Lesson 11- Books of Imām Shāfi’ī

written by Samira Shamsi | May 16, 2023

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

  20 Shawwal , 1444 AH  (Friday,  12 May , 2023)

Books of Imām Shāfi’ī

Imām Shāfi’ī was a prolific author and he dedicated the last few years of his life specifically to writing. ‘Allāmah Dhahabī writes:

وصنف التصانيف، ودون العلم، ورد على الأئمة متبعا الأثر، وصنف في أصول الفقه وفروعه (سير أعلام النبلاء – 10 / 7)

In Kashf aẓ-Ẓunūn, Ḥājī Khalīfah quotes from Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar that Imām Shāfi’ī wrote wrote more than 140 books: 

قال ابن حجر في (مناقبه) : وعدة ‌كتب ‌الإمام: مائة ونيف وأربعون كتابا. (كشف الظنون عن أسامي الكتب والفنون (2/ 1397)

Although he lived for such a short period, he contributed and wrote a lot of books. His books got a lot of acceptance. ‘Allāmah Khaṭīb quotes:

وكتبوا تآليفه كما تكتب المصاحف. (تاريخ بغداد – 2 / 399)

The full statement is as follows:

Imām Bayhaqī quotes:

The great scholar, Isḥāq ibn Rāhūyah (we will explain in Muqaddimah whether it is Rāhwayh or Rāhūya) married a widow simply because she had the books of Imām Shāfi’ī. Ibn Abī Ḥātim quotes:

أخبرنا أبو الحسن، أنا أبو محمد، أخبرنا أحمد بن سلمة بن عبد الله النيسابوري، قال: «تزوج إسحاق بن راهويه بمرو بامرأة رجل كان عنده كتب الشافعي وتوفي، لم يتزوج بها إلا لحال كتب الشافعي، فوضع جامعه الكبير على كتاب الشافعي، ووضع جامعه الصغير على جامع الثوري الصغير» (آداب الشافعي ومناقبه – ص: 48)

Many of the books of Imām Shāfi’ī were small treatises that were then included in Kitāb al-Umm. 

Brief Description of His Books

As a student of Takhaṣṣuṣ, you need to know which books of Imām Shāfiʿī were written in the field of Ḥadīth. You also need to know which books are simply attributed to Imām Shāfiʿī, although they are not actually his. Finally, you need to know where you may find narrations of Imām Shāfiʿī. Thus, it is essential to learn all the information provided below:

Books that are attributed could be put into one of four categories:

  1. Books that Imām Shāfiʿī authored and wrote himself
  2. Book that Imām Shāfiʿī dictated and someone else wrote
  3. Notes of others who gathered the knowledge from Imām Shāfiʿī
  4. Books wherein later scholars gathered information from the books of Imām Shāfi’ī or that are quoted from him via a chain of transmission. 

We will now discuss each separately:

1.Books that Imām Shāfi’ī authored and wrote himself

This means that Imām Shāfi’ī is the one who lifted the pen, wrote the words on the pages, and gathered all the leaves together. Examples of these types of books are:

    1. Ar-Risālah

There are two different books that are titled Ar-Risālah:

    1. Al-Qadīmah
    2. Al-Jadīdah

Al-Qadīmah

Imām Shāfiʿī would simply refer to this book as: Al-Kitāb. He did not give it a formal name. Scholars then referred to it with different names, for example:

    • ar-Risālah al-Qadīmah, 
    • or ar-Risālah al-‘Atīqah, 
    • or ar-Risālah al-Baghdādiyyah, 
    • or ‘Irāqiyyah. 

