I am talking about the two distinguished Imams (leaders) of the Ummah - Muhammad ibn Idrees ash-Shaafi'ee and Ahmad ibn Hanbal ash-Shaybanee. The latter came after the former and was a student of the former.
Things Are Not Always What They Seem…
Imam Ahmad used to mention the virtues of his Shaykh (teacher), Imam ash-Shafi'ee, to his wife. He would mention to her the extensive and superb knowledge of Imam Ash Shafi'ee as well as his taqwaa (i.e. piety).
Imam Ahmad invited Imam Ash Shafi'ee to come visit him at his home. When the time for dinner arrived, Imam Ash Shafi'ee ate until he was full and went to the guest room for some sleep.
The wife of Imam Ahmad said to him: "O Ahmad! Is this the same Shafi'ee that you used to tell me so much about?"
Imam Ahmad said: "Indeed he is!"
So she said: "I noticed three things about him worthy of criticism! Firstly, when we served him the food, he ate plenty of it! Secondly, when he went into the guest room, he went to sleep without standing up to perform the night prayer (i.e. tahujjud)! Lastly, when he prayed Salat ul Fajr (Fajr prayer) with us, he did not perform ablution (i.e. wudhu)?!"
So Imam Ahmad went to Imam Ash Shafi'ee to ask him about these three matters his wife noticed.
Imam Ash Shafi'ee said to him, (the way a father would explain to his son):
"O Ahmad! I ate plenty because I know for certain that your food is halaal (i.e. permissible islamically) and you are a generous man! And the food that comes from a generous man is a cure, while the food that comes from a stingy man is a disease!(Collected by Al Hafidh Ibn Hajr in Fath ul Bari concisely and by Abu Nu’aim in Hilya tul Awliyaa’
However, I didn’t eat plenty of food in order to achieve my fill; rather I ate plenty of your food in order to derive the cure from it! As for the reason I didn’t stand up at night to perform the night prayer, when I laid my head down to get some sleep, I looked and all I could see was the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa salam) right in front of my face! So I deducted 72 fiqh(jurisprudence) related benefits from them for the Muslims to benefit from.
Thus there was no opportunity for me to stand and perform the night prayer!
As for the reason why I prayed Salat ul Fajr without performing ablution, by Allah! My eyes never tasted the sweetness of sleep in order for me to renew my wudhu (ablution)! I was awake the whole night, so I prayed Salat ul Fajr with the same wudhu I had for Salat ul Isha (Isha prayer)!"
Translated by Abu Azzubayr Shadeed Muhammad on 3/30/2010 in the City of Riyadh Saudi Arabia)
What can I say? May Allaah have mercy on Imam ash-Shafi'i. There is the example of the Inheritor of the Messenger of Allaah, there is the example of a man worthy of respect and love.
masha'Allaah!
ReplyDeleteBaraq Allahu Fiqhum
ReplyDeleteI'll spread this. I thought the four imams lived in different locations and that they didn't have contact. Or is this just a tale?
Assalamu Alaykum
wa feekum barakAllah.
ReplyDeleteYes the four Imams lived in different locations and in different times, but seeking knowledge and seeking knowledge from the trustworthy Inheritors of the Prophet is what brought them together.
Imam Abu Haneefah preceded the other three and lived in Iraq, where there were much tribulations. His closest student, Imam Abu Yusuf, learned from him and afterwards went to other Imams (outside of Iraq) when Imam Abu Haneefah passed away.
Imam Malik was the second in line and the resident Imam of Madeenah, the Shaykh al-Islam. Imam ash-Shafi'i travelled much, but during his early life, he went to Madeenah and memorized Imam Malik's Muwatta and read it to him. So Imam ash-Shafi'i was a student of Imam Malik.
And the last of the four, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, took from the fountains of knowledge of other Imams. Imam Abu Haneefah and Imam Malik already passed away before Imam Ahmad could seek knowledge from them, but Imam Ahmad learned greatly from Imam ash-Shafi'i as Imam ash-Shafi'i was still living and accessible.
Such were the days of the Salaf and such is how they pursued beneficial knowledge. May Allah have mercy on all of them.
was salam.