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|b Among the illustrious men of our community and religion and a star in the realm of religious sciences is Imam Al-Shafi’i. He was granted knowledge, intelligence, discernment, and a full command of the [Arabic] language all of which he put in the service of religion, thus producing distinguished thought, perceptive views, and keen intellect. An authority in the field of jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, and language, he was acknowledged by religious scholars and his peers and disciples alike. His book, Al-Risala, is considered the first work to investigate the bases of jurisprudence. The reasons for composing this book are manifold. Numerous commentaries were written on it, and it was used, studied, and verified by succeeding generations of students and scholars due to its precious content, profound knowledge, and synthesis of various legal thought into a coherent system. The importance of Al-Shafi’i’s Al-Risala lies in the fact that it manifests many aspects of the methodology of scholars who preceded him. Through the principles it contains, it is considered a gauge for the estimation of sahih [correct] opinions, Malik’s opinions, and the opinions of Iraqi scholars. Al-Shafi’i deemed the principles formulated in Al-Risala a methodology for new rule derivation.
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