Islam teaches a very kind attitude to those people who have devoted their entire lives to the study of religion and the substantiation of some of its foundations from a scientific point of view. Such theologians were revered during his lifetime, and now many believers in daily prayers mention them before Allah. Such amazing people include the imam of Shafi'i.
You can talk about him endlessly, because at the same time he was a scientist, theologian, jurist and founder of Muslim jurisprudence. He was also considered a very kind person who had been austerized all his life in order to better serve Allah. In the eyes of the faithful, the main merit of Imam Shafi'i is the madhhab created by him. Today it is more common than anyone else in Islam. Until the time when Shafiya gained his deep knowledge, he went a long life, which can become an example for many believers in Allah.
A few facts about the imam
The personality of Imam al-Shafi'i seems very interesting even at first glance. His contemporaries often said that he simply had phenomenal knowledge not only in the field of theology, but also in scientific disciplines. This was largely ensured by the ability of his memory to absorb all the information received. Everyone who knew the imam close enough said that he remembered absolutely everything he had ever heard in his life. It was this that enabled him to make wise judgments on important theological issues by the age of fifteen.
I would like to note that in his youth, Imam Shafiyah lived in one of the tribes for several years. Over the years, he has acquired good archery skills and has managed very well with horses. These classes brought him great pleasure, once he even thought about leaving science for a different fate.
The biography of the imam says that he was very devout and kind. Al-Shafi'i never experienced prosperity, but this did not harden his heart. Often, he distributed the poorly earned money to the poor and everyone without the slightest regret.
It is also known that in his conscious adult life he never ate his fill. Sometimes it was a necessary measure because of extreme need, but for the most part it was an informed choice. The Imam believed that bodily satiety leads to spiritual hunger. Since the body is full of food, it does not fully enjoy communication with Allah and makes the heart stony.
Al-Shafi’s contemporaries testified that while reading some verses of the Qur'an, the imam often fainted. He was so penetrated by what he heard that he entered a deep state of trance, which was characteristic only of very religious people.
It is not surprising that such a person became the founder and creator of one of the madhhabs named after him. Today, prayer for the madhhab of Imam Shafi'i is considered the most common and it is performed by most of the faithful.
Muskhab: brief description
Not everyone who wants to convert to Islam immediately understands what the term “madhhab” is. In fact, it refers to a school where they study Sharia law. It is noteworthy, but there are several such schools. There are six in total, but four are most known:
- Hanafi
- Malikite;
- Shafiite
- Hanbalite.
You can also call Zahirit and Jafarite madhhab. However, one of them is almost completely lost, and the second is applied only to a certain group of Muslims.
Each school was created by theological scholars. Sometimes it was one person, and sometimes the work of a whole group of respected and revered Muslims was required. The muskhab is not just the result of their labors, but also an opinion on Islamic issues, confirmed in disputes and disputes. This practice was widely used among Muslims and Imam Shafi'i was considered an excellent speaker. He could win disputes with the most famous scholars of that time, many theological disputes were held in the presence of spectators.
Interestingly, the difference between the madhhabs is quite insignificant. They all present the basis of Islamic knowledge in exactly the same way, but each school interprets secondary issues in its own way.
The childhood of the future imam
The full name of the future imam consists of more than ten names. However, most often he was called Muhammad al-Shafi'i. His pedigree is rooted in the family of the Prophet, as was often mentioned in various sources. This emphasized the high origin of the scholar and theologian relative to other founders of the madhhabs. The biography of Imam Shafi’s has been studied very well, but a lot of questions from experts cause his birthplace.
It is known that Muhammad was born in the 150th year according to the Muslim calendar. But the place of his birth is still called more than four different cities. It is officially accepted that the place where the imam lived until two years old was Gaza. However, the parents of al-Shafi'i came to Palestine from Mecca because of the activities of Father Muhammad. He was a military man and died before the time when his son came out of infancy.
In Gaza, the family lived very poorly, and the mother decided to return with the boy to Mecca, where their relatives were. This allowed them to somehow make ends meet, but the family always lacked money. It is worth noting that the city at that time was the abode of scholars, theologians and sages, so the young imam was simply fascinated by the atmosphere of Mecca, and he wholeheartedly reached for knowledge. There was nothing to pay for school, and the boy just came to listen to what the teachers were telling other children. He sat down beside the teacher and memorized everything that was said. Sometimes Muhammad even taught lessons instead of teachers who quickly noted his incredible abilities. The boy began to be taught for free, and he kept notes on the bark of a tree, leaves and rags, since his mother could not buy him paper.
At the age of seven, the future imam already recited the Qur'an by heart, and after several years of training with two of the greatest scholars, Mecca became a specialist in hadith, learned the sayings of the prophet and even got the right to make theological conclusions on important issues.
New stage of life: Medina and Yemen
Up to thirty-four years old, the imam of Shafi'i studied in Medina. The great scientist who founded the Malikite madhhab lived and worked here. He gladly accepted the young man into his studies immediately after his arrival in the city. But even a well-known theologian was astonished when his book, Imam Shafi'i, memorized in just nine days. In the Muwatt, Malik ibn Anasa collected all the most reliable hadiths that were often quoted by the faithful, but none of the Muslims could learn all of them in such a short period of time.