 The basis of this book is that ‘Abdur Raḥmān ibn Mahdī requested Imām Shāfiʿī to write a book. Abū Thawr relates:

كتب عبد الرحمن بن مهدي إلى الشافعي وهو شاب أن يضع له كتابا فيه معاني القرآن، ويجمع فنون الأخبار فيه، وحجة الإجماع، وبيان الناسخ والمنسوخ من القرآن والسنة. فوضع له كتاب الرسالة. قال: عبد الرحمن بن مهدي: ما أصلي صلاة إلا وأنا أدعو للشافعي فيها. (تاريخ بغداد – 2 / 404)

Mūsā, the son of ‘Abdur Raḥmān ibn Mahdī relates what prompted his father to write to Imām Shāfi’ī:

كان أبي احتجم بالبصرة ، فصلى ولم يحدث وضوءا، فعابوه بالبصرة وأنكروا عليه ، وكان سبب كتابه إلى الشافعي بذلك، (الانتقاء في فضائل الثلاثة الأئمة الفقهاء – ص: 123)

‘Alī ibn al-Mahdī encouraged Imām Shāfi’ī to fulfil this request. He said:

قلت لمحمد بن إدريس الشافعي: أجب عبد الرحمن بن مهدي عن كتابه فقد كتب إليك يسألك وهو متشوق إلى جوابك قال فأجابه الشافعي، وهو كتاب الرسالة التي كتبت عنه بالعراق وإنما هي رسالته إلى عبد الرحمن ابن مهدي (الانتقاء في فضائل الثلاثة الأئمة الفقهاء – ص: 123)

Once this book was written, Imām Aḥmad had lots of regard for it. Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhūyah relates:

«كتبت إلى أحمد بن حنبل، وسألته أن يوجه إلي من كتب الشافعي ما يدخل حاجتي، فوجه إلي بكتاب الرسالة».(آداب الشافعي ومناقبه- ص48)

This was the first initial Risālah that Imām Shāfi’ī wrote. It was a personal letter, and hence it was not meant to be circulated. Imām Shāfi’ī wrote it in Irāq. Two centuries later, ‘Allāmah Khaṭīb mentioned:

وكتاب الشافعي الذي يسمى القديم هو الذي عند البغداديين خاصة عنه. (تاريخ بغداد – 2 / 393)

Ar-Risālah al-Jadīdah

In 199 AH, Imām Shāfiʿī now edited and transformed that informal letter into a formal book, and he dictated it. The astonishing thing is that Imām Shāfiʿī wrote this entire book from memory:

وقد تبين لنا من استقراء كتب الشافعي الموجودة التي ألف بمصر أنه ألف هذه الكتب من حفظه، ولم تكن كتبه كلها معه. (مقدمة الرسالة – ص: 11)

Despite that, Imām Shāfi’ī gathered lots of useful points and important information in this book. ‘Allāmah Fakhr ar-Rāzī said:

اعلم أن الشافعي رضى الله عنه صنف كتاب الرسالة ببغداد، ولما رجع إلى مصر أعاد تصنيف كتاب الرسالة، وفي كل واحد منهما علم كثير (مناقب الشافعي – ص: 57)

(This proves he had access to the initial letter as well, that is how he was able to comment.)

Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir claimed that the preferred opinion is that Imām Shāfi’ī dictated the book to Rabīʿ. 

والراجح أنه أملى (كتاب الرسالة) على الربيع إملاء. (مقدمة الرسالة – ص: 12)

This gives Imām Shāfī the merit and honour of being the first person to write the principles of Aḥādīth. Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ Abu Ġuddah (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) says:

ويمكن أن يقال: أن الإمام الشافعي رضي الله عنه هو أول من دون بعض المباحث الحديثية في كتابه الرسالة …… (لمحات من تأريخ السنة وعلوم الحديث – ص: 206)

“You could probably say that Imām ash-Shāfi’ī (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) was the first to document a few principles in his book: ar-Risālah.” (Lamḥāt min Tārīkh as-Sunnah, page: 206)

This is the Ar-Risālah that is in circulation today. Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir mentioned:

وليس في أيدي الناس الان إلا الرسالة الجديدة، وهي هذا الكتاب. (مقدمة الرسالة – ص: 11)

In this book, Imām Shāfi’ī covers the following crucial and important points (and we will most probably refer to this book of his, in shā Allāh, when we reach the relevant sections):

  1. History of the Sunnah
  2. Refutation on those who reject Aḥādīth
  3. Conditions of an authentic narration
  4. Conditions for a reliable narrator
  5. Discussions on Mursal narrations
  6. Missing links in the chains of transmission
  7. The authority and status of a Khabr al-Wāḥid
  8. Ruling on attaining a supporting chain
  9. Various principles regarding transmission

