Biographies
The Biographies of the Great Shafi’i Jurists
The Biography of Imam Ash Shafii
His name:
Muhammad ibn Idrīs Al-‘Abbās ibn ‘Uthmān ibn Shāfi’ ibn Al-Sā’ib ibn ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Abd Yazād ibn Hāshim ibn Al-Muṭṭalib ibn ‘Abd Manāf ibn Qusay, known as Imam Al-Shāfi’ī, Abū Abdullah Al-Shāfi’ī Al-Hijāzī Al-Makkī Al-Azdī Al-Qurashī Al Hāshimī Al-Muṭṭalibī may Allah be well pleased with him.
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said of him, “He was like the sun over the world and good health for people – do these two have replacements or successors?”1
- Ibn ‘Abdul Barr in his Al-Intiqā’ 125 [↩]
Imam Ghazzali and his al-Wasit
Imam Ghazzali is a fifth century jurist and thinker. His contributions to Islamic thought left a profound impact within the realms of theological, philosophical, and legal discourse that we witness up to this very day.
Imam Ghazzali’s Wasit is one of the most significant writings in Shafi’i fiqh literature, in fact, in the literary body of Islamic legal discourse. This great contribution has received an insufficient amount of attention in recent times; as in the English language, many have elucidated and researched Imam Ghazzali’s theological and philosophical thought. However, almost unwittingly many have disregarded his impressive contributions within the legal sciences.
Imam Ghazzali’s Life
Regarding the author, there is little doubt that he is one of the greatest thinkers and theologians that Islam has produced so far. Allah gifted Imam Ghazzali with unparalleled traits. Ibn Kathir described Imam Ghazzali’s scholarly character, “He excelled in many of the sciences and wrote profusely on a vast array of subjects. He was the most intellectual in all that he spoke about. He became a master in his youth and then taught at the Nizamiyyah of Baghdad; at that time he was only thirty-four years old.” (al-Bidayat wa al-Nihayah 8/173-74)
Indeed, Imam Ghazzali led an extraordinary life. His full name is Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Ahmad. He was born in 450 (all dates are according to the Hijri measurement) in the city of Tus, in the district of Tabaran. It is mentioned that Tabaran is an alternate name for Tus. (Hamawi, Mujam al-Buldan 2/282) The cognomen, Ghazzali, was ascribed to him since his father was a wool-spinner by trade. (Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab 6/18) Some claim that his cognomen is retained from the provenance of a village named Ghazzalah, near Tus. (Nawawi, Tanqih 1/95)
Tus is a famous city located in Khurasan, 50 kilometers from Nishapur, in northeastern Iran, slightly north of Meshad. It is a city of rich heritage and history, conquered during the caliphate of Uthman b. Affan. The caliph Harun al-Rashid is buried there, as well as Ali b. Musa. (Mujam al-Buldan 2/282)
Imam Abu Bakr Al-Bayhaqi
Imam Al-Haramayn Al-Juwayni (rahmatullah ‘alayh) said of Imam Al-Bayhaqi:
ما من فقيه شافعي إلا وللشافعي عليه منة إلا أبا بكر البيهقي، فإن المنة له على الشافعي لتصانيفه في نصرة مذهبه وأقاويله
“There is no Shafi`i [faqih] except he owes a huge debt to Ash-Shafi`i, except Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi, to who al-Shafi`i owes a huge debt for his works which imposed al-Shafi`i’s school and his sayings.” 1
Commenting upon this, Adh-Dhahabi said,
أصاب أبو المعالي.هكذا هو، لو شاء البيهقي أن يعمل لنفسه مذهبا يجتهد فيه لكان قادرا على ذلك لسعة علومة، ومعرفته بالاختلاف
“Abul Ma’ali is right!2 It is as he has stated, and if Al-Bayhaqi had wanted to establish a Madhhab for himself, he would have been able to do so, due to the vastness of his knowledge of the sciences, and his knowledge of the juridical differences!”
Imam Al-Bayhaqi (384-458 A.H.)
He is Ahmad ibn Al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Musa, Abu Bakr Al-Bayhaqi An-Naysaburi Al-Khusrawjirdi, the Shafi’i in fiqh and Asha’ri in ‘Aqidah. He is called بيهقي Bayhaqi, with the “ascription” of ي (the letter ya which says ee), as he comes from a city that used to be called “Bayhaq”, Beyhaği in persian, which is probably the renamed city Sabzevar within the Razevi Khorasan Province in modern day northeastern Iran.
Ibn Khallikan introduced him saying, “The Shafi’i Jurist, a well known and great Master (Hafith) of Hadith, [there was] no one like him in his era…” The two Masters of Hadith, As-Sakhawi and Ibn As-Salah said of his Sunan Al-Kubra, “There is no work of hadith comparable to it!” It was said of him, “He is the seal of the Shafi’i Mujtahids, one of the mountains of Islamic Knowledge!”
His Studies
He took the sciences of Islam from over 100 scholars. His oldest Shaykh was the Imam and Hadith scholar of Khurasan As-Sayyid Abul Hasan Muhammad ibn al Husayn ibn Dawud Al-’Alawi Al Hasani An-Naysaburi Al-Hasib (d. 401) who was also Al-Hakim’s Shaykh.
He took fiqh from Imam Abul-Fath Nasir ibn Al Husayn ibn Muhammad Al-Qurashi al-’Umari Al-Marwazi. He took Kalam from two Ash’ari Imams, أبو بكر بن فورك Ibn Furak (d. 406)3and Abu Mansur Abdul-Qahir Al-Baghdadi, the philologist, the Shafi’i jurist, and heresiologist. His most famous Shaykh was the Hafith of Hadith, أبو عبد الله الحافظ الحاكم Al-Hakim An-Naysaburi (d. 405 A.H) the author of Al-Mustadarak as well as other works of hadith. He was considered the foremost of all his students. He also took hadith from أبو علي الروذباري Hafith Abu Ali Al Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad Al-Rudhbari At-Tusi (d. 403), أبو طاهر محمد بن محمد بن محمش الزيادي Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmish Az-Ziyadi Ash-Shafi’i An-Naysaburi (d. 410), the Sufi Master, Ash’ari Imam, hadith master, and author of Tabaqat As-Sufiyyah أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي Abu Abdur-Rahman Muhammad As-Sulami (d. 411), Hafith Muhammad Al-Qattan (d. 415), the Shaykh of Muhammad Al-Lalaka’i, as well as many other mountains of knowledge.
A Claim Against Imam Al-Bayhaqi Responded to
It is also an interesting point of note that Imam Al-Bayhaqi, as claimed by Adh-Dhahabi, thet he did not have transmitted to him the Sunan of Imam At-Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah or the Sunan of Imam An-Nasa’i. To this, Adh-Dhahabi added, “His sphere of hadith is not large, but Allah blessed him in his narrations for the excellence of his method in them and his sagacity and expertise in the subject-matters and narrators.”4 Shaykh Gibril Haddad states in his work “The Four Imams” commenting upon this accusation,
“This is incorrect as Al-Bayhaqi’s Sunan Al-Kubra shows extensive knowledge of the first two. His sphere in hadith is so impressivley large – about 300 sources – that one scholar exclaimed, ‘This assessment is very strange indeed, and stranger yet the fact it came from such an accomplished authority as Al-Dhahabi (وهذه المقالة غريبة جداً، والأغرب منها صدورها عن الحافظ المحقق الإِمام الذهبي)’ ”5
Dr. Najm Khalaf who is referred to above by Shaykh Gibril Haddad as “one scholar” also attributes this view to Ibn As-Subki and As-Safadi in Al-Wafi. Dr. Najm responds to this claim by showing how Imam Al-Bayhaqi actually referred to these works within his Sunan Al-Kubra. Examples of him knowing the Sunan of Imam An-Nasa’i include but are not limited to:
قال البيهقي: لفظ حديث ابن ناجية. وفي رواية النسائي
Imam Al-Bayhaqi said, “This is the wording of Ibn Najiyah, and in the report of An-Nasa’i…” [Sunan Al-Kubra 7:183]
وقال:وبلغني عن أبي عبد الرحمن النسائي أنه قال: هذا حديث
And he said, “And it was conveyed to me from Abu Abdur-Rahman An-Nasa’i that he said: ‘this hadith…” [Sunan Al-Kubra]
وقال: وأخرجه أبو عبد الرحمن النسائي في (كتاب السنن) من حديث سفيان بن عيينة
And he said, “And it is reported by Abu Abdur-Rahman An-Nasa’i in his book “Sunan” from the hadith of Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah…” [Sunan Al-Kubra]
The most convincing proof that he actually heard the entire book of the Sunan An-Nasa’i through his masters is that he actually narrates a hadith from Imam An-Nasa’i in his Sunan with the following chain:
أخـبرنا أبو عبد الله الحافظ، أخبرني أبو علي الحسين بن علي الحافظ، أنبأنا أبو عبد الرحمن أحمد بن شعيب الفقيه بمصر
“Abu Abdullah Al-Hafith Narrated to us [that he said], Abu ‘Ali Al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali Al-Hafith narrated to me, Abu Abdur Rahman Ahmad ibn Shu’ayb – the Jurist of Egypt… [then he narrated the rest of the hadith]”
As for the Jam’i (or known as the Sunan) of Imam At-Tirmidhi the following examples are given of his knowing them:
قال البيهقي: رواه أبو عيسى الترمذي في كتابه
“Imam Al-Bayhaqi said: ‘And it is reported by Abu ‘Isa At-Tirmidhi in his book…’ ” [Sunan Al-Kubra 4/38]
وقال: رواه أبو عيسى الترمذي عن… وقال في الحديث: ثم توضأ ونضح فرجه بالماء
“And he said: ‘It is reported by Abu ‘Isa At-Tirmidhi from … and he said regarding the hadith …” [Sunan Al-Bayhaqi 10/161]
وقال: “وقال أبو عيسى الترمذي – فيما بلغني عنه -: هذا حديث حسن غريب، وهذا أصح من حديث إسرائيل عن عبد الأعلى”
“And he said: ‘And Abu ‘Isa At-Tirmidhi – in what was conveyed to me from him – this hadith is hasan gharib, and it is the most authentic narrative from Isra’il from Abdul-’Ala’…” [Sunan Al-Bayhaqi 10/100]
As for Sunan Ibn Majah, then it does not seem that he quoted from it within his Sunan Al-Kubra. Such does not mean that he did not receive it, but that he simply did not quote from it. These quotes decisively show that Imam Al-Bayhaqi had received by Sunan An-Nasa’i and Sunan At-Tirmidhi, and knew them well, clearly contradicting what was claimed about him by Safadi, Ibn As-Subki, and Adh-Dhahabi!
Download:
موارد الإمام البيهقي في كتابه ( السنن الكبرى ) مع دراسة نقدية لمنهجه فيها
Mawarid Al-Bayhaqi fi Kitabihi Sunan Al-Kubra written by Dr. Najm Abdur-Rahmad Khalaf in pdf format.
His Asceticism and Piety
According to the students of Imam Al-Bayhaqi, he fasted perpetually (sawm ad-dahr) for thirty years before he passed away. This act was the practice of several companions as Imam An-Nawawi stated in his Sharh Sahih Muslim,
“Ibn ‘Umar fasted permanently, i.e. except the days of ‘Id and tashriq. This perpetual fast is his way and the way of his father ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab, ‘A’ishah, Abu Talha and others of the salaf as well as Imam Ash-Shafi’i and other scholars. Their position is that perpetual fasting is not makruh.”6
He was known amongst him companions as a man of piety, and one to cling to the Sunnah within his life, in other words he put into practice his knowledge.
His ‘Aqidah
As stated above, Imam Al-Bayhaqi was the student of Abu Bakr ibn Furak who was an Imam of the Asha’ris and one who helped solidify the school of creed, as well as the Asha’ri Abu Mansur Al-Baghdadi who was renown for his knowledge. This places Imam Al-Bayhaqi amonst the third generations of Asha’ris. As one can see by the works Imam Al-Bayhaqi wrote, such as Al-Asma’ was-Sifat and his “Risalat Al-Ashariyya”, Imam Al-Bayhaqi was an ardent Asha’ri who defended the school and supported it against its enemies.
Some of His Works7
• Al-Arba’ūn As-Sughrā (The minor collection of fourty hadīth)
• Al-Asmā’ was-Sifāt (The Divine Names and Attributes) Ibn As-Subkī said, “I do not know anything comparable to it!” Shaykh Gibril Haddad has translated excerpts from this masterpiece in a small book titled, “Allah’s Names and Attributes, Excerpts”, which can be purchased on Amazon and elsewhere.
• Bayān Khaṭa’ man Akhṭa’a ‘alā Ash-Shāfi’ī (Exposition of the Error of those who attributed error to Ash-Shāfi’ī) , which complements the Sunsn and the Ma’rifah in the presentation of the textual evidence of the Shāfi’ī school.
• Ad-Da’awāt Al-Kabīr (The Major Book of Supplications)
• Dalā’il An-Nubuwwa (The Marks of Prophethood), the foremost large book exclusively devoted to the person of the Prophet Muhammad.
• Faḍā’il Al-Awqāt (Times of Particular Merit [for worship])
• Hayāt Al-Anbiyā’ fī Qubūrihim (The life of the Prophets in their Graves). This brief masterpiece gathers many of the hadiths that pertain to the life of the Prophets in their graves and received several editions of varying quality to date. Shaykh Muhammad ‘Alawī Al-Mālikī (rahimahullah) used it among his principle sources for the section on Nubuwwāt in his Manhaj Al-Salaf fi Fahm Al-Nusūs.
• Al-‘Itiqād ‘alā Madhhab As-Salaf Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jama’ah.
• Al-Khilāfiyyāt (The Divergences [between Ash-Shafi’ī and Abu Hanīfah]). Ibn Al-Subkī said about it, “No one preceded him in writing a book of this kind, nor followed him in writing its like. It is an independent method in hadīth science which is appreciated only by experts in both fiqh and hadīth. It is precious for the text it contains!”
• Al-Mabsūṭ (The expanded [reference book]). It is on Shāfi’ī law.
• Al-Madkhal ilā As-Sunan Al-Kubrā (Introductory to the Major Book of the Sunnas)
• Manāqib Al-Imam Ahmad (The Immense Merits of Imam Ahmad)
• Manāqib Ash-Shāfi’ī (The Immense Merits of Imam Ash-Shāfi’ī). Imām An-Nawawī said that this was the most reliable work on Imām Ash-Shāfi’ī8. Ibn As-Subkī said, “Of Al-‘Itiqād, Dalā’il Al Nubuwwa, Shu’ab Al-īmān, Manāqib Ash-Shāfi’ī and Al-Da’wāt Al-Kabīr, I swear that none of them has any peer!”
• Ma’rifat As-Sunan Wal-Āthār: (The Knowledge of Sunnas and Reports). Ibn As-Subkī says no Shafi’ī jurist can do without it! It is a work listing proofs for the school by fiqh sub-headings. It is also called “As-Sunan Al-Wusṭā”. You can download the entire work here. (Note the file is approx. 90 megabytes, only in arabic)
• Al-Qirā’a warā’ Al-Imām (Reciting [Fātihah] behind the Imām), also published as “Al-Qirā’a Khalf Al-Imām”. One can download this work here. It is a small treatise in defense of the Shafi’i view that it is obligatory to recite Fatihah behind the Imam in Salah to one’s self.
• Ar-Risālah Al-Asha’riyyah (The Asha’rī letter). It was a defense of the madhhab of Abul-Hasan Al-Asha’rī in creed to the governor of Naysābūr.
• Shu’ab Al-Īmān (The Branches of Belief), fourteen volumes commenting on the hadīth “Faith has Seventy Odd Branches!” The abridged version by Imam Al-Qazwini was translated by Shaykh Abdul Hakīm Murād into English with the title “The Seventy-Seven Branches of Faith”.
• As-Sunan Al-Kubrā (The Major Book of the Prophet’s Sunna). Ibn As-Subkī said, “No such book was ever compiled in the science of hadīth with respect to classification, arrangement, and elegance.” It is approximately 10 volumes (depending on the publisher) of pure hadīthic and fiqh based knowledge. Imam Al-Bayhaqi shows his mastery of the sciences in this work by quoting nearly 200 works, either by narrating through the Imams of those works by his own chain up to the authors, or quoting from the works themselves. Download here.
Some notes about Sunan Al-Kubrā:
إذا قال البيهقي: أبو عبد الله الحافظ, فهو الحاكم النيسابوري أبو عبد الله.
If Imām Al-Bayhaqī says, “Abū Abdullah, Al-Hāfiẓ, then he means Al-Hākim An-Naysabūrī.
وإذا قال: أبو بكر بن إسحاق, فهو محمد بن إسحاق بن خزيمة الإمام.
If Imām Al-Bayhaqī says, “Abū Bakr ibn Is-ḥāq, then he is Muhammad ibn Is-ḥāq ibn Khuzaymah, the Imām.
وإذا قال: أبو أحمد, فهو ابن عدي عبد الله بن عدي الجرجاني.
If Imām Al-Bayhaqī says, “Abu Aḥmad, then it is Ibn ‘Adīy, Abdullah ibn ‘Adīy Al-Jurjānī.
وإذا قال: علي, أو علي بن عمر, فهو الإمام الدارقطني.
If Imām Al-Bayhaqī says, “ ‘Alī, or ‘Alī ibn Umar, then he means Imām Ad-Dāraquṭnī.”
• Tārīkh Ḥukamā Al-Islām (The History of the Rulers of Islām)
• Az-Zuhd Al-Kabīr (The Major book of Asceticism)
Note there are more works written by him than what has been mentioned here.
Shaykh G.F. Haddād says in his conclusion to Imām Al-Bayhaqī’s biography,
“Al-Bayhāqī is the last of those who comprehensively compiled the textual evidence of the Shāfi’ī school including the hadīth, the positions of the Imām, and those of his immediate companions.”
Imam Al-Bayhaqi was an ardent defender of the Shafi’i school. One can see within his works, particularly the Khilafiyyat, his Sunan Al-Kubra, and his Ma’rifat As-Sunan Wal-Aathar, his immense knowledge of hadith and fiqh. He mastered comparative fiqh, and spent his life in dedication to preservation of the Shafi’i school. As the Imams of our school have stated, all Shafi’is are immensely indebted to Imam Al-Bayhaqi (rahmatullah ‘alayh), including Imam Ash-Shafi’i (radiya Allahu ‘anhu) himself!
The Imam died in Naysabur at the age of 74, May Allah have mercy upon him and grant him Jannah Amin!
- Quoted in Tabaqat Ash-Shafiyyah Al-Kubra and Siyar ‘Alam An-Nubala of Adh-Dhahabi [↩]
- i.e. Imam Al-Juwayni [↩]
- for a wonderful biography of Ibn Furak see: http://www.livingislam.org/n/shf_e.html [↩]
- Ibn As-Subki, Tabaqat Ash-Shafi’i Al-Kubra [↩]
- Dr. Najm Abdur-Rahman Khalaf, Mawarid Al-Imam Al-Bayhaqi fi Kitabihi Al-Sunan Al-Kubra pg. 52 [↩]
- An-Nawawi himself perpetually fasted! [↩]
- We have taken the following Selection from Sidi G.F. Haddad’s “The Four Imams and their Schools” though have added some minor commentary [↩]
- Tahdhib Al-Asma’ wal-lughat [↩]
Muslim ibn Khalid Az-Zanji, The Shaykh of Imam Ash-Shafi'i
Az-Zanji: Muslim Ibn Khalid مسلم بن خالد الزنجي the Faqih of Mecca & Shaykh of Imam Ash-Shafi’i
Muslim ibn Khālid Al-Makhzūmī Al-Makkī, the Imam, the ascetic, said by Imam Adh-Dhahabi and others to be the ‘مفتي مكة Mufti of Makkah’1, is well known amongst the scholars as simply Imām Az-Zanjī. There are several reasons reported as to why he was called “Az-Zanjī”. Az-Zanjī literally means black and is used in modern Arabic to refer to one who is negro2. Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal asked Suwayd ibn Sa’id, “Why was he called ‘Az-Zanjī’?” He said, “Because he was extremely black!” Al-Hāfith Ibn Hajr also mentions that he was called Az-Zanjī because he intensely loved dates. A slave girl once said to him, ‘You are nothing but a Zanjī because of your love for dates!’ And so the nickname stuck with him.
