Imam Shafii (150-204AH) is remembered as the founder of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence. Besides being a great scholar, he also excelled in piety. Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal had this to say about him. “I do not know anyone who had such a strong affiliation with Islam as Imam Shafii.”

Imam Shafii had learnt the whole of the Quran off by heart by the time he was ten years old. He used to recite the Book of God from cover to cover every three days. His attachment to the Quran was such that he used to seek out the root of every matter in the Quran, not resting content until a point had been proved from the Book of God itself.

All jurists are agreed that consensus of the Muslim community is a valid theological proof. Imam Shafii was keen to establish its validity from the Book of God. He read the Quran over and over again, searching for a verse which would illustrate this point.

Imam Shafii read the Quran 301 times before he finally found a verse which established conclusively the validity of consensus as a theological proof. He was reading through the Quran one day when he reached the one-hundredth-and-fifteenth verse of the fourth chapter (An-Nisa’a). He realized that the verse he was reading provided proof of the fact that Muslim consensus was a valid basis for theological verdicts. The verse was:

“He that disobeys the Apostle after guidance has been made clear to him and follows a path other than that of the faithful, shall be given what he has chosen. We shall cast him into hell: a dismal end.”

Reading this verse, Imam Shafii realized that by the “path of the faithful” was meant what was commonly known as consensus.

Early Muslims used to try to ascertain every matter from the Quran, even if it meant reading the Book of God over time and time again. They would not rest content until they found out what the Quran said on a certain matter. How far removed their approach was from that of latter-day Muslims. Certainly, the latter view the Quran as a “holy book”, a source of blessing and grace. As for making its teachings a practical part of one’s everyday life, and referring to it for guidance in one’s spiritual and worldly affairs – in this respect they are sadly lacking.