Prints

Since ar-Risālah is such an important book, there are numerous prints. Eight prints of the book stand out, and it is worth it to get any of these prints:

  1. Al-Maṭba’ah al-Ilmiyyah (1312 AH)
  2. AL-Matba‘ah ash-Sharfiyyah (1314 AH). This is based on a manuscript that was transcribed from the copy of Rabī’.
  3. Al-Maṭba‘ah al-Amīriyyah. (1321 AH). This is together with Kitāb al-Umm.
  4. Dār al-Kitāb al-‘Arabī (1421 AH). They relied on Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir’s edition, but corrected some quotations, and added footnotes.
  5. Dār an-Nafāis (1429 AH). Also relied on the print of Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir, and simply added footnotes.
  6. The edition of Rif’ah Fawzī, which is in the beginning of his research of Kitāb al-Umm. He used two manuscripts.
  7. Dār ibn Jawzi (1439 AH). The editor of this is ‘Aliyy ibn Muḥammad. He used six manuscripts.

B) Jimā’ al-‘Ilm

In a later book of his, Imām Shāfi’ī referred to this book. He wrote:

He wrote this book after ar-Risālah. In this book, he refutes those who denied and rejected the Aḥādīth in its entirety and those who partially rejected some Aḥādīth and he elaborates on how a Khabr al-Wāḥid may be used as a proof. He speaks about the obligations and pillars of Dīn and then concluded with that which the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) prohibited. 

There are several prints of this book. Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir researched the book and it may be downloaded from the following link:

https://waqfeya.net/book.php?bid=7465

The Dār al-Āthār print is in 64 pages.

C) Ikhtilāf al-Hadīth

Imām Shāfi’ī was the first person to write on this topic of how to harmonize and reconcile between seemingly contradictory narrations. 

الكتاب: أول مصنف في هذا النوع، لكنه لم يستوعب، وموضوع أحاديثه الفقه العملي. (المكتبة الإسلامية – ص: 139)

He commences this book with an introduction in which he speaks about the status of a Ḥadīth. He then discusses the status of a Khabr al-Wāḥid. He refutes those who misinterpreted some Quranic verse. He then explains a few principles of harmonizing ostensibly contradictory reports.

He then brings 79 chapters. 

Despite being so short, this book is the first point of reference to combine, harmonize or understand Aḥādīth that apparently seem to be contradictory. It formed the basis for those who wrote after him.

The book has been printed separately and it also has been printed in the marginal notes of some prints of Kitāb al-Umm. It was printed by Muassassah al-Kutub ath-Thaqāfiyyah in 1405. It was also published by Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah with the Taḥqīq of Muḥammad Aḥmad ‘Abdul ‘Azīz.

2) Books that Imām Shāfi’ī dictated

This could be considered as transcriptions of his lectures. Since Imām Shāfiʿī was aware of the copies of his students and he also supervised and guided them, these books are also directly attributed to Imām Shāfiʿī. Imām Shāfiʿī had the objective that what he is dictating should be formally written, and hence he dictated in a way that the students could write down everything. The contents, information and knowledge in the book was provided by Imām Shāfi’ī, but his students penned it down and put it in the form of a book. In classical times, this was one of the methods authors used to write books. Thus, the person dictating would be considered as the author. For example,

A) Aḥkām al-Qurān

(This is different to what Imām Bayhaqī gathered that will be discussed later.)

Imām Shāfi’ī taught the rulings of the Qur‘ān and these were put into notes. Rabī’ quoted from Shāfiʿī: 

‌لما ‌أردت ‌إملاء تصنيف أحكام القرآن قرأت القرآن مائة مرة. (تاريخ دمشق لابن عساكر – 51 / 363)

Muḥammad ibn ‘Abdillāh ibn ‘Abdil Ḥakam said:

B) Kitāb al-Umm

This is one of the most famous books attributed to Imām Shāfi’ī. It is famously known that Imām Shāfi’ī is the author of Kitāb al-Umm, and everyone accepts him as the author. However, his students are the ones who actually gathered all the information from him and put it all in order. 

