All was quiet in the great valley except for the sound of a two-year-old crying as his mother hugged him to her chest.
And his shoulder gently and tenderly When the tapped youngster hurriedly went to sleep. When his mother said in a low voice while gazing at the distant horizon, “May Allah have mercy on your soul, Muhammad’s father, (her husband), you took us food from Makkah in search of a livelihood and a good life, then you also died and are buried here. I am here again on my way to Makkah to bring your son raised among his tribe and clan ‘ Banu Al-Muttalib’
The poor mother wept as she remembered the few years she had spent in Palestine with her beloved husband.
who was the best husband, brother, and friend to her, but the happy and beautiful days passed quickly like clouds or like a short but beautiful dream.
In the venerable Mecca, the mother lived with her child under the protection of her husband’s family
He brought up his son by giving him a good education and guidance
He showered her with love and compassion
So the young man grew up with a balanced psyche a peaceful nature and great morals
A virtuous mother took upon herself the responsibility of teaching her son to read and write the Qur’an so that he could acquire his religious and other basic knowledge.
Thus, he sent his son to a small primary school despite his poverty and inability to save the teacher’s salary.
Despite this, Muhammad was barely able to walk on his first day at school when the instructor saw Muhammad and insulted him, and said to him, “My son, sit by me and listen attentively to your elders so that you get into the habit of reading and guarding”
However, the young Muhammad Ibn Idrees Ash-Shafi’ee may Allah have mercy upon him was glittering with intelligence and ingenuity. Whatever the teacher heard from his students, he learned by heart to an incredible degree
Every day in the small school his knowledge increased and so did his desire to learn more
This teacher then loved him more and advanced on him profusely. The young man became more and more distinguished until one day his teacher told him
My son, you are so smart and intelligent that I do not try anything with you
Worth a wage I only need you to teach on my behalf when I am not around.
The youngster happily approached his mother to tell her the good news that he would no longer have to pay for the teacher.
The pious mother was pleased with her son’s excellence and encouraged her to pursue further education
Due to this, he became active in learning the Quran by heart
Which he finally completed at the age of seven. Delighted at her son’s rapid completion of memorizing the Qur’an, she began to think how she could lead this intelligent child to greater excellence.
He sent him to attend the lessons given around the Prophet’s Mosque in Makkah
The boy began to listen to the words of eminent scholars, and since he did not have the value of the paper on which he used to write, he learned to use mercury and tweezers, palm leaves, and camel shoulder bones.
In this early period of exploration, Imam Shafi’i, may God bless him and grant him peace, sensibly realized the importance of learning the Arabic language from its pure source to understand the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
The sayings, deeds, and approval of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the best way.
He went to the Sel tribe, one of the most eloquent tribes in Arabia
And stayed with them for a long time where he learned their mischief
Studying the biographies of the Arabs of the Jahiliyyah period, following their instructions
At the same time he learned the skills of Islamic era and knighthood and archery, he was endlessly brave and had unparalleled light Became a skilled archer who rarely missed his target.As the years went by, Imam Shafi’i, may God bless him and grant him peace, returned to his beloved hometown of Makkah
As he quenched his mother’s desires, he continued his pursuit of knowledge with enthusiasm
He turned to the Mufti of Makkah, the great religious jurist of Masjid Haram Muslim, Ibn Khalid Ghazanji, who became his first teacher in Islamic jurisprudence.
He also began studying hadith under the supervision of Sufyan Ibn Aniya, the narrator of Haram
Within a short period, Imam Shafi’i became popular as an excellent Islamic scholar
His mentor Muslim Ibn Khalid allowed him to answer his religious questions only when Imam Shafi’i was only 15 years old.
He said proudly “O Muhammad give fatwas and answer people’s questions By Allah you are the opportunity to give fatwas for the time being”
His second mentor, Sufyan, used to intercede with him while he turned to him and gestured, “Ask this boy.”
While studying in Mecca, Imam Shafi’i, may God bless him and grant him peace, became a famous scholar of Medina
I heard from Imam Malik bin Anas (RA) that he wanted to become a disciple of Imam Malik (RA).
But he saw with his sharp intellect that he should not approach them unprepared.
After that, he left to meet Imam Malik at his house in Madinah.
And told them that he was his student
Wanting to be Imam looked at the boy for a long time
As the boy continued to tell his story, how did he gain knowledge so far?
The imam was a man of amazing physic and gnome and had a sharp insight, he said to him, my son, by the will of Allah, your future will be very good tomorrow, take Muwatta with me and someone with you, who can read death well. I can, and I am afraid that you will not be able to read it yourself. Imam Shafi’i (may God bless him and grant him peace) politely replied to him, “I will read it by myself from memory without the book.”
Imam Shafi’i was in the company of Imam Malik for a long time. The Imam loved him very much
After the death of Imam Malik in 179 A.H., Imam Shafi’i returned to Makkah from Medina.
And his life was affected by his marriage in Makkah to Caliph Uthman bin Affan
The granddaughter was born to Hamida Bint Nafi and had two sons and a daughter. In the courtyard of the well of Zamzam and near the place of Hazrat Ibrahim, the stone where he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stepped to lay the bricks in the Kaaba, Imam Shafi’i sat on this place to teach the people and around him. And many students gathered around him from all sides. His circle, the Masjid Haram of Makkah, became very prominent and even became famous outside Makkah until it reached Iraq. Abd al-Rahman, one of the scholars of Iraq Ibn Mahdi sent him a letter in which he requested to be blessed with a book on the science of jurisprudence with the evidence of the Qur’an and Sunnah and the consensus of the scholars on legislation along with other issues.Imam Shafi’i, may God bless him and grant him peace, wrote a book and named it Al-Risalah, which became the first book that laid the foundation of what is known as ‘Usul al-Fiqh’.
Sources of Islamic Jurisprudence of which Imam Shafi’i was the organizer and inventor of its problems.
In 197, Imam Shafi’i, may God bless him and grant him peace, traveled to Baghdad for the second time and taught there for two years.
Among them is Imam Ahmad bin Jundal, may God bless him and grant him peace, who later said that
Had it not been for Imam Shafi’i, may God bless him and grant him peace, we would not know the meaning of hadith
Before leaving Iraq, he had completed writing his great book Al-Hijjah
In which he described the summary of his new school of jurisprudence.
In 19 A.H. the Imam went to Egypt where he sought to spread his knowledge among the Egyptians
Those who loved him had more students from all over the world
At the end of his life, Imam became very ill and this illness continued with him for four years
But this did not stop him from teaching. After teaching, when he returned home, he ignored the pain of his illness and engaged himself in writing.
And engaged in editing and proofreading the book of Hujta, which he had written in Iraq
After completing the routine of proofreading and editing, he named the book Allam Imam Awni
Followed the daily mold until illness forced him to retire.His students used to go to him for comfort in their illness. One day one of his students entered his room.
And asked him, how do you feel this morning, Imam Shafi’i, may God bless him and grant him peace, replied
I feel that I am drinking the cup of death away from my brothers from this world and getting closer to Allah Almighty
By God, I don’t know if my soul will go to heaven
So I congratulate her or she will go to hell
So that I could mourn then she left crying
Your pure soul died on Friday, the last day of Rajab in the year 204 Hijri
He went to his guardian and protector in Egypt
May Allah protect the soul of the Imam, who was buried in the graveyard of Quraysh among the graveyard of Banu Al-Hikam.