The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

(Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the

Ahl al-Hadith () is an Islamic school of Sunni Islam that emerged during the 2nd and 3rd Islamic centuries of the Islamic era (late 8th and 9th century CE) as a movement of hadith scholars who considered the Quran and authentic hadith to be the only authority ...

tradition within

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

. It was founded by the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, and traditionist

al-Shafi'i Al-Shafi'i (; ;767–820 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles ...

(), "the father of Muslim jurisprudence", in the early 9th century. The other three schools of Sunnī jurisprudence are Ḥanafī, Mālikī and Ḥanbalī. Like the other schools of fiqh, Shafii recognize the First Four Caliphs as the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

's rightful successors and relies on the

Qurʾān The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God (''Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides i ...

and the "sound" books of Ḥadīths as primary sources of law. The Shafi'i school affirms the authority of both divine law-giving (the Qurʾān and the

Sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...

) and human speculation regarding the Law. Where passages of Qurʾān and/or the Ḥadīths are ambiguous, the school seeks guidance of Qiyās (analogical reasoning). The Ijmā' (consensus of scholars or of the community) was "accepted but not stressed". The school rejected the dependence on local traditions as the source of legal precedent and rebuffed the

Ahl al-Ra'y The ''Ahl al-Ra'y'', sometimes referred to in English as ''rationalists'', refers to an Islamic creedal group advocating for the use of reason for theological decisions and scriptural interpretation. They were one of two main groups debating the ...

(personal opinion) and the Istiḥsān (juristic discretion). The Shafii school was widely followed in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

until the rise of the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

and the

Safavids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

. Traders and merchants helped to spread Shafii Islam across the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, as far as

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. The Shafii school is now predominantly found in parts of the

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

and the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into sev ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

and generally all across the

(

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

and the

Swahili Coast The Swahili coast () is a coastal area of East Africa, bordered by the Indian Ocean and inhabited by the Swahili people. It includes Sofala (located in Mozambique); Mombasa, Gede, Kenya, Gede, Pate Island, Lamu, and Malindi (in Kenya); and Dar es ...

in Africa and coastal

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and

). One who ascribes to the Shafi'i school is called a Shafi'i, Shafi'ite or Shafi'ist (, or ).

Principles

The fundamental principle of the Shafii thought depends on the idea that "to every act performed by a believer who is subject to the Law there corresponds a statute belonging to the Revealed Law or the

Shari'a Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

". This statute is either presented as such in the

or the

or it is possible, by means of analogical reasoning (

Qiyas Qiyas (, , ) is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Quran in Islamic jurisprudence, in order to apply a known injunction ('' nass'') to a new circumstance and cre ...

), to infer it from the Qurʾān or the Sunnah. As-Shafii was the first jurist to insist that Ḥadīth were the decisive source of law (over traditional doctrines of earlier thoughts). In order of priority, the sources of

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

according to the Shafii thought, are:

The Foundation (al asl)

— the sacred scripture of Islam. *

— defined by

Al-Shāfiʿī Al-Shafi'i (; ;767–820 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles of Isl ...

as "the sayings, the acts, and the tacit acquiescence of

Prophet Muhammad In Islam, Muhammad () is venerated as the Seal of the Prophets who transmitted the Quran, eternal word of God () from the Angels in Islam, angel Gabriel () to humans and jinn. Muslims believe that the Quran, the central religious text of Isl ...

as related in solidly established traditions". The school rejected dependence on local community practice as the source of legal precedent.

Ma'qul al-asl

with Legal Proof or Dalil

— "Analogical reasoning as applied to the deduction of juridical principles from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah." ** Analogy by Cause (Qiyas al-Ma'na/Qiyas al-Illa) ** Analogy by Resemblance (Qiyas al-Shabah) * Ijmā' — consensus of scholars or of the community ("accepted but not stressed"). The concept of

Istishab ''Istiṣḥāb'' ( ) is an Islamic term used in the jurisprudence to denote the principle of the presumption of continuity. It is derived from an Arabic word ''suhbah'' meaning accompany. It is one of the fundamental principles of the legal d ...

was first introduced by the later Shafii scholars. Al-Shafii also postulated that "penal sanctions lapse in cases where repentance precedes punishment".

Risālah

The groundwork legal text for the Shafii law is al-Shafiʽi's ''al-Risala'' ("the Message"), composed in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. It outlines the principles of Shafii legal thought as well as the derived jurisprudence. A first version of the ''Risālah'', ''al-Risalah al-Qadima'', produced by al-Shafiʽi during his stay in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, is currently lost.