Imām Bayhaqī quotes with his chain:

The information is from Imām Shāfi’ī, but the person who actually gathered everything and arranged Kitāb al-Umm into a formal book is Yūsuf ibn Yaḥyā al-Buwayṭī (d. 231). Although this student of Imām Shāfi’ī put all the information into a formal book, he did not take any credit and neither did he even write his name in the book. Rather, he gave full credit to Imām Shāfi’ī, since all the knowledge, contents and information within the book is from Imām Shāfi’ī. Ḥājī Khalīfah wrote:

جمعه البويطي ولم يذكر اسمه. (كشف الظنون عن أسامي الكتب والفنون – 2 / 1397)

Likewise, Imām Shāfi’īs other main student, Imām Rabī ibn Sulaymān al-Murādī categorized all the information and information into chapters. Ḥājī Khalīfah wrote:

He too, did not put his name on the book, nor did he want any credit. Yet, some people got to know that the Imām Rabī’ did this, and they started to attribute the book to him:

وقد نسب إلى ربيع بن سليمان. (كشف الظنون عن أسامي الكتب والفنون – 2 / 1397)

However, most scholars and historians preferred to attribute the book to Imām Shāfi’ī since all the information, contents and knowledge in the book is his. Here is a random example showing how a great scholar and expert historian mentioned that Imām Shāfi’ī wrote al-Umm: ‘Allāmah Ibn Kathīr said:

Today, everyone will say: Kitāb al-Umm of Imām Shāfiʿī. 

The preferred view is that Kitāb al-Umm is from the Kutub al-Jadīdah of Imām Shāfiʿī, which in very simple terms means that everything has the potential of being Muftā bihī. ‘Allāmah Ibn Kathīr said:

Many small treatises of Imām Shāfi’ī were added to Kitāb al-Umm. Hence, you will find one author attributing a book to Imām Shāfiʿī, but that book is in Kitāb al-Umm.

There are many different prints of the book. The most famous is the Bawlāq print. The Dār Ibn Hazam/Dār al-Wafā print with the Taḥqīq of Rif’at Fawzī is probably the best print of the book.

Text of Risālah al-Mustaṭrifah

Ar-Risālah al-Mustaṭrifah is taught in the Takhaṣṣuṣ course. We will hence mention the relevant text that pertains to what we mentioned, so that you get all the information of this book at one place. Being part of the syllabus, it is highly recommended for you to please locate the statements that we quote and read them directly in the book, in shā Allāh.

Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ja’far ibn Idrīs al-Kaṭṭānī mentioned: 

‌‌ومنها: كتب مرتبة على الأبواب الفقهية……. 

…..وكتاب الأم للإمام ‌الشافعي رضي الله عنه من رواية الربيع بن سليمان المرادى عنه في سبع مجلدات. (الرسالة المستطرفة لبيان مشهور كتب السنة المشرفة – ص: 42)

C) As-Sunan

This is a book wherein the student of Imām Shāf’ī, ‘Allāmah Muzanī gathered narrations pertaining to Fiqh, placed them in chapters of Fiqh and formally put these narrations into a book form. 

Interestingly, the great Ḥanafī scholar, Imām Ṭaḥawī is the one who then narrated and transmitted this book from ‘Allāmah Muzanī. Thus, the narrations of this book commence with the words of Imām Ṭaḥāwī, mentioning that Muzanī narrated to him. 

Most of the narrations in this book are found in Ṣaḥīḥayn, and therefore, it makes sense for a Shāfi’ī to commence with memorizing this book of Ḥadīth.

There are two prints of this that are printed:

  • As-Sunan al-Mathūrah

It was printed in 1986 by Dār al-Ma’rifah with the research of ‘Abdul Mu’ṭī Qal’ajī. He printed it using four manuscripts. This book contains 684 narrations.

The book may be downloaded from the following link:

https://waqfeya.net/book.php?bid=2734

  • As-Sunan

This is printed with the title: As-Sunan. It was research by Khalīl Ibrāhīm Mullā Khāṭir and published by Dār al-Qiblah in 1989.

