent scholar of
Arab history and also studied Astronomy and Medicine. He was a skilled debater
and held a strong position among the scholars of Hadith. He wrote about 123
books on Islamic issues/subjects, ‘Kitab-ul-‘ilm’ is his marvellous collection
of Hadith covering 140 topics, containing 4000 pages in 7 volumes. Imam Shafi’e
also compiled two other collection of Hadith known as ‘Kitab-ul-Mabsoot’ and ‘Musnad
Assh-Shaif’e’. In one of his books on the principles of Fiqh (Kitab-ul-Risalah)
he has outlined the regulations that govern the methodology of Fiqh, in the
light of the Qur’an and the Hadith. This is an academic work of the highest
standard.
Imam Muhammad Ibn Idris Ash-Shafi was a master of Fiqh and
Hadith. Hundreds of students from all over the world travelled to learn under
Imam Shafi’e and attend his discourses. According to one report, people had
seen 700 horses and camels and other transports at one time outside his home. From
this we can see that Imam Shafi’e was a prominent and popular teacher. His
prominent students were the following: A teacher of Imam Bukhari, Imam Abu Bakr
Abdullah Ibn Zubair Hamidi of Makkah (d. 219 AH), a teacher of Imam Muslim,
Imam Hurmala Ibn Yahya of Egypt (d. 244 AH), another teacher of Imam Bukhari and
Imam Abu Dawud and Imam Tirmizi (RH), Imam Hasan Ibn Muhammad of Baghdad (d.
259 AH), Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (RH) (d. 241 AH), founder of the Hanbali school
of though and a great scholar of Fiqh and Hadith. Imam Shafi’e was born in
Gaza, studied in Makkah, Madina and Baghdad then travelled to Makkah where he
stayed for nine years delivering lectures on Islamic Law and went on to and
settled down in Egypt until he died.
Imam Shafi’e is recorded to have kept the company of learned
people till the very end of his life, it is recorded he spent his last days in
the company of Abdullah Ibnul Hakam, a well known scholar of his time. It is
said he died on a Friday in the Islamic calendar month of Rajab at the age of
54 in the year 204 AH. The Governor of Egypt, acknowledging his academic distinction
led his funeral prayers.
And Allah knows best.
And Allah knows best.
No comments:
Post a Comment