Exemplifying the nature and character of the charismatic Imam Syafi'i

 

Exemplifying the nature and character of the charismatic Imam Syafi'i

As an Imam of a Madzhab, Imam Syafi'I is a figure of imam who has characteristics that should be used as examples for all of us, not only the development of his madzhab which is developing very rapidly, even in Indonesia adherents of the Shafi'I madhhab are the most numerous adherents of the madzhab.
The sincerity of Imam Syafi'i in seeking hadith is one of his exemplary attitudes. Imam Shafi'i is known as someone who masters various scientific fields, and is known as someone who memorizes a lot of hadiths. However, one of the things that is most worthy of being an example of him when looking for hadiths is his caution when collecting these hadiths, so that many of the hadiths he collects are Sahih hadiths.
Imam Shafi'i often asked and exchanged thoughts about hadiths when collecting them and one of the best examples is Imam Shafi'i's message to Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal: You know more about hadiths than I do. Therefore, if there is an authentic hadith, tell me, it is the same when there is a hadith from Kufa, Basrah or Syria. Tell me so I can stick to it as long as it is authentic .
Another example that we must not forget is the story of Imam Shafi'i who led the morning prayer in the mosque next to Abu Hanifah's grave. He prayed without reciting the qunut prayer and when asked by someone after the prayer, Imam Shafi'i replied:
Well I want to do something different from what he (Abu Hanifah) taught even though I was next to him.
Although originally Imam Shafi'i thought that the qunut prayer was sunnah to be recited in the morning prayer, but his opinion was left behind in order to respect Abu Hanifah who thought that the qunut prayer was not sunnah to be recited. In addition, Imam Shafi'i also did not perform qunut that morning to facilitate his congregation, the majority of whom at that time were followers of Abu Hanifah. Imam Shafi'i's character that shows respect for Imam Abu Hanifah is one of the qualities that should be used as an example, even though he is an Imam of the same Madhhab as Imam Abu Hanifah, he still shows his respect to Imam Abu Hanifah.
If we learn from a figure like Imam Shafi'i, then the most prominent thing about him is his ability to accept and anticipate change. The fact that there are so-called qaul qodim and qaul jaded shows that Imam Shafi'i rejects stagnation or stagnation in thought and action. He is the type of scholar who is always searching without stopping. Although with his extraordinary intellectual capacity, he could be someone who is close to the center of power. The example we should follow from him is to make tafaqquh fid dien an ethos of life that will be able to answer the challenges in life and improve the quality of people around him. [Anis Al-Fadlilah]