To illustrate how sure we can be that this is a book directly from Imām Shāfi’ī, the researcher writes:

كما أن هذا الكتاب من الكتب التي ألفها الشافعي رحمه الله تعالى ، خلافا لما فهمه بعض المعاصرين (ص: 8)

This print consists of 666 narrations. It may be downloaded from the following link:

https://waqfeya.net/book.php?bid=2735

Reminder: The whole reason why we discussed about Imām Shāfi’ī was so that you may know which books he wrote in Ḥadīth and how you can benefit from those books. Since this is a book that pertains to Ḥadīth and it is a direct book of Imām Shāfi’ī, it is essential for students of Takhaṣṣuṣ Fīl Ḥadīth to know about this book.

It is highly recommended that you download this book and browse through it, so that you may have a better acquaintance with the book. 

A point that you learn: Just as we quote the Aḥādīth of the Muwaṭṭa directly from Imām Mālik – despite it being related by his students, we may quote this Sunan directly from Imām Shāfi’ī. It is thus correct to say: ‘Imām Shāfi’ī narrated in his Sunan’.  

Text of ar-Risālah al-Mustaṭrifah

Again, to mention the relevant text of ar-Risālah al-Mustaṭrifah and present everything to you at one once place, ‘Allāmah Kattānī says:

‌‌ومنها: كتب تعرف بالسنن. وهي في اصطلاحهم الكتب المرتبة على الأبواب الفقهية من الإيمان والطهارة والصلاة والزكاة إلى آخرها وليس فيها شيء من الموقوف لأن الموقوف لايسمى في اصطلاحهم سنة ويسمى حديثا. ومن كتب السنن زيادة على ما تقدم من السنن الأربعة المشهورة: سنن الإمام ‌الشافعي رواية أبي إبراهيم إسماعيل بن يحيى المزني ثم رواية أبي جعفر أحمد بن محمد بن سلامة الأزدي الطحاوي في مجلد. (الرسالة المستطرفة لبيان مشهور كتب السنة المشرفة – ص: 32)

3) Notes of others who gathered the knowledge from Imām Shāfi’ī

This is where all the information provided by Imām Shāfi’ī is gathered but Imām Shāfi’ī did not supervise and he was probably also unaware of the book. 

Similarly, although all the contents are from Imām Shāfiʿī, since Imām Shāfiʿī did not read the book, the book cannot be attributed to Imām Shāfiʿī. The students will be considered as the authors. 

The great benefit of these books is that it preserved the knowledge of Imām Shāfiʿī, placed relevant information at one place, and made the knowledge of Imām Shāfiʿī accessible. These books are an avenue and source for us to obtain the knowledge of Imām Shāfi’ī. 

Examples of these are:

A) Mukhtaṣar al-Buwayṭī

This is a Mukhtaṣar of Kitāb al-Umm. It has been printed by Ayman Nāsīr, and it could be downloaded from the following link:

https://archive.org/details/buwaiti

It has also been printed by ‘Alī Muḥyiddīn al-Qarra Dāghī, and this is published by Dār al-Minhāj.

B)Mukhtaṣar al-Muzanī

This has been added at the end of the Dār al-Fikr print of Kitāb al-Umm. The author, Ismā’īl ibn Yaḥyā al-Muzanī says:

It has also been published separately by Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, with the Taḥqīq Muḥammad ‘Abdul Qādir Shāhīn and it can be downloaded on the following link:

https://waqfeya.net/book.php?bid=1183

4) Books where later day scholars gathered information that are contained in the books of Imām Shāfi’ī or quoted from him via a chain of transmission 

In this case again, all the information is from Imām Shāfiʿī. However, it is scholars who came later who researched what is transmitted from Imām Shāfiʿī, whether through a chain, or in other books, or directly in the books of the above three categories, and they then compiled it.

Of course, the great benefit of these book is that they also made available and accessible the knowledge of Imām Shāfi’ī.

A)Aḥkām al-Qur’ān of Imām Bayhaqī

This is different to the Aḥkām al-Qur’ān that Imām Shāfi’ī dictated. We know this, because we find that in his other books, Imām Bayhaqī quotes and attributed statements to the Aḥkām al-Qurān that Imām Shāfi’ī dictated, and none of these statements are in the Aḥkām al-Qurān that Imām Bayhaqī wrote. Examples of these are:

  • Al-Madkhal Ilā Kitāb as-Sunan (statements 841, 999 and 1007)
  • As-Sunan al-Kabīr (statements 1530 and 13801)
  • Risālah ilal Juwaynī (page 89)

As for this Aḥkām al-Qurān that Imām Bayhaqī wrote, he gathered the statements, verdicts, interpretations, explanations, comments and words of Imām Shāfi’ī from his different books. He explains:

There are different prints of this book. The Dār Iḥyā at-Turāth print is with the research of ‘Abdul Ghanī ‘Abdul Khāliq whilst the Dhakhāir print is by Abū ‘Āṣim Shawwāmī.

B) Musnad ash-Shāfi’ī

Some scholars attributed it to Abū ‘Amr ibn Maṭr (265 AH – 360 AH). It could be that Abū ‘Amr ibn Maṭr assisted Abūl ‘Abbās al-Aṣam with the book. ‘Allāmah Dhahabī said:

وقع لنا جملة من طريق ‌الأصم. من ذلك مسند الشافعي في مجلد. وهذا المسند لم يفرده الشافعي رحمه الله، بل خرجه أبو جعفر محمد بن جعفر ‌بن ‌مطر لأبي العباس ‌الأصم مما كان يروي عن الربيع، عن الشافعي، من كتاب الأم، وغيره. (تاريخ الإسلام – 7 / 844)

Irrespective whether it was Abū ‘Amr ibn Maṭr or Abūl ‘Abbās, Muḥammad ibn Ya’qūb al-Aṣam who gathered the book, the point for us to note is that Imām Shāfi’ī is NOT the author of this book.

Under the entry of Abūl ‘Abbās al-Aṣam, ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ wrote:

‘Allāmah Dhahabī said:

However, all the Aḥādīth are from Imām Shāfi’ī.

The author went through the books of Imām Shāfi’ī, searched for the Aḥādīth, and gathered all the Aḥādīth that Imām Shāfi’ī quotes that are scattered in his other book. ‘Allāmah Ibn al-Athīr mentioned the sources from where the author got all the narrations for this book:

This book contains 1675 pages. The narrations in these pages are the basis of Aḥkām. ‘Allāmah Ibn al-Athīr said:

Although the book is huge, one point to note is that many of the Aḥādīth are repeated.  

As for the greatness of this book, ‘Allāmah Ibn al-Atḥīr described this book saying:

Even though scholars knew well that the author of this book is not Imām Shāfi’ī, but since the book gathered the narrations of Imām Shāfi’ī, they all had great regard for the book, and treated it as if it is Imām Shāfi’īs. Allāmah Ibn al-Athīr wrote:

Ibn Ḥajar had so much consideration for this book that he added to book: Itḥāf al-Maharah. 

Likewise, this book was so accepted that Muḥaddithīn would travel to read it to teachers and until today, it is quoted with Muttaṣil chains right up until the author.

The point is that even thought it was not written by Imām Shāfiʿī, scholars had so much consideration for it.

Despite that, this book does not contain all the narrations that Imām Shāfi’ī narrated.

This book has been published with the research of Māhir Yāsīn al-Faḥl.

Text of Risālah al-Mustaṭrifah

‘Allāmah Kattānī writes:

C)Ma’rifah as-Sunan wal Āthār

This book contains many more narrations of Imām Shāfi’ī. Taking the idea from Abūl ‘Abbās al-Aṣam, Imām al-Bayhaqī thoroughly went through each and every book of Imām Shāfi’ī and he gathered all the Aḥādīth that Imām Shāfi’ī quoted with his chain. 

D) Muwaṭṭa Imām Shāfi’ī

Imām Shāfi’ī definitely transmitted the Muwaṭṭa. Imām Aḥmad heard the entire Muwaṭṭā from Imām Shāfi’ī. ‘Allāmah Khalīlī quotes that Imām Aḥmad said:

كنت سمعت الموطأ ‌من ‌بضعة ‌عشر ‌نفسا ‌من حفاظ أصحاب مالك ، فأعدته على الشافعي؛ لأني وجدته أقومهم به. (الإرشاد في معرفة علماء الحديث للخليلي – 1 / 231)

