Al-Risala by Imam Al-Shafi'i

Author: Imam Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i

Edited and Annotated by: Ahmed Muhammad Shakir

The book "Al-Risala" by Imam Al-Shafi'i is the first book ever written on the science of Usul al-Fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence). Through this book, Al-Shafi'i – may God have mercy on him – aimed to establish the guidelines that a jurist or mujtahid must adhere to in order to clarify the Sharia rulings for every new and existing issue in every era. It is among the books narrated by Al-Rabi' from Al-Shafi'i. The book Al-Risala, in one volume, discusses fundamental issues such as the solitary hadith and its authority, conditions for the validity of a hadith, the trustworthiness of narrators, and the rejection of mursal and munqati' reports, among other principles and issues of preference. The lengthy introduction of Al-Risala (one hundred pages) forms a significant part of its content. Fakhr al-Din al-Razi comments on Al-Shafi'i's pioneering role in establishing the science of Usul al-Fiqh: "Before Imam Al-Shafi'i, people discussed issues of Usul al-Fiqh, deduced, and objected, but they lacked a universal rule to refer to for understanding the evidence of Sharia, and for how to reconcile and prioritize them. Al-Shafi'i, therefore, formulated the science of Usul al-Fiqh and set a universal rule for people to refer to for understanding the hierarchy of legal proofs. Thus, Al-Shafi'i's relationship to the science of Sharia is like Aristotle's relationship to the science of reason."