Proximity of Shia and Shafi'i

Shia jurists, based on the narrations of Fourteen Innocents, believe that "In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Merciful" is part of all the surahs of the Qur'an, except the Surah of Ba'at. And "Shafi'i" jurists, unlike other Sunni sects, agree with the Shi'a opinion, and consider "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful" as part of all the surahs of the Qur'an. Therefore, it is considered obligatory to recite it in a loud voice in the Jahriyeh prayer.

Differences from Mālikī and Ḥanafī thoughts

fundamentally criticised the concept of judicial conformism (the Istiḥsan).

With Mālikī view

* Shafii school argued that various existing local traditions may not reflect the practice of

(a critique to the Mālikī thought). The local traditions, according to the

Shāfiʿī The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionist al ...

understanding, thus cannot be treated as sources of law.

With Ḥanafī view

* The Shafii school rebuffed the

(personal opinion) and the Istiḥsān (juristic discretion). It insisted that the rules of the jurists could no longer be invoked in legal issues without additional authentications.Istislah
''The Oxford Dictionary of Islam'', Oxford University PressIstihsan
''The Oxford Dictionary of Islam'', Oxford University Press The school refused to admit doctrines that had no textual basis in either the Qurʾān or Ḥadīths, but were based on the opinions of Islamic scholars (the Imams). * The Shafii thinking believes that the methods may help to "substitute man for God and Prophet Muhammad, the only legitimate legislators" and "true knowledge and correct interpretation of religious obligations would suffer from arbitrary judgments infused with error".

History

(–820 AD) visited most of the great centres of Islamic jurisprudence in the Middle East during the course of his travels and amassed a comprehensive knowledge of the different ways of legal theory. He was a student of Mālik ibn Anas, the founder of the Mālikī school of law, and of Muḥammad Shaybānī, the Baghdad Ḥanafī intellectual. * The Shafii thoughts were initially spread by Al-Shafii students in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and

. By the 10th century, the holy cities of

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

also became chief centres of Shafii ideas. * The school later exclusively held the judgeships in

Kirman Kerman is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. Kerman or Kirman may also refer to: Places * Kirman (Sasanian province), province of the Sasanian Empire *Kerman province, province of Iran ** Kerman County * Kerman, California People * ...

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

and the Khorasan. It also flourished in northern Mesopotamia and in

Daylam Daylam (), also known in the plural form Daylaman () (and variants such as Dailam, Deylam, and Deilam), was the name of a mountainous region of inland Gilan, Iran. It was so named for its inhabitants, known as the Daylamites. The Church of the Ea ...

. The

Ghurids The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; ; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Empire from 1175 to 1215. The G ...

also endorsed the Shafiis in the 11th and 12th centuries AD. * Under Salah al-Din, the Shafii school again became the paramount thought in Egypt (the region had come under

Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

influence prior to this period). It was the "official school" of the

Ayyubid dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

and remained prominent during Mamlūk period also.

Baybars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari (; 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars () and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (, ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Ba ...

, the Mamlūk sultan, later appointed judges from all four madhabs in Egypt. * Traders and merchants helped to spread Shafii Islam across the

, as far

and the

Under Ottomans and the Safavids

* Rise of the

in the 16th century resulted in the replacement of Shafii judges by Ḥanafī scholars. * After the beginning of the Safavid rule, the presence of the Shafi's in Iran was limited to the western regions of the country.

Distribution

The Shafii school is presently predominant in the following parts of the world: * Middle East and North Africa: Parts of

, the

(Palestine, Jordan and a significant number in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq),

, among Sunnis in Iran and

, and the

Kurd Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

ish people. * Eurasia: Northern regions of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

, Chechen and Ingush regions of the

. * In the

** Africa:

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

and the

(Kenya and Tanzania). ** South Asia:

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and southern

(

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, southern

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, western

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

). ** Southeast Asia:

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

, and the southern

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The Shafii school is one of the largest school of Sunni madhhabs by number of adherents. The demographic data by each fiqh, for each nation, is unavailable and the relative demographic size are estimates.

Notable Shafiis

Al-Muzani Abū Ibrāīm Ismā'īl ibn Yahyā Ibn Ismā'īl Ibn 'Amr Ibn Muslim Al-Muzanī Al-Misrī (791–878 AD/ 174-264 Hijri) was an Islamic jurist and theologian and one of leading member of Shafi'i school. A native of Cairo, he was a close disciple a ...

