Islam teaches to be very kind to those people who have devoted their entire lives to the study of religion and substantiation of some of its foundations from a scientific point of view. Such theologians were revered during their lifetime, and now many believers in daily prayers mention them before Allah. Imam Shafi'i is one of these amazing people.
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 subjected himself to austerities 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. To date, it is more widespread than any other in Islam. Before Shafi'i acquired his deep knowledge, he had come a long way in life, which can become an example for many believers in Allah.
A few facts about the Imam
Personality of Imam ash-Shafi'iseems very interesting even at first sight. His contemporaries often said that he had simply phenomenal knowledge, not only in the field of theology, but also in scientific disciplines. This was largely due to the ability of his memory to absorb all the information received. Everyone who knew the imam closely enough said that he memorized absolutely everything he had ever heard in his life. This is what allowed him to make wise judgments on important theological issues by the age of fifteen.
I would like to note that in his youth, Imam Shafiya lived for several years in one of the tribes. Over the years, he acquired good archery skills and was excellent with horses. These studies brought him great pleasure, once he even thought about leaving science for another fate.
The biography of the imam says that he was very pious and kind. Ash-Shafi'i never experienced prosperity, but this did not harden his heart. Often, he gave away his hard-earned money to the poor and anyone who wanted it without the slightest regret.
It is also known that in his conscious adult life he never ate his fill. Sometimes it was a forced measure due to extreme need, but for the most part it was a conscious choice. The Imam believed that bodily satiety leads to spiritual hunger. Since the body filled with food does not allow you to fully enjoy communion with Allah and makes the heart of stone.
Al-Shafi'i's contemporaries testified that while reading some verses of the Koran, the imam often fainted. He was so imbued with what he heard that he entered into a deepa state of trance that was reserved only for very religious people.
It is not surprising that such a person became the founder and creator of one of the madhhabs named after him. To date, prayer according to the madhhab of Imam Shafi'i is considered the most common and it is performed by most of the faithful.
Madhab: 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. Remarkably, there are several such schools. There are six of them in total, but four are the most famous:
- Hanafi;
- Malikite;
- Shafi'i;
- Hanbali.
You can also name the Zahirite and Jafarite madhhabs. However, one of them is almost completely lost, and the second is used only by a certain group of Muslims.
Each school was created by theologians. Sometimes it was one person, and sometimes the work of a whole group of respected and revered Muslims was required. The madhhab is not just the result of their labors, but also an opinion on certain issues of Islam, confirmed in debates and disputes. This practice was widely used among Muslims and Imam Shafi'i was considered an excellent orator. He could win disputes with the most famous scientists of that time, many theological disputes were held in the presence of spectators.
Interestingly, the difference between madhhabs is rather insignificant. They all present the basis of Islamic knowledgeexactly the same, but each school interprets minor issues in its own way.
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 ancestry goes back to the family of the Prophet, this was often mentioned in various sources. This emphasized the high origin of the scientist and theologian relative to other founders of madhhabs. The biography of Imam Shafii has been studied very well, but the place of his birth raises many questions among experts.
It is known that Muhammad was born in the one hundred and fiftieth year of 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 he was two years old was Gaza. However, ash-Shafi'i's parents came to Palestine from Mecca because of the activities of Muhammad's father. He was in the military and died before his son was 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 in those days was the abode of scientists, theologians and sages, so the young imam was simply fascinated by the atmosphere of Mecca, and he was drawn to knowledge with all his heart. There was nothing to pay for his studies, and the boy simply came to listen to what the teachers were telling other children. He sat down next to the teacher and memorized everything that was said. Sometimes Mohammed even taught lessonsinstead of teachers who quickly noted his incredible abilities. The boy began to learn for free, and he kept records on the bark of a tree, leaves and rags, since his mother could not buy paper for him.
At the age of seven, the future imam was already reciting the Koran by heart, and after several years of studying with two of the greatest scholars of Mecca, he became a specialist in hadith, learned the sayings of the prophet and even received the right to issue theological opinions on important issues.
New life stage: Medina and Yemen
Until the age of thirty-four, Imam Shafi'i studied in Medina. The great scientist who founded the Maliki madhhab lived and worked here. He gladly accepted the young man to his training immediately after his arrival in the city. But even a famous theologian was amazed when Imam Shafi'i memorized his book literally in nine days. In Muwatta, Malik ibn Anas collected all the most reliable hadiths, which were often quoted by the faithful, but none of the Muslims could learn all of them in such a short time.
Going to Yemen, the imam decided to take up teaching. He was extremely short of money and therefore took on many students. According to contemporaries, Muhammad was an excellent orator and his speeches were often overly frank. This interested local officials, who after a while accused him of conspiracy and sedition.
The future imam was put in chains and sent to Iraq, where Caliph Haruna al-Rashid ruled at that time. Together with Muhammad, they arrived in Raqqaand nine others also accused of rebelling against the Caliphate. Ash-Shafi'i personally met with the caliph and managed to defend himself. Harun ar-Rashid really liked the open and heated speech of the imam, besides, the qadi of Baghdad stood up for him, to whom the young scientist was handed over on bail after his release.
Training in Iraq
Imam al-Shafi'i was deeply impressed by the Qadi of Baghdad, and he stayed in Iraq for two years. Mohammed ash-Shaibani, who saved the future imam from execution, became his teacher and introduced him to the numerous works of jurists who lived in the country during this period. They seemed very interesting to the young scholar, but Imam Shafi'i did not agree with all the doctrines and quotations. Therefore, disputes often arose between the teacher and the student. Once they even staged a public dispute, in which the future imam won a clear victory. However, the relationship between ash-Shaybani and his student did not deteriorate, they became good friends.
In the future, excerpts from this significant dispute were even included in one of the books written by the future imam. In search of knowledge, Muhammad ash-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 came to grips with teaching. He had quite a few students who were united in a special circle. Al-Shafi'i organized it almost immediately after returning to Mecca, meetings were heldlike-minded people in the Forbidden Mosque.
However, the imam was still attracted to Iraq, where he spent his best years, and at the age of forty-five he decided to return to this country again with the already accumulated baggage of knowledge and life experience.
Egyptian period of the Imam's life
Arriving in the capital of Iraq, al-Shafi'i joined various scientific groups in Baghdad. Scientists gathered in the main mosque and lectured to everyone. At the time of the arrival of the imam, there were about twenty theological circles in the city, in a short period of time their number was reduced to three. All members of the scientific groups joined Muhammad and became his disciples.
Three years later, the imam decided to go to Egypt, where at that time the most prominent scientists of the Muslim world gathered. Al-Shafi'i received a very warm welcome in the country and gave him the opportunity to lecture in the most famous educational center. Here, along with other theologians and scientists, he was engaged in teaching activities, developing new methods in the process.
From the early morning, immediately after the prayer, he began his studies. Initially, they came to him to read the Koran, then students who were interested in hadith. Further, speakers, experts in the language and poets reciting their poems studied with the teacher. Imam Shafi'i thus spent the whole day in his labors, he simultaneously taught others and himself received the most valuable information from people.
Fundamentals of Islamic Law
Imam is considered the founder of science, the need for which no one understood before his works. He thought about what needed to be formulated andarrange in the form of a book the foundations of Islamic law. The first and most thorough work on this subject was Ar-Risal. The book collected and substantiated numerous concepts of Islam, the rules of interpretation and the conditions by which verses and hadiths can be used in a dispute. This scientific work is considered one of the most important in the activities of the theologian.
Mohammed himself believed that prayer to Allah and daily prayer helped him in his work. Imam Shafi'i was often asked how he managed to write such a work, and he always answered that he worked a lot at night, because the theologian assigned only one part of the dark time of the day to sleep.
Death of the Imam
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 flocked to 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 understand 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.
- Referring to the quotes of the Prophet in theological disputes occurs as calmly as possible.
- Special status of decisions,taken for the common good.
- According to the madhhab of Imam Shafi'i, reference to hadith is permissible only when the relevant information cannot be found in the Qur'an.
- Only those hadiths that were transmitted by companions from Medina are taken for consideration.
- One of the methods of the madhhab is the consensus of scientists, it occupies a special place in the methodology.
Today, 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. That is why it is so popular among believers. Interestingly, even adherents of other schools often use some of the nuances of the madhhab ash-Shafi'i.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the personality of the imam is very popular in the Islamic world. And the theologian earned most of this attitude not so much by his labors as by his personal qualities. He possessed all the characteristics that are elevated in the Qur'an to the rank of a benefactor. Muhammad was known as a humble, generous and generous person who was ready to devote all his time to the service of Allah and the study of the sciences.
It is noteworthy that this year even a series about the life of Imam Shafi'i was filmed. All episodes have been running for two seasons and have been a huge success. In the conditions of the modern world with a rather ambiguous attitude towards Islam, this allows us to see religion in its true light, as it was during the life of al-Shafi'i.
