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Al-Shafi'i
Al-Shafi'i (Arabic: الشَّافِعِيّ, romanized: al-Shāfiʿī; IPA: [a(l) ʃaːfiʕiː] ⓘ;767–820 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, having authored one of the earliest work on the subject: al-Risala. His legacy and teaching on the matter provided it with a systematic form, thereby "fundamentally influencing the succeeding generations which are under his direct and obvious impact," and "beginning a new phase of the development of legal theory."
Born in Gaza, Palestine, to the Banu Muttalib clan of the Quraysh tribe, he relocated at the age of two and was raised in Mecca. He later resided in Medina, Yemen, Baghdad in Iraq, and Egypt, and also served as a judge for some time in Najran.
The biography of al-Shafi'i is difficult to trace. It was said Dawud al-Zahiri (d. 884 CE) was the first to write one, but the work has been lost.[page needed] The oldest surviving biography goes back to Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi (d. 938/939 CE), but is only a collection of anecdotes, some of them fantastical. Similarly, a biographical sketch written by Zakariyya ibn Yahya al-Saji was later reproduced, but even then, a great deal of legend had already crept into the story of al-Shafi'i's life. The first real biography was written by al-Bayhaqi (d. 1065/1066 CE), but is filled with what a modernist eye would qualify as pious legends. The following is what seems to be a sensible reading, according to a modern reductionist perspective.
Al-Shafi'i belonged to the Qurayshi clan of Banu Muttalib, which was the sister clan of the Banu Hashim, to which Muhammad and the Abbasid caliphs belonged. This lineage may have given him prestige, arising from his belonging to the tribe of Muhammad, and his great-grandfather's kinship to him. However, he grew up in poverty, in spite of his connections to the highest social circles.[citation needed]
Born in Gaza, Palestine, near the town of Ashkelon in 767/768 CE/150 AH. His father died in Sham while he was still a child. Fearing the waste of his sharif lineage, his mother decided to move to Mecca when he was about two years old. Furthermore, his maternal family roots were from Yemen, and there were more members of his family in Mecca, where his mother believed he would better be taken care of. Little is known about al-Shafi'i's early life in Mecca, except that he was brought up in poor circumstances and that from his youth he was devoted to learning. An account states that his mother could not afford to buy his paper, so he would write his lessons on bones, particularly shoulder-bones. He studied under Muslim ibn Khalid al-Zanji, the then-judge of Mecca, who is thus considered to be his first teacher. By the age of seven, al-Shafi'i had memorised the Quran. At ten, he had committed Malik ibn Anas's Muwatta to heart, at which time his teacher would deputise him to teach in his absence. Al-Shafi'i was authorised to issue rulings at the age of fifteen.
Al-Shafi'i moved to Medina in desire for further legal training, as was the tradition of acquiring knowledge. Accounts differ on the age in which he set out to Medina; an account placed his age at thirteen, while another stated that he was in his twenties. There, he was taught for many years by the famous Malik ibn Anas, who was impressed with his memory, knowledge, and intelligence. By the time of Malik's death in 179 AH (795 CE), al-Shafi'i had already gained a reputation as a brilliant jurist. Even though he would later disagree with some of the views of Malik, al-Shafi'i accorded the deepest respect to him by always referring to him as the "Teacher".
At the age of thirty, al-Shafi'i was appointed as the Abbasid governor in the Yemeni city of Najran. He proved to be a just administrator but soon became entangled with factional jealousies. In 803 CE, al-Shafi'i was accused of aiding the Alids in a revolt, and was thus summoned in chains with a number of Alids to the caliph Harun al-Rashid at Raqqa. Whilst other conspirators were put to death, al-Shafi'i's own eloquent defence convinced the caliph to dismiss the charge. Other accounts state that the famous Hanafi jurist, Muhammad al-Shaybani, was present at the court and defended al-Shafi'i as a well-known student of the sacred law. What was certain was that the incident brought al-Shafi'i in close contact with al-Shaybani, who would soon become his teacher. It was also postulated that this incident impelled him to devote the rest of his career to legal studies, never again to seek government service.