Imam Az-Zanjī is famous amongst the Fuqahā‘ (jurisconsults) for being one of the first teachers in fiqh of Imām Ash-Shafi’ī when he was at the age of 15 or 16. Imām Ibn Kathīr writes in his Tabaqat Ash-Shafi’iyyīn the following,
“As for Ash-Shāfi’ī’s studies in fiqh then he first studied beneath Muslim Ibn Khālid Az-Zanjī in Mecca, and Az-Zanjī took fiqh from Ibn Jurayj and he took fiqh from ‘Atā ibn Abī Rabāḥ and he studied beneath Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas and Ibn uz Zubayr and other than them from amongst the Sahābah…”3
Ibn Hibbān states in his Ath-Thiqāt,
“He was from the jurists of the Hijāz, and he taught Imām Ash-Shāfi’ī before Ash-Shāfi’ī studied beneath Mālik. Muslim ibn Khālid would make mistakes on occasion [in hadīth]. He died in either in the year 179 [and some said] or 180 (A.H).”
Ibn Sa’ad mentioned that he died during the Caliphate of Hārūn Ar-Rashīd.
His Status in Hadīth
In the science of fiqh he is considered of the Imams of Hijāz and thus Mecca. Yet, in the science of hadīth he has been criticized by many scholars of hadīth. Al-Hāfith Ibn Hajr states declares in his Taqrīb, “A jurist! Sadūq (honest), many weaknesses [in reporting hadīth].”
In his Talkhīs Al-Habīr he states after reporting the following hadīth:
- “‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan said: ‘Do not oblige a slave-girl to earn money unless she has a skill. If you oblige her to do that, she will earn money by prostitution. Do not oblige a child to earn money. If he does not find it, he will steal. Pardon since Allah will pardon you, and you must feed them good food.”This is reported by Mālik in his Muwatta’4 and Imām Ash-Shāfi’ī from him from Abī Suhayl from his father that he heard Uthmān say this. Al-Bayhaqi said, ‘Some of the scholars have raised this to be from the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) but it is not authentically declared from the Prophet (marfū’). Then he reported it from the way of Muslim ibn Khālid from Al-‘Alā’ from his father from Abu Hurayrah in Marfu’ form, and Muslim was declared da’īf according to some of them.” [Vol. 5 pgs. 2596-2597 pub. By Adwa' us-Salaf edited by Dr. Muhammad Ath-Thānī]
In their gloss of the Taqrīb of Ibn Hajr, Shaykh Shu’ayb Al-Arna’ut and B.A. Ma’ruf comment upon Al-Hāfith’s declaration saying,
- “Rather he is da’īf (weak) and supporting narrations must be sought. He was declared weak by Abu Ja’far An-Nufaylī, Abu Dawud, ‘Alī ibn Al Madīnī, An Nasā’ī, Al-Bukhārī who said ‘Munkar Al-Hadīth’ Dhāhib Al-Hadīth, Abu Hātim Al-Razī, Abu Zur’ah Ar-Razī, Ibn Numayr, Al-Bazzār, and Adh-Dhahabī…And there are contradicting statements from Ibn Ma’īn and Ad-Dāraqutnī, declaring him thiqah in one place and weak in another. Ibn ‘Adī stated, ‘[He is] good in hadīth and I hope there is no harm with him.’ Ibn Sa’ad said, ‘He has many hadīth, and many aspersions and mistakes in his narrations.’”5
Imam Ad-Dāraqutnī says in his Sunan,
“Muslim ibn Khālid is thiqah (trustworthy), although he has mistakes in memorization, and in this hadīth he has mingled the narrators (idtirāb).”
