The Shāfi‘ī madhab (شافعي) is one of the four schools of fiqh, or religious law, within Sunni Islam. The Shāfi‘ī school of fiqh is named after its founder, Imām ash-Shāfi‘ī. The other three schools of thought are Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali. Madhhab(مذهب) (Madhahib, pl) is an Islamic term that refers to a school of thought or religious jurisprudence (fiqh) within Sunni Islam. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Al-Shafii, Arabic jurist (150 AH/767 AD - 204 AH/820 AD). ... The Hanafi (Arabic حنفي) school is the oldest of the four schools of thought (Madhhabs) or jurisprudence (Fiqh) within Sunni Islam. ... This page deals with Islamic thought. ... Hanbali (Arabic: حنبلى ) is one of the four schools (Madhhabs) of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. ...

Principles

The Shāfi‘ī School of thought stipulates authority to four sources of jurisprudence, also known as the Usul al-fiqh. In hierarchical order the usul al-fiqh consist of: the Quran, the Sunnah of Muhammad, ijma' (consensus), and qiyas (analogy). The Shāfi‘ī school also refers to the opinions of Muhammad's companions (primarily Al-Khulafa ar-Rashidun). The school, based on Shāfi‘ī's books ar-Risala fi Usul al-Fiqh and Kitāb al-Umm, which emphasizes proper istinbaat (derivation of laws) through the rigorous application of legal principles as opposed to speculation or conjecture. Uṣūl al-fiqh (Arabic: ‎ ) is a term which literally translates to the roots of the law and refers to the study of the origins, sources, and practice of Islamic jurisprudence. ... Sunnah(t) () literally means “trodden path”, and therefore, the sunnah of the prophet means “the way of the prophet”. Terminologically, the word ‘Sunnah’ in Sunni Islam means those religious actions that were instituted by Muhammad(PBUH) during the 23 years of his ministry and which Muslims initially received through consensus... Muhammad in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman. ... Ijmāʿ (إجماع) is an Arabic term referring ideally to the consensus of the ummah (the community of Muslims, or followers of Islam). ... In Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, Qiyas is the process of analogical reasoning from a known injunction (nass) to a new injunction. ...

Imam Shafi`i approached the imperatives of the Islamic Shariah (Canon Law) distinctly in his own systematic methodology. Imam Shafi`i, Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal almost entirely exclude the exercise of private judgement in the exposition of legal principles. They are wholly governed by the force of precedents, adhering to the Scripture and Traditions; they also do not admit the validity of a recourse to analogical deduction of such an interpretation of the Law whereby its spirit is adopted to the special circumstances of any special case. Their followers are accordingly designated as "Ahlul-Hadith" or "Traditionalists Par Excellence', while the followers of Abu Hanifa are called "Ahlul Ra'i" - the "People of Private Judgement"

The Shāfi‘ī school is considered one of the more conservative of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence, where religious science has evolved around this School and many traditional scholars adopted it to be the soundest School among all. Due to the School's systematic methodology and rigorous approach to religious science, huge arrays and vast majority of Islamic scholars and leading authorities have become staunch adherents of this School. Many among them represent the entire Ahlus Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'ah in their field.

The founder of this School, is also known as the "First Among Equals" for his exhaustive knowledge and systematic methodology to religious science. His approach to Islamic jurisprudence has become the standard reference of the scholars not only among his School but among others as well. There is a famous Fiqh maxim, "The Shafiites are the Pillars of Knowledge of this Religion." Among the giants of Islam who adopted this School are:-

Imams of Aqidah:

• Abu Al-Hasan Ash'ari

Imams of Hadith:

• Imam Muhammad al-Bukhari
• Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
• Imam Nasa'i
• Imam Bayhaqi
• Imam Tirmidhi
• Imam Ibn Majah
• Imam Ibn Hibban
• Imam Daraqutni
• Imam Tabari (who later became independent Mujtahid)
• Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani
• Imam Abu Dawud
• Imam Nawawi
• Imam As-Suyuti
• Imam Ibn Kathir
• Imam Dhahabi
• Imam Al-Hakim

Imams of Fiqh: For other uses, see Al-Bukhari (name) Popularly known as just Bukhari, Al-Bukhari or Imam Bukhari (810-870), he was a famous Sunni Islamic scholar of Persian ancestry,[1] most known for authoring the hadith collection named Sahih Bukhari, a collection which Sunni regard as the most authentic (Arabic... Abul Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Qushayri al-Nisaburi (Arabic: أبو الحسين مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري) (lived 810-70), Muslim Author of the second most widely recognized collection of Hadith in Sunni Islam, Sahih Muslim, Muslims authentic (collection). He is largely known as simply Al-Muslim. ... Al-Nasāī (214 -- 303 AH), full name Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Nasāī, was a noted collector of hadith (sayings of Muhammad), and wrote one of the six canonical hadith collections recognized by Sunni Muslims, Sunan al... Bayhaqi (meaning from Bayhaq) may refer to Ahmad Bayhaqi, a Persian Islamic scholar Abolfazl Beyhaqi, a Persian historian Category: ... Al-Tirmidhi, full name Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Musa ibn al-Dahhak al-Sulami al-Tirmidhi (824-892, ie 209 AH - 13 Rajab 279 AH) was a medieval collector of hadith (sayings of Muhammad), who wrote the Jami at-Tirmidhi, one of the six canonical hadith compilations used... Ibn Maja, full name Abu `Abdallah Muhammad ibn Yazid Ibn Maja al-Rab`i al-Qazwini, was a medieval scholar of hadith (the sayings of Muhammad). ...