Al-Shafi'i traveled to Baghdad to study with Abu Hanifah's acolyte al-Shaybani and others. It was here that he developed his first school, influenced by the teachings of both Abu Hanifah and Malik.[citation needed] His work thus became known as "al-madhhab al-qadim li-l-imam al-shafi'i", or the "old school of al-Shafi'i".[citation needed]
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Al-Shafi'i
Al-Shafi'i (Arabic: الشَّافِعِيّ, romanized: al-Shāfiʿī; IPA: [a(l) ʃaːfiʕiː] ⓘ;767–820 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, having authored one of the earliest work on the subject: al-Risala. His legacy and teaching on the matter provided it with a systematic form, thereby "fundamentally influencing the succeeding generations which are under his direct and obvious impact," and "beginning a new phase of the development of legal theory."
Born in Gaza, Palestine, to the Banu Muttalib clan of the Quraysh tribe, he relocated at the age of two and was raised in Mecca. He later resided in Medina, Yemen, Baghdad in Iraq, and Egypt, and also served as a judge for some time in Najran.
The biography of al-Shafi'i is difficult to trace. It was said Dawud al-Zahiri (d. 884 CE) was the first to write one, but the work has been lost.[page needed] The oldest surviving biography goes back to Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi (d. 938/939 CE), but is only a collection of anecdotes, some of them fantastical. Similarly, a biographical sketch written by Zakariyya ibn Yahya al-Saji was later reproduced, but even then, a great deal of legend had already crept into the story of al-Shafi'i's life. The first real biography was written by al-Bayhaqi (d. 1065/1066 CE), but is filled with what a modernist eye would qualify as pious legends. The following is what seems to be a sensible reading, according to a modern reductionist perspective.
Al-Shafi'i belonged to the Qurayshi clan of Banu Muttalib, which was the sister clan of the Banu Hashim, to which Muhammad and the Abbasid caliphs belonged. This lineage may have given him prestige, arising from his belonging to the tribe of Muhammad, and his great-grandfather's kinship to him. However, he grew up in poverty, in spite of his connections to the highest social circles.[citation needed]
Born in Gaza, Palestine, near the town of Ashkelon in 767/768 CE/150 AH. His father died in Sham while he was still a child. Fearing the waste of his sharif lineage, his mother decided to move to Mecca when he was about two years old. Furthermore, his maternal family roots were from Yemen, and there were more members of his family in Mecca, where his mother believed he would better be taken care of. Little is known about al-Shafi'i's early life in Mecca, except that he was brought up in poor circumstances and that from his youth he was devoted to learning. An account states that his mother could not afford to buy his paper, so he would write his lessons on bones, particularly shoulder-bones. He studied under Muslim ibn Khalid al-Zanji, the then-judge of Mecca, who is thus considered to be his first teacher. By the age of seven, al-Shafi'i had memorised the Quran. At ten, he had committed Malik ibn Anas's Muwatta to heart, at which time his teacher would deputise him to teach in his absence. Al-Shafi'i was authorised to issue rulings at the age of fifteen.
Al-Shafi'i moved to Medina in desire for further legal training, as was the tradition of acquiring knowledge. Accounts differ on the age in which he set out to Medina; an account placed his age at thirteen, while another stated that he was in his twenties. There, he was taught for many years by the famous Malik ibn Anas, who was impressed with his memory, knowledge, and intelligence. By the time of Malik's death in 179 AH (795 CE), al-Shafi'i had already gained a reputation as a brilliant jurist. Even though he would later disagree with some of the views of Malik, al-Shafi'i accorded the deepest respect to him by always referring to him as the "Teacher".
At the age of thirty, al-Shafi'i was appointed as the Abbasid governor in the Yemeni city of Najran. He proved to be a just administrator but soon became entangled with factional jealousies. In 803 CE, al-Shafi'i was accused of aiding the Alids in a revolt, and was thus summoned in chains with a number of Alids to the caliph Harun al-Rashid at Raqqa. Whilst other conspirators were put to death, al-Shafi'i's own eloquent defence convinced the caliph to dismiss the charge. Other accounts state that the famous Hanafi jurist, Muhammad al-Shaybani, was present at the court and defended al-Shafi'i as a well-known student of the sacred law. What was certain was that the incident brought al-Shafi'i in close contact with al-Shaybani, who would soon become his teacher. It was also postulated that this incident impelled him to devote the rest of his career to legal studies, never again to seek government service.
Al-Shafi'i traveled to Baghdad to study with Abu Hanifah's acolyte al-Shaybani and others. It was here that he developed his first school, influenced by the teachings of both Abu Hanifah and Malik.[citation needed] His work thus became known as "al-madhhab al-qadim li-l-imam al-shafi'i", or the "old school of al-Shafi'i".[citation needed]