Devotion to the Qur’an

Devotion to the Qur’an

(224:5)

1997 3-4 March-April 13-14 Devotion to the Qur’an (359)

Imam Shafi’i (150-204 A.H.), founder of one of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence, enjoys a superior position not only in religious scholarship, but also as a pious and God-fearing man. According to Imam Ahmad ibn Hambal, founder of the Hambali school of jurisprudence, there was “no other person whose bond with Islam was as strong as that of Imam Shafi ‘i.”

He was hardly ten years old when he committed the whole of the Qur’an to memory. A full recitation would take him three days. So steeped was he in the Qur’an that he could invariably trace all matters of religious import to the relevant verses.

All the jurists of his day were in agreement that the consensus of the ummah (community) must be regarded as hujjat (the final authority). Anxious to establish consensus as an absolute source of Islamic law, Imam Shafi’i began reciting the Qur’an over and over again in order to identify a verse which would support this argument.

It is said that in his scrupulousness, he recited the entire Qur’an 301 times. Ultimately he was successful in discovering the portion of the scriptures which upheld consensus as hujjah (final authority). This happened one day when he was reciting the Qur’an. When he reached verse no. 115 in the fourth chapter, it was suddenly revealed to him that this verse sanctioned the ijmah (the unanimous consent of learned doctors) as a basic source of Islamic law. The verse reads:

He that disobeys the Messenger after Our guidance has been revealed to him and follows a path other than that of the faithful, shall be given what he has chosen. We will cast him into Hell, a dismal end (4: 115).

Imam Shafi’i concluded that the phrase ‘path of the faithful’ in this verse corresponded with the ijmah of the believers. The believers of the first phase attempted to find in the Qur’an the answer to every problem that arose, even if they had to go through it a hundred times. They did not rest content until they had discovered the relevant Qur’anic injunction. But, nowadays, the Qur’an is resorted to only for recitation and blessings.