Going to Yemen, the imam decided to engage in teaching. He was extremely financially constrained and therefore took many students. According to contemporaries, Muhammad was an excellent speaker and his speeches were often distinguished by excessive frankness. This interested local officials, who after a while accused him of conspiracy and incitement to rebellion.
The future imam was chained and sent to Iraq, where Caliph Haruna al-Rashid ruled at that time. Along with Muhammad, nine other people arrived in Rakku, also accused of rebellion against the caliphate. Al-Shafi'i personally met with the caliph and managed to protect himself. Harun ar-Rashid really liked the imam’s open and warm speech, and Kadi Baghdad stood up for him, to whom the young scientist was handed bail after his release.
Education in Iraq
Acquaintance with Qadi Baghdad made a strong impression on Imam al-Shafi'i, and he remained in Iraq for two years. Muhammad al-Shaibani, who saved the future imam from execution, became his teacher and introduced to the many works of jurists who lived in the country during this period. They seemed to the young scientist very interesting, but not with all the doctrines and quotes, the imam of Shafi'i agreed. Therefore, disputes often arose between the teacher and the student. Once they even arranged a public debate, in which the future imam won a clear victory. However, the relationship between al-Shaibani and his student did not deteriorate, they became good friends.
Subsequently, excerpts from this significant debate were included even in one of the books written by the future imam. In search of knowledge, Muhammad al-Shafi'i traveled to many countries and cities. He managed to visit Syria, Persia and other areas. After a ten-year journey, the imam decided to return to Mecca.
Teaching
In Mecca, the imam closely began to teach. He had a lot of students who were united in a special circle. His al-Shafii organized almost immediately after returning to Mecca, meetings of like-minded people were held in the Forbidden Mosque.
However, the imam was still attracted to Iraq, in which he spent his best years, and at the age of forty-five years, he decided to return to this country with his accumulated knowledge and life experience.
Egyptian Imam
Arriving in the capital of Iraq, al-Shafi'i joined various scientific groups in Baghdad. Scientists gathered in the main mosque and gave lectures to everyone. At the time of the arrival of the imam in the city, there were about twenty theological circles, in a short period of time their number was reduced to three. All members of scientific groups joined Muhammad and became his students.
Three years later, the imam decided to go to Egypt, where at that time the most prominent scholars of the Muslim world gathered. Al-Shafi'i received very warmly in the country and gave him the opportunity to give lectures at the most famous educational center. Here, along with other theologians and scholars, he was engaged in teaching, developing new methods in the process.
From the early morning, immediately after the prayer, he began his studies. Initially, people came to him to read the Qur'an, then students interested in hadiths. Further, speakers, language scholars, and poets reading their poems studied with the teacher. The Imam of Shafi'i thus spent the whole day in his works, he simultaneously taught others and himself received valuable information from people.
Basics of Muslim Law
The Imam is considered the founder of science, the need for which before his work no one understood. He thought about the need to formulate and formulate in the form of a book the foundations of Islamic law. The first and most thorough work on this topic was Ar-Risal. The book collected and substantiated the numerous concepts of Islam, the rules of interpretation and the conditions under which it is possible to operate ayahs and hadiths in a dispute. This scientific work is considered one of the most important in the activities of the theologian.
Muhammad himself believed that prayer to Allah and daily prayer helped him in his work. Imam Shafii was often asked about how he managed to write such a work, and he always replied that he worked a lot at night, because the theologian assigned only one part of the dark time of the day to sleep.
Imam's death
Al-Shafi'i died at the age of fifty-four in Egypt. The circumstances of his death have not been clarified; some experts claim that he was the victim of an attack. Others believe that he left this world after a long illness.
Some time after death, pilgrims reached the imam’s tomb. Until now, the place at the foot of Mukatram, where Muhammad is buried, is the place where the faithful come to pray to Allah.
Shafi'i madhhab: description
At first glance it is difficult to figure out how one madhhab differs from another. But we tried to highlight the main features of the school created by the imam:
- Removing contradictions between other madhhabs.
- The appeal to the quotes of the Prophet in theological disputes is as calm as possible.
- The special status of decisions taken for the common good.
- According to the madhhab of Imam Shafi'ah, an appeal to the hadith is permissible only when the relevant information cannot be found in the Qur'an.
- Only Hadiths that were transmitted by associates from the Medina are taken for consideration.
- A consensus of scientists also belongs to one of the methods of the madhhab; it occupies a special place in the methodology.
Today, the followers of this school are found all over the world. You can meet them in Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Africa and even Russia. These include Chechens, Ingush and Avars. Many believers believe that the Shafi'i madhhab is the most understandable. Therefore, it is so popular among believers. Interestingly, even adherents of other schools often use some of the nuances from the Al-Shafi'i madhhab.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the imam’s personality is very popular in the Islamic world. And the theologian earned most of this relationship not so much with his labors as with his personal qualities. He possessed all the characteristics that were elevated to the rank of benefactor in the Qur'an. Muhammad was known as a humble, generous and generous man who was ready to devote all his time to the service of Allah and the study of sciences.
It is noteworthy that this year even a series about the life of Imam Shafi’s was shot. All series are already two seasons and are a huge success. In the conditions of the modern world with a rather mixed attitude to Islam, this allows you to see religion in the true light, as it was during the life of al-Shafi.