Regarding the differences of reports from Ibn Ma’in then Ibn Al-Junayd reports that a man asked Yahya (ibn Ma’in) regarding Az-Zanji being thiqah and he said, ‘ He is not truly strong in hadith’.6. Yet Ibn Al-Junayd said that he asked Ibn Ma’in regarding him and he said to him, ‘There is no harm in his narrations’. Ibn Ghllabi said, ‘I only saw that he was abandoned in hadith (matruk Al-Hadith)’ to which Ibn Ma’in said, ‘No!7 Ad-Dawri reports in his Tarikh that Ibn Ma’in declared Muslim ibn Khalid thiqah. Al-Bazzar actually did not declare him outright weak as claimed by Arna’ut and Ma’ruf. What he said was, “He was not a Hafith [in hadith].”8
From what can be adduced by the statements of the doctors in the science of Hadith, Az-Zanji had errors in his memorization. He is a fine example of a master of the law not being highly proficient in the science of memorization.
Conclusion
Az-Zanji was the first faqih, in fact the Mufti of Makka, to give permission to Imam Ash-Shafi’i to give fatwa. He gave Imam Ash-Shafi’i his beginning in fiqh, fed him as much knowledge from the Makkan school as he could, and then released him to the Medinites. Allah placed this Mufti in the path of Imam Ash-Shafi’i's youth to stoke the love of Islam within his heart, allowing the young man to ask and to question, to reflect on how the proofs applied to practical life. It is then through Imam Az-Zanji, that we have Imam Ash-Shafi’i, who has given millions of Muslims over the span of 1,200 years access to a higher understanding of the divine law, the shari’ah, and enabling them to succeed in this world and the hereafter.
May Allah bless him and grant him light in his grave Amin!
- Siyar Al-’Alam An-Nubala’ [↩]
- See Hans Wehr’s Dictionary [↩]
- Vol 1. Page 27 Dār Al-Wafa’ [↩]
- Under the chapter 54.16 The Command to be Kind to Slaves see ‘A’ishah Bewley’s translation here: http://bewley.virtualave.net/muw19.html [↩]
- Entry 6625 Mu’assasah Ar-Risalah 1997 [↩]
- Su’alaat ibn Al-Junayd li-Ibn Ma’in pg 472 [↩]
- ibid page 479 [↩]
- Kashf Al-Astaar [↩]
Al-Qadi Abu Shuja' Al-Asbahani and His Matn Ghayat At-Taqrib
He was the Qadi (judge), Imam, scholar of high repute, the ascetic (zahid), a tenacious Faqih (jurist), a righteous and humble ruler (wazir). All such characteristics have been attributed to him by his contemporaries and biographers throughout the ages, such as in the Tabaqat Ash-Shafi’yyah of Qadi ibn Shuhbah, the Tabaqat of As-Subki, and within the many works of the scholars that are commentaries and supra-commentaries upon his famous”Ghayat At-Taqrib”.
His agnomen (kunya) is Abu Shuja’ as well as Abu Tayyib. His full name is Shihabud-Din Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn [and it reads Al-Hasan in some works] ibn Aḥmad al-Aṣfahānī.
Al-Hafith Abu Tahir As-Silafi once reported a hadith from him in his Mu’jam As-Safr up to Uthman ibn ‘Affan (radiya Allahu Anhu) that the Prophet Muhammad said, “Whomever builds a masjid for Allah the mighty and majestic…Allah will build something like it for him in Jannah!”
Abu Tahir As-Silafi [died 576 A.H] said after reporting this narration,
“This Qadi Abi Shuja’ is from the most impeccable men of his time! He studied and taught the school of Imam Ash-Shafi’i for 40 years in Basrah. He mentioned this [hadith] to me around 500 A..H. and he lived for an extremely long time after that. I asked him about when he was born and he told me 434 A.H. in Basrah, and that his father was born in ‘Abadaan and his grandfather was from Asbahan.”1
His biographers mention that when he was the Wazir (vizier), he was just and cared for justice for all. While being a wazir, he would not leave his house until he prayed and recited much of the Qur’an. After retiring from his position of wazir, he traveled to Medinah and became an ascetic, divorcing the needs of this world. He became the custodian, cleaning and arranging the Masjid of the Prophet Muhammad until he died! Imam Al-Bayjuri in his Hashiyah states that Imam Abi Shuja’ died in 488 A.H. and that his grave is near the grave of the Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet Muhammad at Al-Baqi’. This date was also professed by Ibn Al-Athir as well. However, 488 is disputed by the witnessing of Abu Tahir As-Silafi of the the Qadi at 500 A.H.! [See معجم البلدان ج4/ص74 and طبقات الشافعية الكبرى ج6/ص15]
Sidi Omar Qureshi in his class on the Matn of Abi Shuja’ stated that Abi Shuja’ died in 593 A.H. putting his lifespan at nearly 160 years old! He accepts this opinion though states that some say he died in 488 A.H. Al-Azhar University, has his death at 593 as well2 Allah Knows best the truth of his death!
His Works:
Qadi Abi Shuja’s most renown work is known as Mukhtasar Abi Shuja’ or Ghayat Al-Ikhtisar and also Ghayat At-Taqrib (also called the Matn of Abi Shuja’). This work is considered one of the most useful and widely studied Shafi’i primers in the Muslim world today. Several commentaries have been written on it and we shall mention these later. Another famous work he wrote was the commentary upon Imam Al-Mawaardi’s Al-Iqna’.
The Matn (Ghayat At-Taqrib) & Its Versification and Commentaries
The Matn of Abi Shuja’ has also been versified, so the student can memorize it with ease. The most famous of versifications is Sharaf al-Dīn Yaḥyā al-ʿAmrīṭī’s (989H) versification in 1225 (and in some 1220) lines, entitled Nihāyat al-tadrīb fī naẓm Ghāyat al-taqrīb (نهاية التدريب في نظم غاية التقريب).
You can download it from ShafiiFiqh.com by clicking the following link:
نهاية التدريب في نظم غاية التقريب [download id="13" format="1"]
Less popular attempts for versification include but are not limited to works by:
The versification has a commentary Tuḥfat al-Ḥabīb by Shaykh al-Fashanī.
Commentaries and meta-commentaries upon Ghayat At-Taqrib of Abi Shuja’:
al-Iqnā‘, Aḥmad bin Muḥammad (931H), with its meta-commentary Tashnīf al-Asmā’ bi Ḥalli Alfāẓ Abī Shujā‘, by Aḥmad bin Muḥammad (931H).
Sharḥ Mukhtaṣar Abī Shujā‘, by Aḥmad al-Akhṣāṣī (889H)
Tuḥfạt al-Ḥabib, by Ibn Daqīq al-‘Īd (702H)
Kifāyat al-Akhyār, by Taqiyud Din al-Husnī (829H) : [download id="5"]
Al-Nihāyah fī Sharḥ al-Ghāyah, by Walī al-Dīn al-Baṣīr (972H)
Al-Iqnā‘ fī Ḥall Alfāẓ Abī Shujā‘, by Muḥammad al-Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī (977H). It has numerous meta-commentaries:
Taqrīrāt, by al-Bājūrī (1277H) and Shaykh ‘Iwaḍ
al-Bujairmī (1221H)
al-Mudābighī (1170H)
al-Ajhūrī (1190H)
al-Nabrāwī
Fatḥ al-Qarīb al-Mujīb, by Ibn Qāsim al-Ghazzī (918H). [download id="12" format="1"]
It has numerous meta-commentaries:
al-ʿAzīzī
al-Qalyūbī (1069H)
al-Barmāwī (1106H)
al-Bājūrī (1277H)
Qūt al-Ḥabīb al-Gharib, by al-Nawawī al-Jāwī
We ask Allah to bless the efforts and works of Qadi Abi Shuja’ and make them a light for the Ummah until the hour. Amin!
- You can read some of this quote from Tabaqat Ash-Shafiyyah Al-Kubra here: http://www.al-eman.com/Islamlib/viewchp.asp?BID=401&CID=35#s5 [↩]
- http://193.227.11.162:8080/dspace/handle/123456789/381 [↩]
Al-Imam al-Faqih Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajar al-Haytami
Al-Imām al-Faqih Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajar al-Haytami
Shihab al-Din Abu al-’Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-Haytami al-Makki al-Ansari. He is al-Azhari in scholarship, al-Ash’ari in doctrine, al-Junaidi in the tasawwuf path, a Hadith master, and a brilliant scholar of in-depth applications of Sacred Law. He was born in the end of 909 H in Abu Haytam, western Egypt. He was the Shāfi‘ī Imām of his time.
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