Imam Shafi (767 - 820) was an Islamic scholar who is considered the founder of the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence (fiqh). His full name was: Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-`Abbas, al-Imam al-Shafi`i, Abu `Abd Allah al-Shafi`i al-Hijazi al-Qurashi al-Hashimi al-Muttalibi

He was born in Syria to family belonging to the noble Quraish tribe. His father died when he was young, and he was raised in Mecca by his mother where he learned Arabic language and poetry from the bedouins. When he got older, he moved to Medina and studied under Imam Jafar Sadiq. Under Imam Jafar he took to memorizing the Qur'an.

His status as a student of Imam Jafar gave him a good reputation when he moved to Egypt. From Egypt he moved to Baghdad, which was a center of learning at the time, and many came to him to seek knowledge. In Baghdad the Shafi'i school was established by his students who made rulings based on the teachings of Shafi.

Before dying, Imam Shafi was taken prisoner due to political problems by Harun Rashid. However, he was found innocent of the charges against him. He would die in Egypt in 820, he is buried there as well.

External links

• Imam Shafi Biography
• Imam Shafiee (RA)