IF SHARI’AH (Islamic law) is a vast and complex subject, then the ‘science of Islamic jurisprudence’ (or usul al-fiqh) is even more complex and sophisticated. And although the Qur’an and sunnah (the normative practice of Prophet Muhammad) are two of the most important sources of Islamic jurisprudence, how these two sources should be analysed, interpreted and implemented in a constantly changing and expanding Islamic society soon occupied the minds of the early Islamic scholars (ulama) and jurists (fuqaha). Following the death of the Prophet, the Islamic State continued to expand rapidly, and new challenges began to confront the early Muslim community. This prompted scores of prominent Islamic scholars to carry out a systematic study of the Qur’an and the Prophetic sunnah, and in so doing they developed usul al-fiqh (or the ‘science of Islamic jurisprudence’) in order to meet the challenges of their time. And although it is true that Abu Hanifah – assisted by his talented students like Zu’far, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan – pioneered Islamic legal methodology, after his death his disciples focused their attention more on the substantive aspects of Islamic law, rather than continue to refine and systematically codify the overarching principles and methodology of usul al-fiqh. This important and challenging task was undertaken by al-Shafi’i, who is today widely considered to be the ‘father of the science of Islamic jurisprudence’.
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi’i was born in the city of Gaza in southern Palestine, and his family claimed to be direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. He grew up there and received elementary education in Arabic language and grammar, and committed the entire Qur’an to memory before he was seven. When Shafi’i was still young, his father died and this prompted his mother to migrate to their ancestral home in Makkah, where members of her family and close relatives (who were of Yemeni origin) lived at the time. He then received further training in Arabic grammar, literature and history, and also became proficient at archery. Here Shafi’i and his mother were forced to endure considerable personal and financial hardship but, despite their abject economic situation, his devout mother was keen to give her son a good start in life by continuing with his education.
From the outset, Shafi’i’s prodigious memory and sharp intellect endeared him to his teachers. According to his biographers, he could commit large collections of hadith (sayings of the Prophet) to memory with ease. Since Malik ibn Anas’s al-Muwatta (The Beaten Path) was a popular religious text at the time, all the brightest students of Islamic sciences were expected to learn it by heart. He consequently memorised this anthology of Prophetic traditions in its entirety before he was fifteen years old. He mastered this book so well that he was considered to be a great authority on the religious thought of Malik as recorded in his al-Muwatta. Shafi’i then studied Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) under the guidance of Sufyan ibn Uyayana and Muslim ibn Khalid al-Zanji, both of whom were respected jurists of their time. Impressed with Shafi’i’s intellectual abilities, the governor of Makkah then personally wrote a letter to his counterpart in Madinah to request that Malik, the compiler of al-Muwatta, should teach Shafi’i, who was only twenty at the time. In Madinah, he devoted all his time and energy to the pursuit of hadith and fiqh, and studied the al-Muwatta under Malik’s personal supervision. Some of Malik’s eminent students at the time included scholars like Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, who came all the way from Iraq to attend Malik’s lectures. Although he was happy to be in the company of such an illustrious group of Islamic legal minds, on a more personal level, he began to experience considerable financial hardship at the time. Unlike the other students, he had no one to support him financially but, given his intellectual brilliance, Malik offered him a regular stipend which enabled him to complete his advanced education. His stay in Madinah proved so productive that Malik subsequently asked him to become his teaching assistant. By the time Malik died in 795, Shafi’i had already become recognised throughout Madinah as an eminent Islamic scholar and jurist.
Deeply saddened by Malik’s death, he soon left Madinah and returned to his native Makkah. Here his reputation spread across the Hijaz on account of his vast knowledge of Islamic sciences. On one occasion, when the governor of Yemen happened to be in Makkah, he was informed about Shafi’i’s intellectual abilities and legal expertise. This prompted the governor to approach him and invite him to accompany him to Yemen, where he promised to make him the Chief Justice of the city of Najran. The tall, slim and always immaculately dressed Shafi’i accepted the offer and moved to Yemen at the age of thirty-one. However, his transition from the world of academia to the murky and uncertain world of politics and diplomacy did not go according to plan. As a gifted jurist and Islamic scholar, he was not only scrupulously clean, honest and trustworthy, he was also determined to uphold the truth and administer justice as fairly and equitably as he could, but his strict and uncompromising application of Islamic law did not go down too well with certain factions in the corridors of power in Najran. Oblivious of the unease and discontent he was creating within the local Governmental circles, Shafi’i continued to apply Islamic law without any fear or favouritism. This eventually brought him into direct conflict with members of the ruling political and religious elites. Keen to have him dismissed, they falsely accused Shafi’i of sympathising with a rebellious Shi’a faction which was bitterly opposed to the Abbasids at the time.
Though the charge of treason levelled against Shafi’i was both false and unsubstantiated, he was found guilty of harbouring the rebellious Shi’as. Chained from head to toe by the authorities in Najran, he was deported to the highest Abbasid court in Baghdad in 803. The thirty-six year old Shafi’i was summoned by Harun al-Rashid, the famous Abbasid Caliph, to appear before him, along with the other alleged conspirators to answer the charges. The following day, Shafi’i went to the Caliph’s court and, one by one, he refuted all the charges levelled against him. Harun al-Rashid was so impressed with his vast erudition and logical arguments that he engaged him in debate and discussion for a long period. They discussed the finer points of Islamic theology, jurisprudence, logic and even aspects of Greek thought. As a great patron of learning and scholarship, the Caliph deeply admired Shafi’i’s intellectual brilliance. By coincidence, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (Shafi’i’s old classmate at Madinah), happened to be the Chief Justice of Baghdad at the time and he vouched for Shafi’i to the Caliph and requested that the Caliph to free Shafi’i, who he said was one of the most famous scholars of his generation. The Caliph not only spared Shafi’i’s life, he also requested that he stay in Baghdad and help him promote learning and scholarship throughout the land.
Relieved to have been spared, Shafi’i settled in Baghdad and vowed never to become a Government official again. Instead, he resumed his career as an academic and researcher in Islamic sciences, for that was his real passion. In Baghdad he conducted advanced research in fiqh and hadith under the guidance of its leading scholars, and regularly attended the lectures of Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani. Being one of the foremost students of Abu Hanifah, al-Shaybani was considered to be one of the great scholars of Islam and an eminent authority on Islamic law at the time. Shafi’i learned hanafi jurisprudence under al-Shaybani’s guidance and became highly proficient in the legal thought of this school. In the course of his heated discussion and debates with the leading hanafi scholars, Shafi’i deliberately emphasised the significance of hadith in the formulation of Islamic legal principles and practices. He felt qiyas (analogical deduction) played a far greater role within the hanafi legal methodology than was necessary, and thus he highlighted the importance of relying on Prophetic hadith where it was possible to do so. Not surprisingly, he emerged from his discussions with the hanafis as a great champion of Prophetic hadith. That is not to say, however, that the hanafi scholars did not uphold the hadith. On the contrary, the hanafis zealously adhered to authentic hadith but, unlike the malikis and Shafi’i himself, they placed greater emphasis on the need for human individuality and freedom.
Nevertheless, it is very true that hanafi legal thought is characterised by its considerable reliance on the construction and deduction of principles from the scriptural sources
