Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi‟i (150-205 H / 767-820 M) dianggap sebagai arkitek Usul al-Fiqh. Beliau dilahirkan di Gaza (Palestin) dan ketika beliau berusia dua tahun, ibunya membawanya ke Makkah. Imam Shafi‟i berasal daripada suku Quraisy dan nasabnya bertemu dengan Nabi Muhammad ﷺ pada Abdu Manaf.

Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi‟i (150-205 AH / 767-820 C.E) is considered to be the architect of Usul al-Fiqh. He was born in Gaza (Palestine) and when he was two years old his mother took him to Makkah. Imam Shafi‟i is from the tribe of Quraysh and his lineage meets with the Prophet (saw) at Abdu Manaf.

Pada usia yang masih muda, ibunya membawanya ke kuttab tempatan untuk menghafal al-Qur'an. Namun, kerana keluarga mereka miskin dan tidak mampu membayar yuran pengajian, dia tidak dibenarkan menghadiri kelas tersebut. Dia biasa berada dalam lingkungan pendengaran kelas itu, mendengar arahan Shaykh dan menghafalnya. Apabila guru itu keluar, Shafi'i muda akan pergi membantu para pelajar dalam hafalan mereka. Guru itu mengetahui perkara ini dan membenarkan Shafi'i muda masuk ke dalam kelas dengan syarat dia membantu para pelajar dalam hafalan mereka.

At an early age his mother took him to the local Kuttab to memorize the Qur‟an, but since they were poor and could not afford the tuition, he was not allowed to attend the classes. He used to stay within an earshot of the class listening to the instructions of the Shaykh and memorising them. When the teacher would leave, young Shafi‟i would go to help the students with their memorisation. The teacher learned about this and allowed young Shafi‟i in the class with the condition that he would help the students with their memorisation.

Ketika dia berusia kira-kira tujuh tahun, dia telah menghafal Al-Qur'an, lalu mereka pergi ke Masjid Al-Haram di mana dia mempelajari bahasa Arab. Menjelang dia menamatkan pengajiannya, dia telah mempelajari semua versi bahasa Arab klasik. Kenyataan-kenyataannya dianggap sebagai piawai dalam bahasa Arab. Selepas menamatkan pengajian bahasa Arabnya, seorang lelaki menasihatinya supaya mempelajari Hadis, Fiqh dan 'Ulum-ul-Quran, lalu dia berpindah ke Madinah. Di sana dia belajar di bawah Imam Malik bin Anas sebelum kematiannya pada tahun 179 H. Imam Syafi'i mempelajari Muwatta' secara langsung daripada Imam Malik. Kemudian dia pergi ke Iraq, di mana dia tinggal sebagai tetamu Muhammad bin Al-Hasan, murid Abu Hanifah. Imam Syafi'i sering berdebat dan belajar dengan kedua-dua Muhammad bin al-Hasan dan Qadi Abu Yusuf. Dia kemudian kembali ke Madinah, sekitar tahun 174 H, untuk menziarahi guru lamanya, Imam Malik. Selepas kematian Imam Malik, Imam Syafi'i pergi ke Yaman. Di sana dia bertemu Umar bin Abi Salamah, guru kepada al-Awza'i, seorang ulama besar dalam Usul al-Fiqh.

When he was about seven years old he had memorised the Qur‟an, and they went to Masjid Al-Haram where he studied the Arabic language. By the time he graduated, he had learned all the versions of the classical Arabic language. His statements are considered to be standards in the Arabic language. After completing his Arabic studies, a man advised him to study Hadith, Fiqh, and „Ulum-ul-Quran, and so he moved to Madinah. There he studied under Imam Malik ibn Anas prior to his death in 179 A.H. It was directly from Imam Malik that Imam Shafi‟i learned the Muwatta. He then travelled to Iraq, where he stayed as the guest of Muhammad bin Al-Hasan, the student of Abu Hanifah. Imam Shafi‟i would debate and study with both Muhammad bin al-Hasan and Qadi Abu Yusuf. He then returned to Madinah, around 174 A.H., to visit with his old teacher Imam Malik. After the death of Imam Malik, Imam Shafi‟i travelled to Yemen. There he met Umar bin Abi Salamah, teacher of al Awaza‟i, a great scholar in Usul al-Fiqh.

