Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi‘iy (150–205 hijriy / 767–820 milodiy) Usul al-fiqh ilmining asoschisi hisoblanadi. U G‘azo (Falastin)da tug‘ilgan, ikki yoshga to‘lganida onasi uni Makkaga olib kelgan. Imom Shofi‘iy Quraysh qabilasidan bo‘lib, uning nasabi Abdu Manofda Payg‘ambar ﷺ bilan birlashadi.

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.

Yoshligida onasi uni Qur'onni yodlash uchun mahalliy kuttabga olib bordi, lekin ular kambag'al bo'lgani va o'qish haqini to'lay olmagani uchun unga darslarga kirishga ruxsat berilmadi. U sinf eshitadigan masofada turib, Shayxning ko'rsatmalarini tinglar va ularni yodlab olardi. O'qituvchi chiqib ketganda, yosh Shofi'iy talabalarga yodlashda yordam berish uchun ularning oldiga borardi. Ustoz buni bilib qoldi va yosh Shofi'iyga talabalarning yodlashiga yordam berish sharti bilan sinfga kirishga ruxsat berdi.

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.

Taxminan yetti yoshida u Qur'onni yod olgan edi, so'ng ular Masjidul Haram'ga borishdi va u yerda u arab tilini o'rgandi. Bitirish vaqtiga kelib, u klassik arab tilining barcha shakllarini o'rgandi. Uning so'zlari arab tilidagi me'yorlar hisoblanadi. Arab tilini o'rganishni tugatgach, bir kishi unga hadis, fiqh va "Ulum-ul-Qur'on"ni o'rganishni maslahat berdi va shuning uchun u Madinaga ko'chib bordi. U yerda u 179 hijriy yilda vafot etishidan oldin Imom Molik ibn Anas huzurida ta'lim oldi. Imom Shofe'iy "Muvatto"ni aynan Imom Molikdan o'rgangan. So'ng u Iroqqa safar qildi va u yerda Abu Hanifaning shogirdi Muhammad ibn al-Hasanning mehmoni bo'lib qoldi. Imom Shofe'iy Muhammad ibn al-Hasan va Qozi Abu Yusuf bilan munozara qilib, o'rganardi. So'ngra u taxminan 174 hijriy yilda eski ustozi Imom Molik bilan ko'rishish uchun yana Madinaga qaytdi. Imom Molik vafot etganidan keyin Imom Shofe'iy Yamanga safar qildi. U yerda u Usul al-fiqh sohasida buyuk olim bo'lgan al-Avzoiyning ustozi Umar ibn Abi Salamah bilan uchrashdi.

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.

Shu yerda Xalifa Horun ar-Rashid bilan Ahli-l-Bayt o‘rtasida ba’zi nizolar yuzaga keldi. Imom Shofi‘iy Ahli-l-Bayt tarafida turib Xalifaga qarshi harakat qilganlikda ayblandi, hibsga olinib, Xalifaning saroyi bo‘lgan Bag‘dodga olib kelindi. O‘zini har qanday noto‘g‘ri ishdan oqlash maqsadida Xalifa bilan suhbatlashgandan so‘ng, Imom Shofi‘iy Xalifa tomonidan unga maslahat berish uchun taklif qilindi. Rivoyat qilinishicha, u Xalifaga bergan maslahatida shunchalik qat’iy va kuchli bo‘ldiki, Xalifa yig‘lab yubordi.

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.

Bag'dodda bo'lganida u 195 hijriy yilda hadis olimi Abdurahmon ibn al-Mahdiy bilan uchrashdi va u undan fiqh tushunish metodologiyasini bayon qiluvchi kitob yozishni so'radi. Ushbu asarda Imom Shofi'iy Madinadagi hadis maktabi bilan Kufadagi ra'y maktabini birlashtirdi. Buning sababi shuki, u ikkala maktab bilan ham tanish edi. Madinada u Imom Molik huzurida ta'lim oldi, Kufada esa Hanafiy fiqh maktabining tarafdori Muhammad ibn al-Hasan bilan uchrashdi. Ushbu kitobning natijasi "Ar-Risola" deb nomlandi (bu eski nusxa bugungi kunda mavjud emas).

