علوم الحدیث کی تشکیل میں امام شافعی کا منہج اور اسلامی تراث پر اس کے اثرات: تحقیقی مطالعہ

A Study of the Method of Imam Shafi'i in the Formation of Hadith Sciences and Its Impacts on Islamic Literature

Abstract

Islam being the last divine religion by Allah, the Exalted, has been gifted such exceptional scholars who, in different periods, interpreted its teachings to make them address the challenges of the time. The personality of Imam Al-Shāfi‘ī is also one of those giants who served Islam in different capacities. He is famous for being an Imam in Islamic Jurisprudence and founder of the Shāfi‘ī school of thought but he had great expertise in the field of Hadith too. He learnt Hadith from famous Hadith masters of the time, Imam Malik b. Anas, Sufyan ibn Uyaynah and Muhammad al-Shaybani. The period in which he opened his eyes was a period of development of Hadith sciences. The paper discusses the valuable efforts of Imam Al-Shāfi‘ī not only in countering the narrative of Hadith deniers but also in the role he has played in the field of Hadith sciences. Al-Shāfi‘ī emphasised the final authority of Hadith so that even the Qur'an was to be interpreted in the light of Hadith. While traditionally the Quran is considered above the Sunnah in authority, Al-Shafi'i forcefully argued that technically, the Sunnah stands on equal footing with the Holy Quran. He left behind a rich legacy of knowledge that has influenced many Muslim generations to come. The famous book, Musnad al-Imam Al-Shāfi‘ī witnesses the efforts rendered by Imam Shafi'i in the Hadith field. In this book, he has discussed extensively the different types of Hadith and has also canonized Hadith terminology.  He was extensively skilled in the fields of Asma-al-Rijal and Jah wa Ta’dil. His books Kitab al-Umm and al-Risalah are quite famous, in Hadith sciences other than jurisprudence.