Semasa berada di sana, timbul beberapa masalah antara Khalifah Harun ar-Rashid dengan Ahl-ul-Bayt. Imam Shafi‘i dituduh berpihak kepada Ahl-ul-Bayt menentang Khalifah, lalu beliau ditangkap dan dibawa ke Baghdad, ke mahkamah Khalifah. Selepas berbincang dengan Khalifah untuk membersihkan dirinya daripada sebarang kesalahan, Imam Shafi‘i dijemput oleh Khalifah untuk memberi nasihat kepadanya. Direkodkan bahawa beliau sangat tegas dan kuat dalam nasihatnya kepada Khalifah sehingga Khalifah menangis.

While there, some problems arose between the Khaleefah Haroon ar-Rashid and Ahl-ul- Bayt. Imam Shafi‟i was accused of siding with the Ahl-ul-Bayt against the Khaleefah, and was arrested and taken to Baghdad to the court of the Khaleefah. After a discussion with the Khaleefah to clear himself of any wrong doing, Imam Shafi‟i was invited by the Khaleefah to advise him. It is recorded that he was so firm and strong in his advice to the Khaleefah that the Khaleefah wept.

Semasa berada di Baghdad, beliau bertemu dengan Abdur Rahman bin al-Mahdi (seorang ulama hadith) pada tahun 195 H, yang meminta beliau menulis sebuah kitab yang menerangkan metodologi memahami Fiqh. Dalam karya ini, Imam Shafi‟i menggabungkan Mazhab Hadith di Madinah dan Mazhab Ra‟ee di Kufah. Beliau mampu melakukan demikian kerana beliau mengenali kedua-dua mazhab tersebut. Di Madinah, beliau belajar di bawah Imam Malik, dan di Kufah, beliau bertemu dengan Muhammad bin al-Hasan (pengikut mazhab Fiqh Hanafi). Hasil kitab ini dinamakan Ar-Risala (versi lama ini tidak wujud pada hari ini).

While in Baghdad he met Abdur Rahman bin al Mahdi (Scholar of Hadith) in 195 A.H., who asked him to write a book explaining the methodology of understanding Fiqh. In this work, Imam Shafi‟i combined both the School of Hadith in Madinah and School of Ra‟ee in Kufah. He was able to do this because he was aquainted with both schools. In Madinah he studied under Imam Malik and in Kufah he met Muhammad bin al-Hasan (follower of Hanafi school of Fiqh). The outcome of this book was called Ar-Risala (This old version does not exist today).

Imam Syafi'i kemudian memutuskan untuk berpindah ke Mesir. Semasa di Mesir, Imam Syafi'i menulis semula kitabnya Ar-Risalah. Dalam Risalah yang baharu itu, beliau menetapkan prinsip-prinsip baharu dalam Usul al-Fiqh. Maka, perubahan beliau kepada metodologi yang baharu itu turut mengubah fatwa-fatwanya, kerana corak dalam mengeluarkan fatwa adalah seperti berikut:

Imam Shafi‟i then decided to move to Egypt. While in Egypt Imam Shafi‟i rewrote his book Ar-Risala. In the new Risala, he established new principles in Usul al-Fiqh. Thus, his changing to a new methodology changed his Fatwas because the pattern for giving Fatwas is as follows:

Usul ul Fiqh -> Fiqh -> Fatwa.

Usul ul Fiqh -> Fiqh -> Fatwa.

Sebahagian orang berpendapat bahawa Imam Shafi‟i menukar fiqhnya kerana keadaan atau persekitaran yang baharu di Mesir. Kita mesti memahami bahawa Imam Shafi‟i tidak menulis semula kitabnya begitu sahaja, atau kerana beliau telah berpindah tempat. Sebenarnya hanya ada dua kemungkinan bagi penulisan semula Ar-Risalah. Pertama, Imam Shafi‟i telah menetapkan dalam fikirannya untuk mencapai kesimpulan tertentu, dan untuk berbuat demikian beliau perlu menukar asas bagi kesimpulan yang telah ditentukan itu. Kedua, Imam Shafi‟i mendapati bahawa asas lama yang beliau gunakan adalah salah, maka perlu untuk membuat semula atau menyemak semula asasnya bagi menerbitkan fiqhnya.