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).

Imom Shofeiy keyin Misrga ko‘chib ketishga qaror qildi. Misrda bo‘lganida Imom Shofeiy o‘zining "Ar-Risola" kitobini qayta yozdi. Yangi "Risola"da u Usul al-fiqhda yangi qoidalarni belgilab berdi. Shunday qilib, yangi uslubga o‘tishi uning fatvolarini ham o‘zgartirdi, chunki fatvo berish tartibi quyidagicha:

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 -> Fatvo.

Usul ul Fiqh -> Fiqh -> Fatwa.

Ba'zilar Imom Shofiʼiy fiqhini yangi sharoit yoki Misrdagi muhit tufayli o‘zgartirgan, deb o‘ylaydilar. Shuni tushunishimiz kerakki, Imom Shofiʼiy o‘z kitobini shunchaki qayta yozmagan yoki joyini o‘zgartirgani uchun uni qayta yozmagan. Ar-Risolaning qayta yozilishi uchun aslida ikkita ehtimol bor. Birinchidan, Imom Shofiʼiy oldindan ma'lum bir xulosaga kelmoqchi bo‘lgan va shu xulosalarga yetish uchun ularning asosini o‘zgartirishi kerak bo‘lgan. Ikkinchidan, Imom Shofiʼiy o‘zi foydalangan eski asosning noto‘g‘ri ekanligini topgan va shu sababli fiqhini chiqarish asosini qayta ko‘rib chiqish yoki qayta tuzish zarur bo‘lgan.

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.

Agar Usul al-fiqhda o'zgarish bo'lsa, albatta boshqacha hukm chiqadi, lekin aksi emas, chunki mujtahid hukmlarni qaysi manbalardan chiqarishni avval belgilamasdan turib hukm o'ylab topishi joiz emas. Shunday qilib, usul al-fiqhning o'zgarishi natijasida turli fatvolar paydo bo'ldi. O'zgarishning sababi shu bo'ldiki, u avvalgi usul al-fiqhi noto'g'ri deb hisobladi. Bu o'zgarish zamon yoki makon sababli bo'lmagan. Shuning uchun uning mazhabi usul al-fiqhi o'zgargani sababli butunlay o'zgargan. Bu juda muhim nuqta: uni to'g'ri tushunilmasa, adashtirishga olib kelishi mumkin.

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.

Imom Shofiʼiy ilm al-kalom bo‘yicha hech qachon munozara qilmagan. Bu haqda u shunday degan: “Fiqhda munozara qilish, hech bo‘lmaganda, odamlarning sizni masxara qilishiga olib keladi, masalan, qotillik uchun diya tuxum ekan, deyishadi. Ilm al-kalomda munozara qilsangiz, ular sizni chetga og‘ayotgan va bid‘at chiqarayotgan deb aytishadi. Shunday ekan, fiqhda munozara qiling va ilm al-kalomni tashlab qo‘ying.”

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.”

Imom Shofi'iyning kitoblari orasida quyidagilar bor:

Imam Shafi‟i‟s books include:

Ar-Risalah.

 Ar-Risalah.

Al-Umm.

 Al-Umm.

Jimaa ul-Ilm.

 Jimaa ul-Ilm.

Ibtaal ul-Istihsan.

 Ibtaal ul-Istihsan.

Musnad Ash-Shafi‟i‟.

 Musnad Ash-Shafi‟i‟.

Ahkomu-l-Qur'on.

 Ahkaam-ul-Qur‟an.

Uning mazhabiga mansub deb hisoblanganlar quyidagilardir:

Those who are considered to be from his Madhab included:

Jaloliddin as-Suyuti.

 Jalaluddin as-Suyuti.

An-Nawaviy.

 An-Nawawi.

Ibn Kathir.

 Ibn Kathir.

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani.

 Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani.

Al-Muzniy.

 Al-Muzni.

Al-G'azoliy.

 Al-Ghazali.

Al-Xatib al-Bag‘dodiy.

 Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi.