Page 67 - The Importance of the Ahl Al-Sunnah

ADNAN OKTAR

ly attached himself to Imam Malik. From this point on, after
this ground in Islamic learning, he devoted himself to the study
of fiqh.
At the age of 34 he was unjustly accused of spreading Shiite
propaganda by the governor of Yemen and imprisoned. Nine
people affiliated to al-Shafi‘i were killed – the man himself was
only spared after last-gasp interventions of a number of pow-
erful supporters.
After two years studying and researching in Makkah he
returned to Baghdad. By this time al-Shafi‘i’s fame had begun
spreading throughout the Islamic world. He began looking for
a more comfortable environment and chose Egypt as his
adopted home.
The governor and people of Egypt welcomed al-Shafi‘i’s
arrival. He was protected by the governor until the end of his
lifetime and a share set aside for the line of the Prophet (saas)
was given to him.
Imam al-Shafi‘i spent his life on the path of Islam, left many
works for the subsequent generations and was responsible for
training a great number of students as a legacy. In addition, he
struggled relentlessly against such heretical sects as the
Mu’tazila and other deviant organizations. He passed away in
204 AH in Egypt.
He left behind himself such invaluable works as the Ahqam al-
Qur’an, As-Sunan, Kitab al-Umm and Musnad ash-Shafi‘i. Many
Muslims in Iraq, Eastern Anatolia, India, Palestine, the Hijaz,
the Philippines, Yemen, Egypt and Syria act according to the
Shafi‘i school and his influence and contribution to Islamic
learning and understanding is still felt in the Muslim world
today.
Imam al-Shafi‘i describes the essence of the school he estab-
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