• Sheikh Khatib Shirbini
• Ibn Hajar Haytami
• Imam Al-Rafi'ie
• Imam An-Nawawi
• Al-Hafiz Izzuddin Abdus-Salam
• Imam Daqiequl-Eid

Imams of Tafser and Seerah:

• Imam Mawardi
• Imam Al-Baghawi
• Imam Fakhruddin Al-Razi
• Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir
• Sheikh Khatib Al-Baghdadi

Other Leading Scholars and Religious Experts:

• Imam Jalaluddin Al-Mahally
• Imam Taqiyuddin As-Subki
• Imam Tajuddin As-Subki
• Sheikhul Islam Zakariyya Al-Ansari
• Imam Ramli

The Imam

Main article: Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i Al-Shafii, Arabic jurist (150 AH/767 AD - 204 AH/820 AD). ...

His full name is Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Idris Ibn al-Abbaas Ibn 'Uthman Ibn Shaafi' Ibn al-Sa'ib Ibn 'Ubaid Ibn Abd al-Yazid Ibn al-Muttalib Ibn Abd Manaf. Abd Manaf was the great grandfather of Muhammad. Based on this lineage, he is from the Quraish Arab tribe.^[1] He was born in 150H, in Gaza in the same year Imam Abu Hanifa died. ^[2]. Muhammad in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish name Garza or the Egyptian town of Giza. ...

As a member of the school of Medina, ash-Shāfi‘ī worked to combine the pragmatism of the Medina school with the contemporary pressures of the Traditionalists. The Traditionalists maintained that jurists could not independently adduce a practice as the sunnah of Muhammad based on ijtihad, or independent reasoning, but should only produce verdicts substantiated by authentic hadith. This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ... This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Based on this claim, ash-Shāfi‘ī devised a method for systematic reasoning without relying on personal deduction. He argued that the only authoritative sunnah were those that were both of Muhammad and passed down from Muhammad himself. He also argued that sunnah contradicting the Quran were unacceptable, claiming that sunnah should only be used to explain the Quran. Furthermore, ash-Shāfi‘ī claimed that if a practice is widely accepted throughout the Muslim community, it cannot be in contradiction of sunnah.

Importance of the Shāfi‘ī School

The Shāfi‘ī school is followed throughout the Ummah and is the official Madhab of traditional scholars and leading authorities of Ahlus-Sunnah, but is most prevalent amongst Kurds in Kurdistan (in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran) and by other communities in Egypt, Somalia, Yemen, the Hejaz in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, State of Kerala in India, the district of Bhatkal in Karnataka in India, most of sunni muslims of konkan in Maharashtra in India , Mauritiana, Ethiopia, among Chechens in Kazakhstan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, most of Lebanon, Syria and is the official madhab followed by the government of Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. It is followed by approximately 28% of Muslims world-wide, being the second largest School in terms of followers. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ... For other uses, see Kurdistan (disambiguation). ... Map with the region outlined in red and the 1923 Kingdom in green “Hedjaz” redirects here. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... , Bhatkal is a port town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. ... , Karnātakā   (Kannada: ಕನಾ೯ಟಕ) (IPA: ) is one of the four southern states of India. ... It has been suggested that History of the Konkan be merged into this article or section. ... , Maharashtra (Marathi: महाराष्ट्र , IPA:  , translation: Great Nation) is Indias third largest state in area and second largest in population after Uttar Pradesh. ... The Sultanate of Brunei, more commonly referred to as Brunei Darussalam or simply Brunei, is an oil-rich country located on the island of Borneo, in southeast Asia. ...

The Shāfi‘ī tradition is accessible to English speakers from the translation of the Reliance of the Traveller. Umdat al-Salik wa Uddat al-Nasik (Reliance of the Traveller and Tools of the Worshipper) is a manual of Fiqh for Sunni Muslims, mostly comprised of the teachings of Imam al-Nawawi, a Shafii mujtahid. ...

Criticisms of Shafi'i's methodology from an Islamic point of view

Shafi'i essentially says that all moral action must precede from Quran and Sunnah, with little room for personal judgement even of the scholar of Islam who must follow analogical reasoning without much in the way of deduction and external (bidah) ideas and knowledge. This internalisation of Islam to debates of language in the Quran and Sunnah can be seen as a risk averse approach to moral life. That is given that one sees the Quran as coming from God then strict adherence to it is the least risky approach to getting into heaven since by following God's rules to the letter one can be assured of being rewarded.