(c.791-878) *

Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...

(c.1058-1111) *

Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (;‎ (631A.H-676A.H) (October 1230–21 December 1277) was a Sunni Shafi'ite jurist and hadith scholar. Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), ''Historical Dictionary of Islam'', pp.238-239. Scarecrow Press. . Al-Nawawi died at ...

(c.1230-1277) *

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī () or Fakhruddin Razi () (1149 or 1150 – 1209), often known by the sobriquet Sultan of the Theologians, was an influential Iranian and Muslim polymath, scientist and one of the pioneers of inductive logic. He wrote var ...

(c.1150-1209) *

Ibn al-Nafis ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Abī Ḥazm al-Qarashī (Arabic: علاء الدين أبو الحسن عليّ بن أبي حزم القرشي ), known as Ibn al-Nafīs (Arabic: ابن النفيس), was an Arab polymath whose area ...

(c.1213-1288) *

Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...

(c.1300-1373) *

Izz al-Din ibn 'Abd al-Salam Abū Muḥammad ʿIzz al-Dīn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd al-Salām bin Abī al-Qāsim bin Ḥasan al-Sulamī al-Shāfiʿī (‎; 577 AH - 660 AH / 1262 CE), also known by his titles, Sultan al-'Ulama/ Sulthanul Ulama, Abu Muhammad al-Sulami, w ...

(c.1182-1262) *

Ibn Daqiq al-'Id Taḳī al-Dīn Abū ’l-Fatḥ Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Wahb b. Muṭīʿ b. Abi ’l-Ṭāʿa, commonly known as Ibn Daqiq al-'Id (; 1228–1302), was a Sunni Egyptians, Egyptian scholar. He is widely accounted as one of Islam's great scholars ...

(c.1228-1302) *

Al-Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (; 1445–1505), or al-Suyuti, was an Egyptians, Egyptian Sunni Muslims, Muslim polymath of Persians, Persian descent. Considered the mujtahid and mujaddid of the Islamic 10th century, he was a leading Hadith studies, muh ...

(c.1445-1505) In

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

: * Abu Zur'a al-Razi * Abu Hatim al-Razi * Ibn Khuzaymah * Ibn Hibban * Al-Khattabi *

Al-Daraqutni Ali ibn Umar al-Daraqutni (; 918–995 CE / 306–385 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar and traditionist best known for compiling the hadith collection '' Sunan al-Daraqutni''. He is commonly celebrated in Sunni tradition with titles such as "Im ...

Hakim al-Nishaburi Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Nishapuri (; 933 - 1014 CE), also known as Ibn al-Bayyiʿ, was a Persian Sunni scholar and the leading traditionist of his age, frequently referred to as the "Imam of the Muhaddithin" or the " ...

Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani Abu Nuʿaym al-Isfahani (; full name: ''Ahmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ahmad ibn Ishāq ibn Mūsā ibn Mahrān al-Mihrānī al-Asbahānī'' (or ''al-Asfahānī'') ''al-Ahwal al-Ash`arī al-Shāfi`ī'', died 1038 CE / AH 430) was a medieval Persian S ...

Al-Bayhaqi Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Khusrawjirdī al-Bayhaqī (, 994–1066), also known as Imām al-Bayhaqī, was a Sunni scholar widely known for being the foremost leading hadith master in his age, leading authority in th ...

(c.994-1066) *

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thābit ibn Aḥmad ibn Māhdī al-Shāfiʿī, commonly known as al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī () or "the lecturer from Baghdad" (10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar known ...

Al-Baghawi Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥusayn ibn Masʻūd ibn Muḥammad al-Farrā' al-Baghawī ( Persian/Arabic:ابو محمد حسین بن مسعود بغوی), also known as al-Baghawī () was a Persian Sunni Muslim scholar based in Khorasan. He was a pro ...

Ibn Asakir Ibn Asakir (; 1105–c. 1176) was a Syrian Sunni Islamic scholar, who was one of the most prominent and renowned experts on Hadith and Islamic history in the medieval era. and a disciple of the Sufi mystic Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi. Ibn Asakir was ...

Ibn al-Salah Abū ‘Amr ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Abd il-Raḥmān Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Kurdī al-Shahrazūrī () (c. 1181 CE/577 AH – 1245/643), commonly known as Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ, was a Kurdish Shafi'i hadith specialist and the author of the seminal '' Intro ...

