The third leading jurisprudent: Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 204/819)
The lineage of the third leading scholar, Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi'i al- Muttallibi (150—204/767—819), is linked with that of the Prophet via the Banu 'Abd Manaf.
Born in Gaza in Palestine, his mother brought him to Mecca while he was a young child. He memorized the Qur'an by the age of seven and al-Muwatta by the age of ten. Even the well- known and eloquent poet al-Asma i heard him recite from the poetic work Diwan al-Hudhaliyyin.A disciple of Muslim b. Khalid al-Zanji, the grand mufti of Mecca, al-Shafi'i later moved to Medina to study under Malik and read all of al-Muwatta'. He learned the knowledge of the scholars of Medina. Malik, very impressed with his intelligence, praised him for his understanding and perseverance. Al-Shafi'i’s teacher Muslim b. Khalid al-Zanji permitted him to engage in ifta at the age of 15.28
Al-Shafi'i then moved with his uncle Abu Mus'ab to Yemen. In 184/800, he was accused of siding with Yahya b. 'Abdullah and preaching for the Ahl al-Bayt. When he was brought before Caliph Harun al-Rashid, Abu Hanifa’s disciple Muhammad b. Hasan al-Shaybani pleaded for him and managed to persuade the caliph of al-Shafi'i’s innocence.29 In Baghdad, he studied with Muhammad b. Hasan al-Shaybani and familiarized himself with the region’s jurisprudential works. He later reported, ‘I walked out of Baghdad with the valuable knowledge of Muhammad b. Hasan al-Shaybani’.30 He was considered among the disciples of Malik, and he opposed the views of Muhammad b. Hasan al-Shaybani and those of the adherents of ray, particularly regarding their use of legal analogy. In defence of the people of the Hejaz, he promoted jurisprudence that was based on the transmitted report (athar), becoming known as the champion of Sunnah.31
His stay in Iraq greatly affected his independent process of legal interpretation and the construction of a new methodological approach after his departure from Baghdad.
He then proceeded to form his own school and thus became independent of his teacher Malik b. Anas. In 188/804 he travelled to Mecca. However, he continued to move between the two regions until he left for Egypt, where he stayed until 195/811. Returning to Baghdad, he found himself surrounded by scholars who were eager to benefit from his knowledge, including Ahmad b. Hanbal and Abu al-Thawr. During his two-year residence there, he dictated his books, his knowledge became widespread, and many scholars embraced his school.32In 198/814 he returned to Mecca and then to Baghdad, where he stayed for a month before going to Egypt. After settling down in Fustat, he taught law, composing and dictating his new books to his disciples until he became seriously ill and died at the age of 54. The works he had compiled in Iraq became known as his ‘old’ legal doctrine, while the works he compiled in Egypt became known as his ‘new’ legal doctrine.
Leading scholars, including 'Abd al-Rahman b. Mahdi, asked al-Shafi'i to write a book on the meanings of the Qur’an, accepted reports, arguments over consensus, and statements regarding the abrogation in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Al-Shafi'i presented him with his Risala, which pleased him so much that he kept al-Shafi'i in his prayers. Ahmad b. Hanbal also praised him: ‘God will send to this nation at the beginning of every century a person to renew its religion. 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz was for the first century, and al-Shafi'i is for the second century’. Malik, Sufyan b. 'Uyayna, Is-haq b. Rahawayh, Muhmmad b. Hasan al-Shaybani, Yahya b. Ma'in, 'Ali b. al-Madini, and al-Qadi 'Iyad also praised him.33
Al-Shafi'i recorded the sources and principles of his legal hermeneutics in the Risala and Kitab al-Umm. His methodological approach relied on the four core principles of the Qur’an, Sunnah, consensus and analogy.34 He also declared that the opinions of the Companions sayings constitute proof (hujja) that must be taken into account regarding details.35 In his Kitab Ikhtilaf ma a Malik,36 he stated that knowledge is divided into five levels: the Qur’an and the Sunnah; consensus in cases in which an answer cannot be found in the Qur’an and the Sunnah; the opinion of a Companion without any reported objection from the Companions; the Companions’ disputed opinions; and analogy.
He dedicated a chapter in his al-Umm to explaining why istihsdn (juristic preference) should be rejected, while refuting the argument presented by the jurists of Medina.Al-Shafi'i spread his own doctrine far and wide in the form of 113 treatises that he composed in Baghdad, Mecca, and Egypt. His most famous book, Kitab al-Umm, classifies subjects in accordance with the topical chapters of the law. He dictated this work to his disciples in Egypt, and his disciple al-Rabi' b. Sulayman al-Muradi (d. 270/883) transmitted it. Also among his legacy is a collection of treatises on ikhtilaf (disputed points of law) and comparative jurisprudence. His second-most important work, al-Risala, is considered the first manual of legal theory or the principles ofjurisprudence (usul al-fiqh). In his Kitab Ikhtilaf al-Hadith, he explained how to weigh two conflicting hadiths, asserting that there is no actual conflict but rather only apparent contradiction. In most cases, one report abrogates the other. To illustrate this reasoning, he remarked that the reader should view one of them as sound (sahth) and the other as unsound. If they were both sound, he would combine them to make each hadith report unlike the other, thereby refuting leading scholars’ claims that the reports contradicted each other. He incorporated this argument into the last volume of Kitab al-Umm.