Imam Shafi‘i

Kecia Ali has performed a great service for Islamic studies by harmonizingearly sources with the most compelling recent scholarship to produce a biographyof Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi‘i (d. 204/820), one of Islam’s mostimportant figures. His life is presented in a tightly organized and lucid way,accessible to non-specialists or undergraduates, useful for graduate students,and a fine source of reference for scholars.This book consists of an introduction and six chapters. The first chaptercovers his early years in Arabia, and the second discusses his transformationfrom “Student to Shaykh.” Chapters 3 through 5 present al-Shafi‘i’s legal theories and methodologies, and chapter 6, the final chapter, studies the popularcult that has grown up around him, thus delivering on the title’s promise.Also included are three pages of suggested “Further Reading,” along withwhy these works are pertinent, an invaluable extra measure that students willfind particularly helpful. Needless to say, the bibliography is long and rich,giving a final affirmation to the author’s mastery of her subject.Throughout her study, Ali exhibits an acute awareness of the ideologicalagendas of the early biographers who have shaped perceptions of the imam.Her critical approach to traditional reports concerning his formative years (theoft-referenced Bedouin years, for example) allows her to question withoutdiscarding altogether some of the more famous episodes in his life. She ultimatelysuggests that what is most crucial for our understanding of al-Shafi‘i’sdevelopment was his encounter with Malik and his thought, an engagementso deep that he almost certainly had to have spent at least ten years under theelder scholar’s tutelage. These critical years laid the groundwork for thescholar he would become ...