In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.
This is a detailed and comprehensive summary of the first session of the explanation of Imam al-Shafi’i’s book al-Risala, focusing on the important points and clarifications.
The introduction of the book:
- Al-Rabi’ ibn Sulayman (al-Shafi’i’s student) begins transmitting the opening of al-Risala from al-Shafi’i with “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.”
- The lineage of Imam al-Shafi’i: Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Uthman ibn Shafi’ ibn al-Sa’ib ibn ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Abd Yazid ibn Hashim ibn al-Muttalib ibn ‘Abd Manaf al-Muttalibi, a cousin of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
- The book opens with praise of Allah, explaining that gratitude for His blessings can only be fulfilled through a further blessing from Him, and that blessings are continuous, so that thanking Him for a past blessing heralds a present and future blessing.
- Emphasis that the Qur’an is the key with which every science is opened.
- Describing Allah the Exalted with attributes of perfection and majesty, and praising Him as befits the nobility of His Face and the might of His majesty.
- Seeking forgiveness for sins, and bearing witness to Allah’s oneness and to His Prophet’s messengership.
The kinds of disbelievers before the mission of the Prophet ﷺ:
Imam al-Shafi’i mentioned two kinds of disbelievers before the mission of the Prophet ﷺ:
- The People of the Book who altered the Book of Allah: they altered the rulings of Allah, lied about Allah, mixed truth with falsehood, and followed an altered law, as did those who combined approaches from the Qur’an, the Gospel, and the Talmud and added to them from their own whims, thereby confusing people about their religion. He cited verses of the Noble Qur’an that show the People of the Book’s distortion of their scriptures, such as the verse: “And indeed, there is among them a party who alter the Scripture with their tongues so you may think it is from the Scripture, but it is not from the Scripture. And they say, ‘This is from Allah,’ but it is not from Allah. And they speak untruth about Allah while they know” (Al ‘Imran 3:78); the verse: “The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah’; and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before [them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?” (At-Tawbah 9:30); and the verse: “Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture, who believe in jibt [superstition] and taghut [false objects of worship] and say about the disbelievers, ‘These are better guided than the believers as to the way’?” (An-Nisa 4:51). He mentioned the story of a group of Jews who went to Makkah to stir up the enmity of the polytheists against the Prophet ﷺ, and who testified that the religion of the polytheists was more beloved to Allah than the religion of Islam. He strongly warned against taking as allies those who are not believers and not righteous, and explained that faith is in proportion to one’s loyalty to Allah, His Messenger, His religion, and the believers.
- The Arabs who worshipped idols by istihsan (deeming things good): they cast aside the names of Allah, invented names that they called gods, and worshipped whatever they deemed good, whether stone, animal, star, fire, or other things. Imam al-Shafi’i censured istihsan, and explained that it is a kind of opinion and of legislating on the basis of making things easy for people without a legal text. He mentioned that among the causes of polytheism in past nations was istihsan, whether among the Arabs or the non-Arabs. He mentioned some of the names of the idols the Arabs used to worship, such as Wadd, Suwa’, Yaghuth, Ya’uq, and Nasr, and explained that idol worship originated in the veneration of images.
The mention of the Prophet ﷺ in the Qur’an:
- He cited the verse: “And raised high for you your repute” (Ash-Sharh 94:4), and explained that Allah the Exalted joined the name of His Prophet with His own name in this world (as in the testimony of faith and the call to prayer) and in the Hereafter (as in intercession).
- He cited the hadith of Adam seeking intercession through the Prophet ﷺ, explaining that its chain is weak, and that it was the practice of the early scholars that once they cited a hadith with its chain, they had discharged their responsibility for it and placed the burden on others.
- He explained that the Prophet ﷺ is mentioned in the first life (this world) in the testimony of truth, the call to prayer, and elsewhere, and in the last life (the Hereafter) through intercession.
- He described the Prophet ﷺ as the best of creation and the best of all who have walked the earth, that he is the servant of Allah and His Messenger, and that Allah the Exalted singled him out with His special and general blessings, in religion and in worldly life.
- He explained the verse: “There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you [i.e., your guidance] and to the believers is kind and merciful” (At-Tawbah 9:128); the verse: “that you may warn the Mother of Cities [i.e., Makkah] and those around it” (Al-An’am 6:92); the verse: “And warn, [O Muhammad], your closest kindred” (Ash-Shu’ara 26:214); and the verse: “And indeed, it is a remembrance for you and your people” (Az-Zukhruf 43:44). He explained the importance of calling those nearest first and then the next nearest, and mentioned the effort of the Prophet ﷺ in calling to Islam in Makkah and al-Ta’if, and in presenting himself to the tribes during the seasons of pilgrimage.
- He mentioned a chain of transmission from Mujahid concerning the verse “And indeed, it is a remembrance for you and your people” (Az-Zukhruf 43:44), explaining that this chain is relied upon by al-Bukhari and al-Shafi’i.
- He explained that, in the reading of Ibn Kathir and Mujahid, “al-Quran” (read with a damma on the qaf) is regarded as a proper name, like the Gospel and the Torah.
The virtue of sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ:
- He urged sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, and mentioned various formulas for doing so, such as: “May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet,” “May Allah send blessings upon him whenever those who remember mention him and whenever the heedless neglect to mention him,” and “May He send blessings upon him among the first and the last, the best, most abundant, and purest of what He has sent upon any of His creation.”
- He explained that the phrase “and may He purify us and you” indicates that the book was a letter (risala) to ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi or to his students.
The qualities of the Prophet ﷺ:
- He described the Prophet ﷺ as the one through whom Allah rescued us from destruction and placed us in the best nation brought forth for mankind, and that we are humbled and made servants through his religion which Allah has approved.
- He mentioned the weak hadith: “The wise person is the one who subjugates his soul and works for what comes after death.”
- He described the Prophet ﷺ as the one who drives people away from destruction and from the watering places of evil, who alerts them to the means that lead to salvation, and who speaks with sincere counsel in guiding and warning.
- He concluded with sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ and upon his family, just as Allah sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim.
Explanation of vocabulary:
- He explained the meaning of “the watering places of evil” (mawarid al-su’), noting that mawrid originally means coming down to water, and then came to be applied to any approach.
- He explained the meaning of “dana nafsahu” as subduing his soul.
Important notes:
- He explained that the numbering of the passages in al-Risala was done by Shaykh Ahmad Shakir to facilitate the verification of the text.
- He pointed out that Imam al-Shafi’i reminds the reader of Allah the Exalted and connects the discussion to creed, supplication, and moral refinement, so that the study of usul al-fiqh does not become a dry subject.
- He clarified that language is taken from al-Shafi’i, not merely transmitted through him, because he is himself an authority in the language.
- He stressed the importance of striving in calling those nearest first and then the next nearest.
- He explained that what is meant by faith in some places is the obligation of the moment, that is, what the disbeliever must do in order to become…
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Risala by Shaykh Dr. Ahmad al-Naqeeb