Imam Shafe'i

Muhammad bin Idrees Ash Shafe'i was born in Palestine at Gaza in 150 of Hijrah. He was a descendant of Abdul Mutalib. He attended lectures of Imam Malik in Hijaz on the law and Traditions. He also llearned much from Muhammad Shaibani, the pupil of Abu HAnifah.

He came to Baghdad A.H 195, where he gave lectures on the traditions, and composed his first work, entitled as Al-Usul. From Baghdad he went on a pilgrimage to Makkah, and from thence afterward passed into Egypt. There he met with Imam Malik. It does not appear that he ever returned from that country, but spent the remainder of his life there, dividing his time between the exercises of the religion, the instruction of the ignorant, and the composition of his later works.

His travel to Arabia, Egypt and Iraq influenced his earlier views when he was in favour of the school of thought established by Imam Malik. He was noted for the balance of judgment and moderation of views. He had acquired mastery over deduction of law and delighted himself initiating legal discussions.

He was a great enemy to the scholastic divines, and most of his productions were written with a view to convert their absurdities . Imam Hambal remarks that until the time of ash'shafe'i men did not know how to distinguish between the traditions that were in force and those that were canceled.

He was not as strict about verification and acceptance of traditions as was Abu Hanifah and, therefore, he called his school as the upholders of Traditions as against Hanfi school which was called "the upholders of private judgment". Although reckoned as the upholder of Traditions, yet he used to examine the Traditions critically. He used to deduce legal rules from the Qur'an, Traditions, Ijma and Analogy.


Disciples:
His disciples were Imam Ahmad Bin Hambal, Dawood, Zuhri and Ismail Mazani. He was first to have written a slandered book on Jurisprudence.His works include Kitab-ul-Umm which contains a through discussion on various aspects of the theoretical science of law. It contains matters connected with Ibadat, Muamilat, Punishments and family laws.

His next literary productions were the Sunan and Masnad, both works on the traditional law, which are held in high estimation among the Sunnies.

It was Imam Shafe'i, says Majeed Khuduri in his translation of Islamic Jurisprudence or Shafe'i's Risalah who provided in ninth century of the christian era, a systematic legal method by whisc to synthasize the various legaldoctrins into a coherrent system.

The Qur'an, points out Imam Shafe'i, is the basis of legal knowledge; its provisions constitute a perspicuous declaration on all matters (Al-Qur'an, chapter 3, verse no. 132) spiritual and temporal which men are under obligation to observe.


Followers:
Egypt was the centre of the Shafe'i school of thought, but it is now spread in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Hijaz, India and Pakistan, Indo-china and Jawa. The total streangth of his followers is about ten crores.

His tomb is still to be seen at Cairo, where the famous Salah-ud-din Ayyoobi afterward (A.H. 587) founded a college for the preservation of Shafe'i's works and the propagation of his doctrines.

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Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
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