Shāfiʿī Madhab

The Shāfiʿī Madhhab is one of the four main Sunni schools of Islamic law. Founded by Imām Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī in the early 9th century, it is known for systematically defining the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (uṣūl al-fiqh) and balancing textual evidence with reasoned analogy. Today, it is followed in East Africa, Southeast Asia, parts of the Middle East, and among Muslim minorities worldwide.

The four major Sunni madhhabs Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanbalī share the same core beliefs and sources of Islam, but differ in how they interpret certain rulings. These differences come from variations in methodology, how they weigh evidence, and the contexts of the scholars who founded them.
The basic differences can be studied  here

What is it?

The Shāfiʿī Madhhab is the third-oldest Sunni school of Islamic jurisprudence. It is distinctive for establishing a clear framework for deriving rulings from the Qur’an and Sunnah, prioritizing authentic textual evidence while also recognizing consensus (ijmāʿ) and analogical reasoning (qiyās). Al-Shāfiʿī’s methodology aimed to unify the approaches of earlier jurists and to standardize legal interpretation.

Origin

The school began in the early 9th century, shaped by al-Shāfiʿī’s travels and studies in multiple scholarly centers, including Makkah, Madinah, Yemen, Iraq, and Egypt. His exposure to both the rationalist approach of the Ḥanafīs and the tradition-based approach of the Mālikīs allowed him to synthesize a balanced methodology.

Founder

Imām Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī was born in 767 CE in Gaza and raised in Makkah. A Qur’an memorizer by age seven and a master of Imām Mālik’s al-Muwaṭṭaʾ by age ten, he studied with prominent scholars across the Muslim world. He authored al-Risālah, the foundational text on uṣūl al-fiqh, and al-Umm, a major legal reference for the school. Known for his eloquence, deep piety, and intellectual precision, he refused to compromise religious integrity under political pressure.

Education and Teachers

• Muslim ibn Khālid al-Zanjī — Mufti of Makkah, early mentor

• Imām Mālik ibn Anas — Studied al-Muwaṭṭaʾ directly under him in Madinah

• Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī — Prominent Ḥanafī jurist and student of Abū Ḥanīfa

Combined training in hadith preservation and legal reasoning.

Methodology

• Qur’an — Primary source

• Sunnah — Authentic hadith, given priority over analogy

• Consensus (Ijmāʿ) — Binding agreement of qualified scholars

• Qiyās — Used where no explicit text exists

• Istidlāl — Inference from general principles

• Rejects istiḥsān (juristic preference) unless supported by text

Spread and Influence

Gained prominence in Egypt during al-Shāfiʿī’s later years. Spread through students and scholars to:

• East Africa — Somalia, coastal Kenya, Tanzania

• Southeast Asia — Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Southern Thailand

• Middle East — Yemen, parts of Syria, Iraq, Palestine

• Islands — Maldives

Notable Students

• Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal — Founder of the Ḥanbalī school

• al-Muzanī — Key transmitter of al-Shāfiʿī’s works

• al-Buwayṭī — Prominent Egyptian Shāfiʿī jurist

Legacy

The Shāfiʿī Madhhab is respected for its methodological clarity and global reach, particularly in Southeast Asia. Its reliance on hadith authenticity has made it influential in hadith studies as well as jurisprudence. Works like al-Risālah continue to be studied worldwide in legal theory courses.

Recommended Books for Study

References

Primary Sources:

• Imām al-Shāfiʿī — al-Umm, al-Risālah

• al-Nawawī — al-Majmūʿ, Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn

Secondary Sources:

• Abu Zahra, Muḥammad — al-Shāfiʿī: Ḥayātuhu wa ʿAṣruhu, Ārāʾuhu wa Fiqhuhu

• Hallaq, Wael B. — A History of Islamic Legal Theories

• Nadwi, Muhammad Akram — Al-Shafi‘i: His Life, Legal Method, and Legacy