Likewise, Abū Manṣūr at-Tamīmī praised the chains where Imām Shāfi’ī narrates from Imām Mālik:

Unfortunately, we do not have any book with the recension of Imām Shāfi’ī of the Muwaṭṭa. Thus, some scholars searched through the books of Imām Shāfi’ī, looked for the narrations where he transmits from Imām Mālik, compared those with the chains and narrations of the other recensions of the Muwaṭṭa, gathered all those narrations and put them in the chapters according to others who transmitted the Muwaṭṭa. In this manner, they made up the Muwaṭṭa for Imām Shāf’ī. As such, we cannot consider Imām Shāfi’ī as the author, but the narrations are from Imām Shāfi’ī. The prints that we have of Muwaṭṭa of Imām Shāfi’ī falls under this category. 

The following scholars two scholars made up a Muwaṭṭa for Imām Shāfi’ī in this manner:

  • Muḥammad Luṭfī ibn Muḥammad al-Banjarī

This was his research that he had to present to qualify from Takhaṣṣus Fīl Ḥadīth in Karachi. He gathered 709 narrations from 12 sources, arranged them in chapters of Fiqh, and compared them to the way they are in the recension of Yaḥyā al-Laythī. He also made Takhrīj of the narrations to show if any of the authors of Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah.

Since he gathered the narrations according to the books of Fiqh, the sequence does not conform with the other recensions of the Muwaṭṭa.

This was printed in 2017 by Dār al-Ulūm Karachi. 

  • The researcher, Shaykh Muḥammad Bassān Ḥijāzī gathered over 851 narrations that he found in the various books of Imām Shāfi’ī where Imām Shāfi’ī narrates from Imām Mālik. He then placed all these narrations in the same sequence as the other Muwaṭṭas and he included many other beneficial points from the books of Imām Shāfi’ī. After quoting how Imām Aḥmad studied under Imām Shāfi’ī the Muwaṭṭa, the author writes:

This was printed by Dār al-Lubāb in 2021.

E) Ḥadīth al-Imām Mālik Bi Riwāyah al-Imām ash-Shāfi’ī

This is similar to the above book that the scholars called ‘Muwaṭṭa’. The author, Rif’at Fawzī only gathered Aḥādīth of Aḥkām from a few limited books, like Kitāb al-Umm, ar-Risālah, Ikhtilāf al-Ḥadīth, the Musnad and as-Sunan al-Ma’thūrah. The number of narrations in this book total to 864 narration. Whilst the number of narrations are limited in that way, he did not restrict himself to the Aḥādīth of the Muwaṭṭa. Rather, he added narrations that Imām Shāfiʿī quoted from Imām Mālik that are not in any of the recensions of the Muwaṭṭa. 

He put all these narrations in the sequence of a book of Fiqh.

There are many narrations that are repeated in this book. At times, he added narrations that are not via Imām Shāfi’ī from Imām Mālik.

This book has been printed by Dār al-Muqtabas.

Books That Are Makhṭūṭ

There are some books of Imām Shāfi’ī that are in manuscript form. For example:

1. Kitāb Fī ‘Ilm al-Qiyāfah. It is preserved in the Maktabah al-Awqāf of ‘Irāq

In Kashf aḍ-Ḍunūn, Ḥajī al-Khalīfah wrote:

‌‌‌التنقيح، ‌في ‌علم ‌القيافة رسالة. للإمام الشافعي. (كشف الظنون عن أسامي الكتب والفنون – 1 / 500)

2.Masāil Sa’alahā al-Khalīfah Ḥārūn ar-Rashīd

This is preserved in Ma’had al-Makṭūṭāṭ al-‘Arabiyyah in Cairo.

3. Al-Gharām Bi Adilla al-Aḥkām

This is in Maktabah Sulaymaniyyah in Istanbul.

Books That Are Mafqūd

books that earlier scholars have referred to, yet it is not known whether there are any copies of them in the world. Examples of these include:

  1. Ar-Risālah al-Qadīmah
  2. Kitāb as-Sunan bi Riwāyah al-Ḥarmalah
  3. Ta’ḍīm Qadr aṣ-Ṣalāh

May Allāh Taʿālā have mercy on them all.

سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك ، أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت ، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك