Rabi’ ibn Sulayman (a companion of Imam al-Shafi’i) said:
‘We were with al-Shafi’i one day when an old man wearing garments of wool came to us with a walking-stick in his hand. Al-Shafi’i stood up, fixed his clothes and greeted the old man. He sat down and al-Shafi’i began looking at him in admiration when the man said:
Old man: Can I ask?
Al-Shafi’i: Ask.
Old man: What is the Hujjah (evidence) in the religion of Allah?
Al-Shafi’i: The Book of Allah.
Old man: What else?
Al-Shafi’i: The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam).
Old man: What else?
Al-Shafi’i: The consensus of the Ummah.
Old man: Where did you get ‘consensus of the Ummah’ from? (i.e. what’s your evidence).
Al-Shafi’i pondered for a moment when the old man said:
Old man: I will leave you for 3 days. If you come up with evidence from the Book of Allah, fine. If not, then repent to Allah Ta’ala.
Al-Shafi’i’s face changed colour and then he left. He didn’t come out until the third day, between dhuhr and ‘asr. His face, hands and legs had swollen and he became ill. He sat down but it was only a short while when the old man returned. He greeted him and sat down then he said,
Old man: Do you have what I asked for?
Al-Shafi’i: Yes.
أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.
Allah, the Most High said:
وَمَن يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءتْ مَصِيراً
“And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the way of the believers, We shall keep him on the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell – and what an evil destination.” [al-Nisa: 115]
… And He (Allah `azza wa jall) will not burn him in Hell for opposing the believers in something except that it is something obligatory.’
Old man: You have told the truth.
Then he got up and left.
Al-Shafi’i then said to those around him: I read the Qur’an 3 times every day (in the 3 days he was given), until I came to this verse.’
– Siyar A’lam al-Nubala
It’s the case that sometimes, the Qur’an reveals its gems and answers at different times and on different occasions. Even if we may have read a particular verse many times before, it will suddenly sink in with us differently at another time.
As they say, ‘لا تنقضي عجائبه ‘ – its wonders never cease. May Allah grant us good understanding of His Book.
I remember when Shaykh Reda would make du’aa, asking Allah to grant us understanding of the Qur`an and he would just cry and cry…
This year was something else sis…
I lost my shoe on the last night of Ramadan at Tarawih (it was the right-legged one as well) 🙁 I had intended to leave the masjid before the Jama’ah began praying witr but because of my missing shoe, I had to wait until they finished and everyone had left the park. Anyway, let’s just say that I was glad I waited because Shaykh Rida’s du’a during witr was amazing, very different to past years. I guess sometimes Allah `azza wa jall delays us from going places in order to benefit from what’s around us – I would’ve missed this powerful qunut if one of my shoes hadn’t gone walkies!
I managed to record some of the du’a qunut… it was more than 30mins long I think, but managed to record a good 11 mins of it (until my phone ran out of space and battery), insha’Allah once I figure out a way to upload it onto my laptop, I’ll be sending it to you.
A point of benefit:
This incident between Al-Shafi’i and the old man hits home when we realise that it was Imam al-Shafi’i who was the first to gather and write about Usul al-Fiqh – which deals with the sources of Istidlal in the Shari’ah, namely: The Qur’an, the Sunnah, Ijma’ (consensus).
Can you give a clearer/detailed reference?
Beautiful article, i simply loved it 🙂 JazakAllahu Khairan!
“and he became ill*
Allahu Akbar
Jzk
Do you have a reference to the Arabic? I.e. page number, chapter, etc.? Do you also have a link to a nice Arabic edition? Thanks!