"By (the Token of) time (through the Ages), Verily Man is in loss. Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) In the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy."[TM Qur'an Surah al-Asr]
Brief Life of Imam Shaf'ee (Rah) (d. 204 A.H./ 820 C.E.)
Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Idris al- Shaf'ee
was a descended from the Hashimi family of the Quaraish tribe to which the Holy
Prophet (SAW) belonged.
Al-Shafi'i traveled extensively for the sake of spreading knowledge. He went to Madinah, met Imam Malik, memorized many ahadith, and learned the Muwatta of Imam Maliki. He also visited Iraq twice. By the second time he arrived there, he was so famous for his knowledge, that many Iraqi scholars followed him and rejected the innovations and deviations they espoused before. He then left for Egypt where he stayed until he died in 204 Hijri. There he taught the jurisprudence of the Qur'an and Sunnah. He also taught linguistics, poetry and genealogy, and debated people who were fanatically following their madhahib (schools of thought). Most of them were of the Maliki school of thought. They saw in him a wise and pious man so acquainted with their madhahib but without any fanaticism. Through him, they were able to see their flaws, and learned to seek the truth wherever it was.
But what earned Al-Shafi'i the title of the revivalist of the second
century was that he was the one who put the fundamentals of jurisprudence
(usul Al-Fiqh). Scholars before him used to gather the ahadith they heard in
their countries, and when a hadith seemed in contradiction with another, they
used their personal judgment to decide which one is the most acceptable.
Baghdad in Iraq and Cairo in Egypt were the chief centres of Imam Shafiee's activities. It is from these two cities that teachings of the Shafi-ee school spread . During the time of Sultan Salahuddeen (Saladin), the Shafi-ee Madhhab was the most prominent in Egypt, and to this day the Imam of the Al-Azhar Masjid is always a Shafi-ee and the Shafi-ee Madhhab is industriously studied along with that of the other three schools of the Sunnis.
During his life Imam Shafi-ee also suffered from political intrigues. For instance, after studying under Imam Malik in Medina he was sent to fill an office in Yemen, where he was accused of political involvement which resulted in his arrest.
He was taken as prisoner to Haroun al-Rasheed. The Khalifah
however found him innocent and the Imam was honourably released.
One of his Sayings:
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"And say: truth has arrived, and falsehood has perished: for falsehood is ever bound to perish." [TMQ Al-Isra:81]