* Ibn al-Najjar *

Al-Nawawi Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (;‎ (631A.H-676A.H) (October 1230–21 December 1277) was a Sunni Shafi'ite jurist and hadith scholar. Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), ''Historical Dictionary of Islam'', pp.238-239. Scarecrow Press. . Al-Nawawi died at ...

* Al-Mizzi *

Al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Atharism, Athari ...

(c.1274-1348) *

Taqi al-Din al-Subki Abu Al-Hasan Taqī al-Dīn Ali ibn Abd al-Kafi ibn Ali al-Khazraji al-Ansari al-Subkī (), commonly known as Taqī l-Dīn al-Subkī () was a Sunni Egyptian polymath and foremost leading Shafi'i jurisconsult, traditionist, Quranic exegete, l ...

(c.1300-1373) * Ibn al-Mulaqqin * Zain al-Din al-'Iraqi *

Ali ibn Abu Bakr al-Haythami Nur al-Din `Ali ibn Abi Bakr ibn Sulayman, Abu al-Hasan al-Haythami (, commonly known as Nur al-Din al-Haythami was a famous Sunni Egyptian scholar and an eminent Hadith expert who wrote lengthy works on hadith sciences. Biography He was born ...

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (; 18 February 1372 – 2 February 1449), or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, ...

(c.1372-1449) *

Al-Sakhawi Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sakhāwī (, 1428/831 AH – 1497/902 AH) was a reputable Shafi‘i Muslim hadith scholar and historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an ...

Al-Qastallani Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn al-Zayn Aḥmad ibn al-Jamāl Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣafī Muḥammad ibn al-Majd Ḥusayn ibn al-Tāj ʿAlī ibn Maymūn al-Qasṭalānī (), also known as Al-Qasṭallānī was a Sunni I ...

Ibn Hajar al-Haytami Sheikhul Islam Shihāb al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī al-Makkī al-Anṣārī known as Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki () was a renowned Sunni Egyptian scholar. He was the leading jurist of the ...

(c.1503-1566) * Yasin al-Fadani In

Tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

: *

Al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...

(c.839-923) * Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tha'labi *

(c.1300-1373) *

Al-Baydawi Qadi Baydawi (also known as Naṣir ad-Din al-Bayḍawi, also spelled Baidawi, Bayzawi and Beyzavi; d. June 1319, Tabriz) was a jurist, theologian, and Quran commentator. He lived during the post-Seljuk Empire, Seljuk and early Mongol Empire, Mon ...

* Al-Mahalli *

Said Nursî Said Nursi (1877Şükran Vahide, Islam in Modern Turkey: An Intellectual Biography of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, p 3. – 23 March 1960) was a Kurdish scholar of Islam who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceedin ...

* Hamka In

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

: * Al-Khattabi *

Al-Mawardi Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Habib (; –1058), commonly known by the '' nisba'' al-Mawardi (), was a Sunni polymath and a Shafi'i jurist, legal theoretician, muhaddith, theologian, sociologist and an expert in political science. He is considered to b ...

* Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi *

Al-Juwayni Dhia' ul-Dīn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Yūsuf al-Juwaynī al-Shafi'ī (, 17 February 102820 August 1085; 419–478 AH) was a Persian Sunni scholar famous for being the foremost leading jurisconsult, legal theoretician and Islamic theologian of his ...

* Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini * Ibn al-Mulaqqin *

* Al-Mahalli * Zakariyya al-Ansari *

Sayf al-Din al-Amidi Sayf al-Din al-Amidi or Muhammad al-Amidi (b. 1156; Diyarbakır - d. 1233 in Damascus) was an influential Muslim jurist. Initially a Hanbalite, Al-Amidi belonged to the Shafi`i school and worked to combine ''kalam'' (theology) with existing metho ...

Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri Umdat as-Salik wa 'Uddat an-Nasik (''Reliance of the Traveller and Tools of the Worshipper'', also commonly known by its shorter title ''Reliance of the Traveller'') is a classical manual of fiqh for the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence. T ...

* Zainuddin Makhdoom I * Ibn Nuhaas * Abdallah al-Qutbi In

Usul al-Fiqh Principles of Islamic jurisprudence () are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') for deriving the rulings of Islamic law (''sharia''). Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence elaborates how the scri ...

: * Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi *

* Al-Mahalli *

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

studies: * Ibn Malik *

Ibn Hisham Abu Muhammad Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham ibn Ayyub al-Himyari (; died 7 May 833), known simply as Ibn Hisham, was a 9th-century Abbasid historian and scholar. He grew up in Basra, in modern-day Iraq and later moved to Egypt. Life Ibn Hisham has ...

* Fairuzabadi *

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

: *

Ibn Kullab Ibn Kullab () (d. ca. 241/855) was an early Sunni theologian (mutakallim) in Basra and Baghdad in the first half of the 9th century during the time of the Mihna and belonged, according to Ibn al-Nadim, to the traditionalist group of the Nawabit. ...

Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (; 874–936 CE) was an Arab Muslim theologian known for being the eponymous founder of the Ash'ari school of kalam in Sunnism. Al-Ash'ari was notable for taking an intermediary position between the two diametrically ...

* Ibn Furak *

Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi Abū Manṣūr ʿAbd al-Qāhir ibn Ṭāhir bin Muḥammad bin ʿAbd Allāh al-Tamīmī al-Shāfiʿī al-Baghdādī (), more commonly known as Abd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī () or simply Abū Manṣūr al-Baghdādī () was an Arab Sunni scholar fr ...

Rashid Rida Sayyid Muhammad Rashīd Rida Al-Hussaini (; 1865 – 22 August 1935) was an Ulama, Islamic scholar, Islah, reformer, theologian and Islamic revival, revivalist. An early Salafi movement, Salafist, Rida called for the revival of hadith studies and ...

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

: * Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad *

Fazlur Rahman Malik Fazlur Rahman Malik ( ; ; September 21, 1919 – July 26, 1988), commonly known as Fazlur Rahman, was a modernist scholar and Islamic philosopher from present-day Pakistan. Recognized as a leading liberal reformer within Islam, he focused on e ...

Khaled Abou El Fadl Khaled Abou el Fadl (, ) (born October 23, 1963) is the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law where he has taught courses on International Human Rights, Islamic jurisprudence, National Security Law, Law ...

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

Harith al-Muhasibi Al-Muḥāsibī () (781–857 CE) was a Muslim Arabs, Arab, Mutakallim, theologian, philosopher and Asceticism, ascetic. He is considered to be the founder of the Baghdad School of Islamic philosophy which combined Kalam and Sufism, and a teach ...

* Abd al-Karīm ibn Hawāzin Qushayri * Abu Talib al-Makki * Imam al-Haddad *

Ahmad Ghazali Ahmad Ghazālī (; full name Majd al-Dīn Abū al-Fotuḥ Aḥmad Ghazālī) was a Sunni Muslim Sufi mystic, writer, preacher and the head of Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad (c. 1061–1123 or 1126). He is best known in the history of Islam for his id ...

(c.1061-1123) *

Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani Ayn-al-Qużāt Hamadānī, also spelled Ain-al Quzat Hamedani or ʿAyn-al Qudat Hamadhani (1098–1131) (), was a Persian jurist, mystic, philosopher, poet and mathematician who was executed at the age of 33. Title ''Ayn-al-Qużat'' in Arab ...

Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi Abū al-Najīb Abd al-Qahhar Suhrawardī () (1097–1168) was a Sunni Persian people, PersianQamar al-Huda, ''Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi'', ed. Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach, Medieval Islamic Civilization: L-Z, Vol. 2. . pp 775-776: "Shahab al-D ...

Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi Shihāb ad-Dīn Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardī (, also known as Sohrevardi) (1154–1191) was a Persian philosopher and founder of the Iranian school of Illuminationism, an important school in Islamic philosophy. The "light" in his "Philosophy of ...

Yusuf Hamdani Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf al-Hammandinā, best simply known as Yusuf Hammandina (born 1048 or 1049 / 440 AH - died 1140 / 535 AH), was a Persian Sufi of the Middle Ages. He was the first of the group of Central Asian Sufi teachers known simply as ' ...

Ahmed ar-Rifa'i Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...

* Najm al-Din Kubra *

Shams Tabrizi Shams-i Tabrīzī () or Shams al-Din Mohammad (1185–1248) was a Persian * * * * Shafi'ite poet, who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi and is referenced with great rev ...

Safi-ad-din Ardabili Safi-ad-Din Ardabili ( ''Ṣāfī ad-Dīn Isḥāq Ardabīlī''; 1252/3 – 1334) was a poet, Mysticism, mystic, teacher and Sufism, Sufi master. He was the son-in-law and spiritual heir of the Sufi master Zahed Gilani, whose order—the Zahediye ...