Some think that Imam Shafi‟i changed his Fiqh due to the new circumstances or environment in Egypt. We must understand that Imam Shafi‟i did not rewrite his book for the sake of it, or because he changed his location. There are really only two possibilities for the re-writing of Ar-Risala. Imam Shafi‟i had put in his mind that he wanted to reach a specific conclusion and in order to do so he would have to change the basis for those predetermined conclusions, or Imam Shafi‟i found that the old basis he had used was wrong, and so it was necessary to redo or to revise his basis for deriving his Fiqh.

Jika berlaku perubahan dalam Usul al-Fiqh, maka sudah tentu hukumnya akan berbeza, dan bukan sebaliknya, kerana seorang Mujtahid tidak dibenarkan memikirkan sesuatu hukum sebelum memutuskan sumber mana yang hendak digunakan untuk mengeluarkan hukum-hukum tersebut. Oleh itu, akibat perubahan Usul al-Fiqh, lahirlah fatwa-fatwa yang berbeza. Sebab perubahan itu ialah beliau berpendapat bahawa Usul al-Fiqh beliau yang terdahulu adalah salah. Perubahan ini bukan disebabkan oleh masa atau tempat. Maka, mazhab beliau berubah sepenuhnya kerana Usul al-Fiqh beliau telah berubah. Perkara yang sangat penting ini, jika tidak difahami dengan betul, boleh menyebabkan kekeliruan.

If there is a change in Usul al-Fiqh there will obviously be a different ruling and not vice-versa, because a Mujtahid is not allowed to think of a ruling before deciding on which sources to extract the rulings from. Therefore, as a result of changing the Usul al-Fiqh there were different Fatwas. The reason for the change was that he thought that his earlier Usul al-Fiqh was wrong. This change was not due to time or place. Therefore, his Madhab had changed completely because his Usul al-Fiqh had changed. This very important point, if it is not understood correctly could prove to be misleading.

Imam Syafi'i tidak pernah berdebat dalam ilmu Kalam. Mengenainya, beliau biasa berkata: "Berdebat dalam fiqh, sekurang-kurangnya akan menyebabkan orang ramai mengejek kamu, sebagai contoh, dengan mengatakan bahawa diyah bagi pembunuhan ialah sebiji telur. Berdebat dalam ilmu Kalam, mereka akan mengatakan bahawa kamu telah menyimpang dan melakukan bid'ah. Maka pergilah berdebat dalam fiqh, dan tinggalkan ilmu Kalam."

Imam Shafi‟i never debated in „Ilm-ul-Kalaam. Regarding it he used to say; “Debating in Fiqh, at the very least would lead the people to make fun of you, for example, saying the Diyah for murder is an egg. Debating in „Ilm ul Kalaam, they would say that you are deviating and making a Bid‟ah. So go and debate in Fiqh, and leave „Ilm ul Kalaam.”

Kitab-kitab Imam Syafi'i termasuk:

Imam Shafi‟i‟s books include:

Ar-Risalah.

 Ar-Risalah.

Al-Umm.

 Al-Umm.

Jimaa' al-Ilm.

 Jimaa ul-Ilm.

Ibtaal ul-Istihsan.

 Ibtaal ul-Istihsan.

Musnad Ash-Shafi‟i‟.

 Musnad Ash-Shafi‟i‟.

Ahkaam-ul-Qur‟an.

 Ahkaam-ul-Qur‟an.

Antara mereka yang dianggap daripada mazhabnya ialah:

Those who are considered to be from his Madhab included:

Jalaluddin as-Suyuti.

 Jalaluddin as-Suyuti.

An-Nawawi.

 An-Nawawi.

Ibn Kathir.

 Ibn Kathir.

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani.

 Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani.

Al-Muzni.

 Al-Muzni.

Al-Ghazali.

 Al-Ghazali.

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi.

 Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi.