From humble beginnings to spiritual eminence

والصَّلَاةُ والسَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ أَشْرَفِ اْلمُرْسَلِيْنَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ الطَّيّبِيْنَ الطَّاهِرِيْن

The distinguished Imam Muhammad ibnuI dris Ash-Shafi^iyy was born in the year 150 of the Hijriyy calendar, coinciding with the passing of the eminent founder of the Hanafiyy school, Abu Hanifah. After immersing himself in the profound study of religious sciences, Ash-Shafi^iyy became proficient in issuing jurisprudential verdicts (fatwas) and laid the groundwork for his own school of thought: the Shafi^iyy madh-hab.

His Name and Lineage

He bore the name Abu ^Abdi l-Lah Muhammad, son of Idris, son of Al-^Abbas, son of ^Uthman, son of Shafi^, son of As-Sa‘ib, son of ^Ubayd, son of ^Abdi Yazid, son of Hashim, son of Al-Muttalib, son of ^Abdu Manaf. Thus, he hailed from Arab lineage, specifically Qurayshiyy, with roots tracing back to Hashim and Al-Muttalib.

Ash-Shafi^iyy's lineage intertwined with that of the Messenger of Allah through their common ancestor ^Abdu Manaf. He earned the epithet Ash-Shafi^iyy due to an ancestor named Shafi^, who was a companion of Prophet Muhammad, with his father also being a companion. Therefore, he was highly esteemed for being not only a companion himself but also the descendant of a companion.

Ash-Shafi^iyy was born in Gaza, Palestine, in the aforementioned year, marking the same period as the demise of Imam Abu Hanifah. He devoted his life to acquiring and disseminating religious knowledge, earning renown as a great saint (waliyy) and scholar.

Ash-Shafi^iyy 's humble origins…

He was raised in humble circumstances, hailing from a financially modest family. His father's premature demise led his mother to relocate with him to Mecca when he was but ten years old.

His mother, Fatimah, daughter of ^Abdu l-Lah , was affiliated with the Al-'Azd tribe. Ash-Shafi^iyy grew up in straitened circumstances. Consequently, during his pursuit of religious knowledge, he resorted to writing on crude materials such as stone, leather, palm leaves, and animal bones, as paper was beyond his means.

…and fervour for Knowledge

Ash-Shafi^iyy displayed a prodigious memory, memorizing the Noble Qur'an at a tender age. His pursuit of knowledge extended to the hadiths of the Prophet, which he diligently transcribed.

Subsequently, he embarked on a sojourn to rural areas, dwelling among the Huthayl tribe for approximately a decade. This immersion facilitated his acquisition of Arabic linguistics and vocabulary, as the Huthayl tribe was renowned for its linguistic prowess. Ash-Shafi^iyy committed the tribe's poetry and news to memory.

Simultaneously engaged in his scholarly pursuits, Ash-Shafi^iyy honed his archery skills, achieving remarkable precision—each of his ten arrows unfailingly found its mark.

Reflecting on his dual passions, Ash-Shafi^iyy remarked: "My ardour was divided between archery and knowledge; I became so proficient in archery that I consistently hit all ten targets." His words trailed off, prompting one of his listeners to interject: "By Allah, your mastery in knowledge surpasses even your prowess in archery!"

The Founder of the Shafi^iyy School

Ash-Shafi^iyy founded a school of jurisprudence (madh-hab), renowned as the Shafi^iyy school, during his tenure in Iraq. This is what scholars refer to as the old Shafi^iyy school (al-madh-habu l-qadim). Subsequently, upon his relocation to Egypt, he revisited his doctrines, leading to the establishment of the new Shafi^iyy school (al-madh-habu l-jadid).

Ar-Raziyy, in his work "Manaqibu sh-Shafi^iyy," noted: "Ash-Shafi^iyycomposed his treatise 'Ar-Risalah' while in Baghdad, but upon his migration to Egypt, he revised it; both versions contain profound scholarship." This disparity delineates the distinction between the old and new schools of Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy .

Shafi^iyysm, sometimes spelt Shafiism or Shafism, enjoys widespread adherence worldwide, notably across the Asian continent—India and Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand—as well as in Egypt, Yemen, and the Levantine countries: Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan.

His Exemplary Traits

Ash-Shafi^iyy, in addition to his profound knowledge, was distinguished by his humility, a virtue bestowed upon him by Allah .

Blessed with an extraordinary voice, even in his youth, his Qur'an ic recitations drew crowds enthralled by its beauty. Some listeners were so deeply moved by the reverence evoked in his recitation that they would fall to the ground, overwhelmed by their fear of Allah.

A paragon of generosity and courage, Ash-Shafi^iyy also exhibited remarkable prowess in archery, alongside an exemplary demeanour.

His Karamat

Among the unique attributes bestowed upon him by Allah, Ash-Shafi^iyy was counted among the eminent saints and recipients of divine unveiling, known as kashf.

He once addressed three of his foremost disciples. To the first, he proclaimed, "You shall specialize in hadith." This prediction materialized with Ar-Rabi^ ibnu Sulayman's prominence among hadith scholars. To Al-Muzaniyy, he declared, "You shall excel in debate." True to the unveiling, he emerged as a formidable debater, silencing adversaries with his compelling arguments. Lastly, he foretold to Al-Buwaytiyy, "You shall be in iron." Indeed, he became a renowned scholar in Egypt during the tumultuous era of the Mu^tazilah, enduring captivity and transportation from Egypt to Baghdad in iron shackles.

Thus, Allah unveiled this to Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy of his disciples long before their realization; a manifestation of divine unveiling (kashf).