* Kamal Khujandi * Yusuf an-Nabhani *

Abd Al-Rahman bin Ahmad al-Zayla'i Al-Zaylai (''Abd al-Raḥman bin Aḥmad al-Zaylai'' ) (1820–1882) was a Somali scholar who played a crucial role in the spread of the Qadiriyyah Sufi order in Somalia and East Africa. Born in the rural village of Kodle in the Bakool region n ...

Uways al-Barawi Sheikh Uways Al-Barawi (; 1847–1909) was a Somali scholar credited with reviving Islam in 19th century East Africa. Biography Early life Sheikh Uways was born in Barawa during the Geledi Sultanate period on the Benadir of Somalia coast, the so ...

* Sa'eed ibn Isa Al-Amoudi In

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

* Ibn 'Asakir * Ali ibn al-Athir * Ibn al-Najjar *

Ibn Khallikan Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān (; 22 September 1211 – 30 October 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a renowned Islamic historian of Kurdish origin who compiled the celebrated biographical encyclopedi ...

Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani Muhammad Taqi al-Din bin Ibrahim bin Mustafa bin Isma'il bin Yusuf al-Nabhani (; 1914 – December 11, 1977) was a Palestinian Islamic scholar who founded the pan-Islamist and fundamentalist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir. Biography Al-Nabhani wa ...

Statesmen *

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

Nizam al-Mulk Abū ʿAlī Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī Ṭūsī () (1018 – 1092), better known by his honorific title of Niẓām al-Mulk (), was a Persian Sunni scholar, jurist, political philosopher and vizier of the Seljuk Empire. Rising from a low position w ...

Contemporary Shafii scholars

From Middle East and North Africa: * Ahmed Kuftaro * Ali Gomaa * Habib Umar bin Hafiz * Habib Umar al-Jilani * Sa'id Foudah *

Abdullah al-Harari 'Abdullah al-Harari () (1906 – September 2, 2008) was a Harari muhaddith and scholar of Islamic jurisprudence. He lived and taught in Beirut, Lebanon. History Al-Harariyy was born in 1906 in Harar, Ethiopia. In 1983, he founded Al-Ahbash, ...

* Ali al-Jifri *

Mohammad Salim Al-Awa Mohammad Salim Al-Awa (born December 22, 1942) is an Egyptian Islamist thinker, widely considered to belong to the moderate Islamic democratic strain. He is the former Secretary General of the International Union for Muslim Scholars based in ...

* Wahba Zuhayli *

Taha Jabir Alalwani Taha Jabir Al-Alwani (طه جابر علواني), Ph.D. (1935 – March 4, 2016) was an Iraqi Islamic scholar. He was a founder and chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America and served as president of Cordoba University in Ashburn, Virgini ...

* Taha Karaan From Southeast Asia: * Afifi al-Akiti *

Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif (31 May 1935 – 27 May 2022), popularly known as Buya Syafi'i, was an Indonesian Islamic scholar and intellectual. He was chairman of Muhammadiyah between 1998 and 2005. Educated in the United States, he was known for hi ...

* Hasyim Muzadi *

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas Syed Muhammad al Naquib bin Ali al-Attas ( ; born 5 September 1931) is a Malaysian Muslim philosopher. He is one of the few contemporary scholars who is thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences and studied theology, philosophy, me ...

From South Asia: * Muhammad Jifri Muthukkoya Thangal * Tajul Ulama * K. Ali Kutty Musliyar * Kanniyath Ahmed Musliyar * E. K. Aboobacker Musliyar * Zainuddin Makhdoom II *

Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar, officially known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad (born 22 March 1931), is the tenth and current Grand Mufti of India. and General Secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama (the Indian Muslim Scholars As ...

* Cherussery Zainuddeen Musliyar * Varakkal Mullakoya Thangal

References

Notes

: 1."The law provides sanctions for any religious practice other than the Sunni Shafiʽi doctrine of Islam and for prosecution of converts from Islam, and bans proselytizing for any religion except Islam."

Citations

Bibliography

Primary sources * * * Scholarly sources * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Shafi'iyyah (University of Cumbria)Falah (A concise guide to Arkan ul Iman and Arkan ul Islam as pdf)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shafi'i Madhhab Sunni Islamic branches Schools of Sunni jurisprudence Sunni Islam

Principles

The Foundation (al asl)

Ma'qul al-asl

Risālah

Proximity of Shia and Shafi'i

Differences from Mālikī and Ḥanafī thoughts

With Mālikī view

With Ḥanafī view

History

Under Ottomans and the Safavids

Distribution

Notable Shafiis

Contemporary Shafii scholars

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading

External links