The Biography of Imam al-Shafi'i: His Early Life, Knowledge, and Virtues

“And among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors similarly. Only those fear Allāh,

from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allāh is Exalted in Might and Forgiving.” (Quran 35:28)

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah ﷻ be upon you.

“In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”

“[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds -” (Quran 1:1-2)

...of the worlds. I bear witness there is no deity except Allah, alone.

And I bear witness Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger.

To proceed: Welcome, my brothers and sisters, to this new meeting and new session,

of the sessions and meetings discussing these virtuous scholars,

who are shining stars in the history or the sky of the Islamic world.

My talk today is about a prominent scholar, whose like is rare among scholars,

and women have been unable to give birth to his equal.

This personality is an ocean of knowledge and an ocean of understanding,

of sharp intellect, strong determination, and rising vigor,

distinguished by virtue and benevolence, and a master of poetry and eloquence,

and he is the one who said: "Were it not that poetry degrades scholars,

I would have been today a greater poet than Labid."

I think you recognized this figure from this verse.

He is Imam al-Shafi'i (RH),

Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-Abbas

ibn Uthman ibn Shafi' ibn al-Sa'ib al-Hashimi al-Qurashi al-Muttalibi.

His father had migrated from Makkah to Gaza in Palestine in search of a livelihood,

but he died a few days or a short time after Muhammad's birth.

So Imam al-Shafi'i, Muhammad ibn Idris,

grew up as an orphan and in poverty.

As for Shafi', to whom Imam al-Shafi'i traces his lineage, he is the son of al-Sa'ib.

And this al-Sa'ib had met the Prophet ﷺ,

and his father, this al-Sa'ib, was captured on the day of Badr among the captives,

and he ransomed himself, then embraced Islam (RA).

Imam Al-Shafi'i (RH)

—his lineage meets that of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at Abd Manaf.

As for his mother, it was said she was a Yemeni from Al-Azd,

and it was said from the tribe of Azd, and she was Arab, of course, but not Qurashi.

His mother was a smart, sharp-witted, and wise woman.

By the way, among the beautiful stories told about the mother of Imam Al-Shafi'i (RH)

is that she and another woman gave testimony before the judge of Makkah,

a testimony the judge asked them to give regarding, I think, a financial matter.

She and another woman testified before the judge of Makkah,

and the judge wanted to separate the two women to test the truthfulness of each.

So what did Al-Shafi'i's mother say?

She said, "You cannot do that, you cannot do that,

because Allah Almighty says: '...so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her.'"

Therefore, Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RH) said:

"This is a rare derivative ruling and a strong deduction."

That is why the mother of Al-Shafi'i had this level of understanding and intelligence."

Al-Shafi'i (RH) was born in Gaza.

Of course, it was said: Gaza of ash-Sham,

and it was said: Gaza of Makkah, as there is a neighborhood in Makkah

known by this name, and Allah knows best.

But in general, most of those who spoke about Imam al-Shafi'i say he was born in Gaza,

Palestine, because his father had gone there seeking livelihood, but passed away there.

Imam al-Shafi'i was born in the year one hundred and fifty (AH).

And I believe this is a date you all know and remember.

This date is the year of the death of Imam Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man, may Allah have mercy on him.

We mentioned this before, because Abu Hanifa was born in the year eighty (AH) and died in the year...

...one hundred and fifty (AH). So al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, was born in the same year that Abu Hanifa died.

Al-Shafi'i (RH) said: "She prepared me for Mecca, and I arrived there

when I was ten years old or something like that."

"I went to a relative of mine,

and I found my pleasure in knowledge until Allah ﷻ granted me what He granted."

Al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman says —

this Al-Rabi' was one of Imam Al-Shafi'i's students,

indeed one of his closest companions.

He says: "Al-Shafi'i was born in Gaza or Ashkelon."

It is narrated from him: "I was born in Gaza, a village of the Levant, in the year one hundred and fifty."

"I stayed there two years, then was taken to Mecca, where I grew up."

Al-Shafi'i says: "I learned the Quran from Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah."

Of course, we note that Al-Shafi'i grew up as an orphan.

His father died when he was young, and his mother took charge of him

in the finest manner, raising him well, and watched over him until he carved his path in seeking knowledge.

and became one of the leading Imams of the world.

Ibn Abd al-Hakam, one of the senior students of al-Shafi'i, says:

He says: "When the mother of al-Shafi'i (RH) was pregnant with him,

she saw a dream—the mother of al-Shafi'i saw a dream as if

Jupiter, this planet—as if Jupiter came out of her and then descended

in Egypt, and then a piece of it fell in every land."

Notice this amazing dream,

And there is no doubt this is an indication of what?

Of the spread of the knowledge of al-Shafi'i (RH), and this is indeed what happened.

Al-Shafi'i (RH) was highly intelligent and brilliant, so the signs of...

al-Shafi'i (RH) began early.

And they pointed to the birth of an exceptional, amazing personality,

and this is by the tawfiq of Allah ﷻ.

Therefore, from his early childhood,

he was known for his intelligence, acumen, understanding, and memorization.

He (RH) even said:

“When I was in the kuttab,

meaning, in the Quran memorization circles,

I would hear the teacher dictating a verse to a boy, and I would memorize it.

The teacher would dictate to the boy, and Al-Shafi'i would listen and memorize it.

The boys would write down what was dictated, and by the time the teacher finished dictating,

I had memorized all that he dictated.

One day he said to me, 'It is not permissible for me to take anything from you.'

In the past, kuttabs would charge a fee for teaching students.

So he said, ‘It is not permissible... it is unreasonable for me to take anything from you.’

So he did not take anything from him or his mother.

He (RH) said, “When I left the kuttab,

I used to collect pottery shards, parchment, palm branches,

and camel shoulder blades to write Hadith on them,

and I would go to the archives to ask for paper.”

...from their backs to write on them,

until my mother had large clay jars—the ones used for storing water—

and I filled them with shoulder blades, pottery, and palm branches, all filled with Hadith.

Then I left Makkah and stayed with Hudhayl, which is a tribe—

a well-known Arab tribe famous for poetry, eloquence, and rhetoric.

It is well known that the urban Arabs used to send their sons

to the desert, first of all for health reasons,

because the environment of the desert people is pure,

and they also drank milk and were people of eloquence.

The Prophet ﷺ was sent to be wet-nursed in Banu Sa'd—his wet nurse was Halimah al-Sa'diyyah, who was from the desert.

Al-Shafi'i (RH) said, "I stayed with Hudhayl"—meaning the tribe of Hudhayl—

"in the desert, learning their language and acquiring their character, and they were the most eloquent of the Arabs."

He said, "So I stayed among them for seventeen years, traveling when they traveled and settling when they settled."

"And when I returned to Makkah, I began reciting poetry, and sharing literature, narratives, and the history of the Arabs, fully immersed in this."

He said, "A man from the Zubayrids, one of my cousins, passed by me and said, 'O Abu Abdillah...'"

'It pains me that such language, eloquence, and intelligence are not accompanied by fiqh.'

Meaning, he was saying, 'With this intelligence, level, and memorization,

it pains me that you only resort to poetry and literature and leave fiqh.'

Look, Subhan Allah, a single piece of advice

ignited a spark in Al-Shafi'i. And indeed,

some advice, when it comes from the heart, Subhan Allah, hits the mark.

He said, this cousin of Al-Shafi'i said:

'It pains me, O Abu Abdillah, that such language, eloquence, and intelligence are not accompanied by fiqh,

so that you would lead the people of your time.

He said, "I asked, 'Who is left to be sought?

Who is the scholar currently alive to whom people travel?'"

He said, 'Malik ibn Anas, the master of the Muslims at that time.'

He said, "That struck a chord in my heart, so I went to Al-Muwatta,

borrowed it from a man in Makkah, and memorized it by heart in nine nights."

He memorized Al-Muwatta in nine nights.

What does this indicate?

An amazing, exceptional personality in memorization.

He said, "Then I went to the governor of Makkah

and took a letter from him to the governor of Madinah.

It was even said that Imam Al-Shafi'i...

...went with Khalid ibn Muslim Al-Zanji, the jurist of Makkah, to the governor of

Makkah, so he would write a letter for him to the governor of Madinah to intercede for him,

so that Imam Malik would accept Al-Shafi'i as his student.

Because Malik was a man of great awe; not everyone dared to approach him.

He says: 'I took his letter to the governor of Medina and to Malik ibn Anas.'

He says: 'So I arrived in Medina and delivered the letter to the governor.'

When he read the letter, he said, 'O young man,

walking barefoot and on foot from the heart of Medina to the heart of Mecca...

...is easier for me than walking to the door of Imam Malik ibn Anas.

I do not experience humiliation until I stand at his door.' This shows the awe of Imam Malik, as we mentioned.

I said, 'May Allah reform the prince, if the prince sees fit, send for him to come.'

He said, 'Far from it! If only when I ride, along with those with me...

...and the dust of Al-Aqiq valley settles on us, we would have achieved some of our need,

meaning, this is something that cannot happen.

He said, 'So I made an appointment with him at Asr, and we all rode. By Allah, it was just as he said.'

Meaning, just as the governor said, "We have been covered in the dust of Al-Aqiq."

He said, "A man from the delegation with the governor stepped forward,

and knocked on the door. A black maidservant came out to us,"

and the governor said to her, 'Tell your master I am at the door.'

She went in, delayed for a while, and then came out,

and said, 'My master sends you greetings of peace,

and says: If it is a question, write it on a note and the answer will be sent out to you.

Meaning, if you have a religious question, write it on paper and the answer will be brought to you.

And if it is for Hadith,

then you know the day of the gathering, if you came to me.

If you came to hear Hadith from me, you know the time of the gathering in the masjid.'

So he turned to leave, then said to her, 'Tell him

that I have a letter for him from the governor of Makkah regarding an important matter.'

He said, "She went in and came out carrying a chair, which she set down."

"Then, suddenly, Malik came out, looking very dignified and solemn."

"He was a tall, elderly man with a well-groomed beard.

He sat down wearing a taylasan (head covering)."

The governor handed the letter to him.

He read until he reached: "This is a man of such-and-such condition,

so speak to him and do for him..." and so on, regarding the intercession.

He threw the letter from his hand and said, "Subhan Allah! Has the knowledge of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ come to be acquired through connections?"

He said, "I saw that the governor was too intimidated to speak to him, so I stepped forward and said,

'May Allah guide you! I am a struggling man, and my situation and story is...' and he told him his life story, that he was an orphan, and so on."

When he heard my words, he looked at me for a moment, reading my character.

It is clear that Imam Malik read ash-Shafi'i's character.

Malik possessed, as they say, great insight. He said to me, "What is your name?" I said, "Muhammad."

He said to me, "O Muhammad, fear Allah ﷻ and avoid sins, for you will surely have a great future."

Then he said, "Very well, with pleasure. Tomorrow, come, and someone will come to read for you."

He said: I said, "I will do the reading myself." He said: So I went to him the next morning and began

reading from memory with the book in my hand.

Whenever I felt awe of Malik and wanted to stop,

he was pleased by my good reading and correct grammar, and would say, "O young man, read more, read more!" until I read it all in a few days.

Then I resided in Medina until Malik ibn Anas (RH) passed away.

Imam Al-Shafi'i (RH) was extremely passionate about knowledge.

He was once asked, "How is your desire for knowledge?"

He replied, "Whenever I hear a new piece of knowledge,

my limbs wish they had ears to enjoy it,

just as my ears enjoyed it."

He was asked, "How is your eagerness for it?"

He said, "Like the eagerness of a greedy hoarder in achieving his pleasure with wealth."

He was asked, "How is your pursuit of it?"

He said, "Like the pursuit of a woman who has lost her child,

and has no other." Glory be to Allah!

Look at the analogy and how great his love for knowledge was.

The scholars of Mecca testified to Imam Al-Shafi'i's (RH) acumen and intelligence.

Al-Humaydi said, "Ibn 'Uyaynah and Muslim bin Khalid—I think..."

A moment ago, I said Khalid bin Muslim al-Zanji. No, he is Muslim bin Khalid,

and Sa'id bin Salim, and Abdul-Majid bin Abdul-Aziz,

and the scholars of Mecca described al-Shafi'i and knew him from his youth

as prominent among them in intelligence, intellect, and decency,

and no youthful folly was known of him, meaning he was not like the rest of the youth,

meaning, in contemporary terms, teenagers who have inclinations here and there, or childish behavior. No,

rather, he was dignified since his youth, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him.

Regarding the teachers of Imam al-Shafi'i, it is no secret that Mecca

was the Qiblah of scholars, just as Madinah was the Qiblah of scholars.

Students of knowledge and scholars would head and travel to Mecca and Medina to learn from their scholars.

And among its most famous scholars was this Muslim bin Khalid bin Sa'id al-Zanji.

Of course, "al-Zanji" does not mean what immediately comes to mind.

Rather, they say he was very fair-skinned, with a reddish complexion,

so he was nicknamed the opposite of what "Zanji" implies.

It was said, of course, regarding Muslim ibn Khalid, that he was the Mufti of Makkah

after Ibn Jurayj.

He was a jurist, may Allah have mercy on him,

but regarding Hadith, the scholars had some reservations about him.

He died in the year 196 AH,

and it is also said in 180 AH.

Of course, Al-Shafi'i (RH) moved

to Malik in Madinah and learned from him, as we mentioned.

Ibrahim ibn Sa'd al-Ansari says—

he was one of the scholars from whom

Imam Al-Shafi'i (RH) learned,

and he used to praise Imam Al-Shafi'i.

Among those he also learned from was Abdul-Aziz ibn Muhammad al-Darawardi,

as well as Ibrahim ibn Abi Yahya and Muhammad ibn Sa'id ibn Abi Fudayk,

and 'Abdullah ibn Nafi' al-Sa'igh.

All of these scholars testified to Imam al-Shafi'i's prominence, intelligence, and acumen.

Al-Shafi'i (RH) then moved to Yemen.

His story is well-known; when he moved to Yemen, he learned from its scholars,

Among them, he learned from Mutarrif ibn Mazin

and Hisham ibn Yusuf, the judge of Sana'a.

He also learned from 'Amr ibn Abi Salamah, the companion of Imam al-Awza'i,

and from Yahya ibn Sinan.

Before settling in Egypt, may Allah have mercy on him,

he traveled to Iraq and learned from its scholars.

Among the most famous was Waki' ibn al-Jarrah,

whom he mentioned often, as well as Abu Usamah Hammad ibn Usamah,

as well as Isma'il ibn 'Ulayyah and 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn 'Abd al-Majid.

All of these, Imam al-Shafi'i learned from in Iraq, as well as Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani.

My brothers and sisters, as for the students of Imam ash-Shafi'i, it is very difficult to enumerate them due to their large number,

on one hand, and because they were scattered across different lands on the other.

You know that ash-Shafi'i was in Makkah, Madinah, Yemen, Iraq, and Egypt.

So, you can imagine these journeys and the large number

who flocked to the circles of Imam ash-Shafi'i (RH).

So it is very difficult to state that the number of ash-Shafi'i's students reached such-and-such,

but indeed, among the most famous students of Imam ash-Shafi'i is Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah,

as well as Sulayman ibn Dawud al-Hashimi,

And Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr al-Humaydi, the teacher of al-Bukhari,

who was, of course, one of al-Bukhari's teachers,

al-Husayn al-Karabisi, and Abu Ya'qub Yusuf ibn Yahya al-Buwayti,

al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah al-Za'farani,

and Abu Thawr Ibrahim ibn Khalid al-Kalbi,

and also Abu Ibrahim Isma'il ibn Yahya al-Muzani,

and Abu Muhammad al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman al-Muradi, whom we mentioned earlier,

who was one of Imam al-Shafi'i's closest companions,

and also al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman al-Jizi,

and Abu Hafs Harmalah ibn Yahya ibn Abdillah al-Tujibi,

and also Abu Yusuf Yunus ibn Abd al-A'la,

and Muhammad ibn Abdillah ibn Abd al-Hakam al-Misri.

All of these were students of Imam al-Shafi'i,

There is also a large number of those who narrated from Imam al-Shafi'i,

but we cannot enumerate this number.

My brothers and sisters, indeed,

concerning the praise for Imam al-Shafi'i, there is almost

a consensus among scholars on his precedence and merit,

and that he is indeed one of the greatest Imams.

Therefore, the giants of knowledge praised him, such as Imam Ahmad (RH),

and Imam Ahmad's praise is sufficient for you.

Imam Ahmad said, "Al-Shafi'i was like the sun to the world and like good health to the body."

"Do you see any replacement or substitute for these two?"

Allahu Akbar!

Look at this precise description: al-Shafi'i is like the sun to the world and like good health to the body.

Can people do without them? They cannot.

Ahmad also said, "Were it not for al-Shafi'i, we would not have known the fiqh of Hadith."

"Were it not for al-Shafi'i, we would not have known the fiqh of Hadith."

Because al-Shafi'i was saturated with the knowledge of Hadith in Medina and fiqh in Iraq,

so they blended, and the fiqh of Hadith emerged.

as a new school adopted by Imam Al-Shafi'i (RH).

Imam Ahmad also used to say, "Fiqh was locked for its people until Allah opened it through Al-Shafi'i."

Ahmad ibn Hanbal said to Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, "Come,

let me show you a man the like of whom your eyes have never seen."

Ishaq said, "Al-Shafi'i was shown to me, and my eyes had never seen anyone like him."

Then Ishaq (RH) said, "Al-Shafi'i is the leader of scholars,

and no one speaks by opinion except that Al-Shafi'i makes fewer mistakes than him."

Some scholars, like Yahya ibn Ma'in, were surprised by Ahmad ibn Hanbal's dedication to Al-Shafi'i,

to the extent that Yahya ibn Ma'in once heard that Imam Ahmad walked alongside Al-Shafi'i's mule, so he sent him a message reproaching him.

Meaning Yahya was reproaching Imam Ahmad, saying, "You walk with the mule?"

So Ahmad sent a reply to Yahya saying, "If you walked on the other side, it would have been more beneficial for you."

He said, "Had you walked with me on the other side, it would have been more beneficial for you."

Look at the reply of Imam Ahmad to Yahya.

Al-Muzani said, "I have never seen a face more handsome than Al-Shafi'i's when he grasped his beard, and it did not exceed his grasp."

Yunus bin Abd al-A'la said, "If an entire nation were gathered,

the intellect of Al-Shafi'i would have sufficed them."

Some students of Imam Al-Shafi'i also said, "Al-Shafi'i's words were like sugar."

"When we sat around him, we did not know how he spoke; it was like magic." Thus said some of his students.

Al-Rabi' bin Sulayman, Al-Shafi'i's student who served him and narrated his books, said:

"If Al-Shafi'i's intellect were weighed against half the intellect of the people of the earth, it would outweigh them."

"And had he been from the Children of Israel, they would have needed him."

Abu Thawr, the well-known jurist, said: "I have not seen anyone like Al-Shafi'i, nor has he seen anyone like himself."

And Abu Dawud al-Sijistani says: "I do not know of any Hadith in which al-Shafi'i made a mistake."

Abu Dawud, author of the Sunan, said: "I know of no Hadith in which Al-Shafi'i made a mistake."

Al-Jahiz, the well-known master of men of letters in his era, says:

"I have not seen better writing than al-Shafi'i's; it is as if his mouth was stringing pearls together."

SubhanAllah.

Of course, al-Jahiz is well-known for his mastery of literature and language. He says:

"I have not seen better writing than Al-Shafi'i's; his mouth strung pearls together."

Al-Shafi'i (RH), along with this scholarly life and pursuit of knowledge, was...

...an Imam in ijtihad and fiqh,

as well as an Imam in piety, devoutness, and worship, may Allah the Almighty have mercy on him.

Look at this balance — glory be to Allah ﷻ.

When knowledge dominated him, he did not neglect worship and obedience, but rather combined them.

Because the very purpose of seeking knowledge is for something else; it is sought for action.

And a scholar who does not act upon his knowledge will be punished before the idol worshippers.

That is, Allah ﷻ says:

“Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?” (Quran 2:44)

And He, Mighty and Sublime, says: "O you..."

“O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do?”

“Greatly hateful in the sight of Allāh is that you say what you do not do.” (Quran 61:2-3)

For this reason, Imam Al-Shafi'i (RH), just as he was an Imam in ijtihad, fiqh, usul, and other disciplines,

He was also an Imam in worship, piety, and scrupulousness.

Al-Rabi' said: "Al-Shafi'i divided the night into three parts: the first third he would write,

the second third he would pray, and the third third he would sleep."

Allahu Akbar! He (RH) would not recite the Quran at night except in prayer.

Al-Muzani said: "I never saw Al-Shafi'i recite the Quran at night except while in prayer,"

meaning he would recite the Quran while in prayer,

And he had a beautiful voice.

That is, when he recited the Quran, his voice was melodious, deep, and beautiful.

Bahr ibn Nasr said: "When we wanted to weep, we would say, 'Let us go

to this Muttalibi to recite the Quran.'

When we came to him, he would begin reciting the Quran, and the people would fall before him weeping,

their crying growing louder from the beauty of his voice,

When he saw them in that state, he would stop reciting.

He would stop reciting.

My brothers and sisters, I will stop here.

We have covered a good portion of the biography of this Imam, Al-Shafi'i (RH),

but there is more, insha'Allah, in the next session.

It will be in the next session and meeting,

by the power of Allah the Almighty, we will sail with this great Imam,

the brilliant scholar, and discover something of his life. And that is not intended...

or aimed from his biography just for enjoyment or exploration,

as much as we want to be as the predecessor said:

"Imitate them if you are not like them, for imitating the noble is success."

I will meet you in the next session, also with Al-Shafi'i (RH).

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah ﷻ and His blessings.