He is Abu Abdillaah, Muhammad ibn Idrees ibn Al-Abbaas ibn Uthmaan ibn Shaafi’ ibn As-Saa'ib ibn Ubaid ibn Abd-Yazeed ibn Haashim ibn Al-Muttalib ibn Abd-Manaaf. Abd-Manaaf was the great great grandfather of the Prophet ﷺ.
He was born in the year 150H in Ghazzah, the year Abu Haneefah – another great Imam – passed away. Imam Ash-Shaafi’ee was known for his sharp memory and intellect. He memorized the Quran by age 7, and memorized the Muwatta' of Imam Malik (Imam Malik’s Hadeeth book) by age 10. At 15 years of age, his Shaikh Muslim ibn Khaalid Az-Zinjee permitted him to issue Fatwa (verdicts) as a result of the great amount of knowledge he obtained. Many of the scholars of his time, including his teachers, attested to his knowledge and worship, to the point that his Shaikh Sufyaan ibn `Uyainah stated that Ash-Shaafi’ee is the best of the people of his time.
Imam Shaafi’ee travelled the Muslim lands for the purpose of seeking knowledge. He sought knowledge from Makkah, where he grew up, as well as from Madeenah, Baghdaad, and Egypt. He became the first scholar to consolidate and author a work on the principles of Fiqh. He authored many books, including Ar-Risaalah, and Al-Umm.
Imam Shaafi’ee had many students around the Muslim lands. The most famous students of his were Ismaa’eel ibn Yahya Al-Muzani, Ar-Rabee’ ibn Sulaimaan Al-Muraadi, and Yoosuf ibn Yahya Al-Buwaiti. The great Imam, Imam Ahmad, had also taken knowledge from Ash-Shaafi’ee, as have many other great scholars.
Imam Ash-Shaafi’ee was a scholar in all the fields within the Islamic sciences. He was a scholar in Aqeedah (creed), a scholar in Hadeeth, a scholar in Fiqh (jurisprudence), a scholar in Lughah (language), a scholar in Tafseer (exegesis), and in other areas.
Imam Ash-Shaafi’ee passed away young, at the age of 54 in the year 204H. May Allah have mercy on him.
Imam Muhammad ibn Idress Ash-Shaafi'ee, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:
Allah the Mighty and Majestic has Names and Attributes that have come in His Book, and that have been narrated by His Prophet ﷺ to his ummah. It is not for any man from Allah’s creation to contradict the proofs established, since the Qur’an has been sent down, and the authentic statements of the Prophet ﷺ have been relayed to him by reliable narrators. If a person opposes this after the proof has been established against him, then he is a disbeliever in Allah (the Mighty and Majestic). When the proofs have not been established against him by way of the texts, then he has the excuse of ignorance, because knowledge of that is not reached by the intellect [alone], nor by principles or deep thought or the like. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has informed (us) that He is all-Hearing and that He has two Hands, with His statement (the meaning of which is): “Nay, His two Hands are outstretched” [Surah al-Maa'idah, 5:64]. And that He has a Right [Hand], with His statement (the meaning of which is): “And the heavens will be folded up in His Right [Hand]” [Surah az-Zumar, 39:67]. And that He has a Face, with His statement (the meaning of which is): “Everything shall perish, except His Face” [Surah Al-Qasas, 28:88]. And His statement (the meaning of which is): “And the Face of your Lord, full of Majesty, shall remain [forever]” [Surah al-Rahman, 55:27]. And that He has a Foot, as in the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: ((Until the Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, places His Foot upon it)), meaning Hellfire. And that He laughs about his believing servant as in the statement of the Prophet ﷺ about the one who is killed in the Path of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: ((He meets Allah the Mighty and Majestic whilst He is laughing at him [being pleased with him])). And that He descends every night to the lowest heaven, according to the narration of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning that. And He is not one-eyed, as in the statement of the Prophet ﷺ when he mentioned the Dajjal: ((Verily he is one-eyed, and your Lord is not one-eyed)). And that the believers will see their Lord (the Mighty and Majestic) on the Day of Judgement with their sight, just as they look at a full moon during its night. And that He has a Finger, as in the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: ((There is no heart, except that it is between the two Fingers of the Most Merciful, the Mighty and Majestic)).
So, these meanings that Allah the Mighty and Majestic has described Himself with, and those that His Messenger ﷺ described Him with, the reality of them cannot be known by deep thought or principles. Therefore, one (who denies them) cannot be declared a disbeliever whilst being ignorant of them (the texts), except after the texts reach him. If that which is presented is a report that takes the place – in comprehension – of witnessing by way of hearing (i.e. authentically transmitted text, which takes the place of actually witnessing the statement from the Messenger ﷺ himself), it is compulsory upon the one who hears to accept it in its literal sense, and be a witness over it, just as if he witnessed it and heard it directly from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. However, we affirm these Attributes and negate any tashbeeh (resemblance), just as Allah the Exalted has negated it whilst mentioning Himself. He has said (the meaning of which is): “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” [Surah ash-Shooraa, 42:11].
End of creed
[Sources: Tabaqaat Al-Hanaabilah (with a connected chain from the author, Ibn Abee Ya’laa Al-Hanbali, to Imam Ash-Shaafi’ee, under the biography of Imam Muhammad Ibn Idrees Ash-Shaafi’ee); I’tiqaad Ash-Shaafi’ee by Al-Yaasoofee Ash-Shaafi’ee (also with a connected chain to Imam Ash-Shaafi’ee, with some weakness in the chain); and others.]