The other three schools of Sunnī jurisprudence areḤanafī,Mālikī andḤanbalī.[1][2] Like the other schools of fiqh, Shafiʽi recognize theFirst Four Caliphs as the Islamic prophetMuhammad's rightful successors and relies on theQurʾān and the "sound" books ofḤadīths as primary sources of law.[4][6] The Shafi'i school affirms the authority of both divine law-giving (the Qurʾān and theSunnah) and human speculation regarding the Law.[7] Where passages of Qurʾān and/or the Ḥadīths are ambiguous, the school seeks guidance ofQiyās (analogical reasoning).[7][8] TheIjmā' (consensus of scholars or of the community) was "accepted but not stressed".[7] The school rejected the dependence on local traditions as the source of legal precedent and rebuffed theAhl al-Ra'y (personal opinion) and theIstiḥsān (juristic discretion).[7][9]
The fundamental principle of the Shafiʽi 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 theShari'a".[9] This statute is either presented as such in theQurʾān or theSunnah or it is possible, by means of analogical reasoning (Qiyas), to infer it from the Qurʾān or the Sunnah.[9]
Al-Shafiʽi was the first jurist to insist that Ḥadīth were the decisive source of law (over traditional doctrines of earlier thoughts).[16] In order of priority, the sources ofjurisprudence according to the Shafiʽi thought, are:[4][17]
Sunnah — defined byAl-Shāfiʿī as "the sayings, the acts, and the tacit acquiescence ofProphet Muhammad as related in solidly established traditions".[9][17]
The school rejected dependence on local community practice as the source of legal precedent.[7][18][9]
Qiyas with Legal Proof or DalilShari'a — "Analogical reasoning as applied to the deduction of juridical principles from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah."[4][17]
Analogy by Cause (Qiyas al-Ma'na/Qiyas al-Illa)[9]
Ijmā' — consensus of scholars or of the community ("accepted but not stressed").[7]
The concept ofIstishab was first introduced by the later Shafiʽi scholars.[10] Al-Shafiʽi also postulated that "penal sanctions lapse in cases where repentance precedes punishment".[16]
The groundwork legal text for the Shafiʽi law isal-Shafiʽi'sal-Risala ("the Message"), composed inEgypt. It outlines the principles of Shafiʽi legal thought as well as the derived jurisprudence.[19] A first version of theRisālah,al-Risalah al-Qadima, produced by al-Shafiʽi during his stay inBaghdad, is currently lost.[9]
Shia jurists, based on the narrations ofFourteen 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.
Shafiʽi school argued that various existing local traditions may not reflect the practice ofMuhammad (a critique to theMālikī thought).[9] The local traditions, according to theShāfiʿī understanding, thus cannot be treated as sources of law.[20]
The Shafiʽi school rebuffed theAhl al-Ra'y (personal opinion) and theIstiḥsān (juristic discretion).[9] It insisted that the rules of the jurists could no longer be invoked in legal issues without additional authentications.[20][21][22] 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[20]).[23][20]
The Shafiʽi thinking believes that the methods may help to "substitute man for God and Prophet Muhammad, the only legitimate legislators"[9] and "true knowledge and correct interpretation of religious obligations would suffer from arbitrary judgments infused with error".[24][25][26][27]
The Shafiʽi thoughts were initially spread by Al-Shafiʽi students inCairo andBaghdad. By the 10th century, the holy cities ofMecca andMedina andSyria also became chief centres of Shafiʽi ideas.[10]
The school later exclusively held the judgeships inSyria,Kirman,Bukhara and theKhorasan. It also flourished in northern Mesopotamia and inDaylam.[10] TheGhurids also endorsed the Shafiʽis in the 11th and 12th centuries AD.[10]
UnderSalah al-Din, the Shafiʽi school again became the paramount thought in Egypt (the region had come underShi'a influence prior to this period).[10] It was the "official school" of theAyyubid dynasty and remained prominent during Mamlūk period also.[16]Baybars, the Mamlūk sultan, later appointed judges from all four madhabs in Egypt.[10]
The Shafiʽi school is one of the largest school of Sunni madhhabs by number of adherents.[2][13] The demographic data by each fiqh, for each nation, is unavailable and the relative demographic size are estimates.
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."[14]
Ridgeon, Lloyd (2003).Major World Religions: From Their Origins to the Present. Routledge.ISBN978-0415297967.
Dutton, Yasin.The Origins of Islamic Law: The Qurʼan, the Muwaṭṭaʼ and Madinan ʻAmal.
Haddad, Gibril F. (2007).The Four Imams and Their Schools. Muslim Academic Trust, London.
Pouwels, Randall L. (2002).Horn and Crescent: Cultural Change and Traditional Islam. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0521523097.
Christelow, Allan (2000). Levtzion, Nehemia; Pouwels, Randall (eds.)."Islamic Law in Africa," inThe History of Islam in Africa. Ohio University Press.ISBN978-0821412978.
Abd Majid, Mahmood (2007).Tajdid Fiqh Al-Imam Al-Syafi'i. Seminar pemikiran Tajdid Imam As Shafie 2007.
al-Shafiʽi, Muhammad b. Idris, "The Book of the Amalgamation of Knowledge" translated by A.Y. Musa inHadith as Scripture: Discussions on The Authority Of Prophetic Traditions in Islam, New York: Palgrave, 2008.