Famous followers of this school

• Imam Abul-Hasan Ash'ari, the Imam of Sunni Dogma and Tenets.
• Imam Jalaluddin Al-Mahally, Sunni authority in Quranic Tafsir (exegesis)
• Imam Suyuti, Sunni authority in history, Quran, Fiqh, Tafsir, and Hadith.
• Imam Al-Bayhaqi, Sunni authority in Hadith; Shafiite authority in Fiqh
• Imam Ibn Majah, Sunni authority in Hadith
• Imam Al-Hakim, Sunni authority in Hadith
• Imam Abu Dawud Al-Tayalisi, Sunni authority in Hadith
• Imam Tirmizi, Sunni authority in Hadith.
• Imam Nasa'ie, Sunni authority in Hadith.
• Imam Daraqutni, Sunni authority in Hadith
• Imam Tabrani, Sunni authority in Hadith
• Imam Al-Mawardi, Sunni authority in Legal ordinances, history and Islamic governance.
• Imam Al-Dzahabi, Sunni authority in Hadith
• ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Sunni's foremost authority in Hadith, author of the authoritative commentary of Sahih Bukhari.
• Imam Al-Nawawi, Sunni's second highest authority in Hadith, Shafiite principal jurist; author of the Sahih Muslim commentary.
• Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, A renowned Sunni expert in Hadith methodology and jurisprudence
• Imam Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Sunni most respected exegete
• Imam Bukhari, Sunni's most prominent Hadith authority in verification
• Imam Muslim ibn Hajjaj, student of Imam Bukhari.
• Ibn Kathir, top-notch Sunni expert in Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh.
• Sheikhul Islam Zakariyya Al-Ansari, a notable Sunni expert in jurisprudence.
• [[Imam Daqiequl-Eid], Sunni specialist scholar in Fiqh and Theology
• Sultan Al-Ulama' Izzuddin Abdul-Salam, renowned Sunni authority in legal law.
• Zainuddin Makhdoom I and II, The Jurist and Historian (respectively) of Kerala
• Sheikh Safi al-Din Is'haq Ardabili
• Imam Al-Ghazali , Author of the Incoherence of The Philosophers.
• Ali Gomaa', Grand Mufti of Egypt

Imam Al-Baihaqi was born 384 AH in the small town of Khusraugird near Bayhaq in Khurasan [1]. During his lifetime, he became a famous hadith scholar. ... Ibn Maja, full name Abu `Abdallah Muhammad ibn Yazid Ibn Maja al-Rab`i al-Qazwini, was a medieval scholar of hadith (the sayings of Muhammad). ... Al-Tirmidhi, full name Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Musa ibn al-Dahhak al-Sulami al-Tirmidhi (824-892, ie 209 AH - 13 Rajab 279 AH) was a medieval collector of hadith (sayings of Muhammad), who wrote the Sunan al-Tirmidhi, one of the six canonical hadith compilations used... Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn `Ali ibn Thabit ibn Ahmad ibn Mahdi al-Shafi`i (392-463), A.K.A al-Khatib al-Baghdadi or the writer from Baghdad was a Shafii Sunni Muslim Islamic scholar. ... Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhari محمد بن اسماعيل بن ابراهيم بن المغيرة بن بردز&#1576... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Ibn Kathir (Arabic : بن كثير ) was an Islamic scholar born in Busra, Syria in 1301 CE. He was taught by the Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyya in Damascus, Syria. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... Sheikh Safi al-Dins tomb Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardebili (of Ardebil) (1252-1334), eponym of the Safavid dynasty, was the spiritual heir and son in law of the great Sufi Murshid (Grand Master) Sheikh Zahed Gilani, of Lahijan in Gilan Province in northern Iran. ... Abu Hāmed Mohammad ibn Mohammad al-GhazzālÄ« (1058-1111) (Persian: ), known as Algazel to the western medieval world, born and died in Tus, in the Khorasan province of Persia (modern day Iran). ... Sheikh Ali Gomaa (Arabic:علي جمعة) is the Grand Mufti of Egypt succeeding Ahmad El-Tayeb. ... The title of Grand Mufti (Arabic: ‎) refers to the highest official of religious law in a Sunni Muslim country. ...

References

• Rippin, Andrew (2005). Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. pp. 90-93. ISBN 0-415-34888-9.
• Calder, Norman, Jawid Mojaddedi, and Andrew Rippin (2003). Classical Islam: A Sourcebook of Religious Literature. London: Routledge. Section 7.1.
• Schacht, Joseph (1950). The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford: Oxford University. pp. 16.
• Khadduri, Majid (1987). Islamic Jurisprudence: Shafi'i's Risala. Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society. pp. 286.
• Imam Shafi And Al-Risala
• Abd Majid, Mahmood (2007). Tajdid Fiqh Al-Imam Al-Syafi'i. Seminar pemikiran Tajdid Imam As Shafie 2007.