A Brief Portrait of Imaam Shaafi’s Life

Imaam Shaafi’ (Rahmatullahi alaih) was born in Gazza (Gaza) which is a town (and now a city) in Filasteen or Palestine. He was born in the year 150 Hijri which corresponds to the English year 767 AD. 150 Hijri was also the year in which Imaam Abu Haneefah (Rahmatullahi alaih) passed away. At the age of two his mother brought him to his deceased father’s family in Makkah Mukarramah. Here he started his study of Ilm.

At the age of seventeen he went to the Huthail and other Arab tribes for the purpose of inculcating perfection in his Arabic. In the year 170 Hijri he came to Madina to benefit from the Ilm and company of Imaam Maalik (Rahmatullahi alaih).

Around 180 Hijri he journeyed to Yemen. Thereafter he made his way to Iraq and acquired knowledge from the august student of Imaam Abu Haneefah, Imaam Muhammad Bin Al-Hasan Ash-Shaibaani (Rahimahullahu Ta’ala).

From there he went to Misr (Egypt) where the people readily accepted the knowledge and Fiqh of Imam Shaafi’ (Rahmatullahi alaih). In the year 195 Hijri he returned to Baghdad and for quite some time he remained there.

In 198H he returned to Misr. The following year he travelled to his hometown of Makkah Mukarramah and then in 199H he returned to Misr and settled there until he passed away in Misr in the year 204H (820 AD).