Al-Muzanī said, “I have never seen a face more radiant than that of al-Shāfiʿī—may Allah have mercy on him! At times he would grasp his beard, and it would not extend beyond the breadth of his fist.

Al-Rabīʿ the muʾadhdhin related: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say, ‘I was so devoted to archery that the physician would tell me, “I fear you will contract tuberculosis from spending so long in the heat.”’ He continued, ‘Out of every ten shots I would hit nine (1).’

Al-Humaydī reported: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say, ‘I was an orphan in my mother’s care, and she had nothing with which to pay the teacher. The teacher therefore agreed that I supervise the children in his absence and lighten his burden (2).’

Al-Shāfiʿī also said, ‘I used to write on shoulder-blades and pieces of bone, and I would go to the dīwān to ask for the reverse sides of discarded documents so that I could write on them.’

ʿAmr ibn Sawwād said: Al-Shāfiʿī told me, ‘My two great passions were archery and the pursuit of knowledge. In archery I reached the point where I would hit ten out of ten shots,’—and he said nothing further about knowledge. I replied, ‘By Allah, in knowledge you are greater than you are in archery (3).’

Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ṭāʾī al-Aqṭaʿ said: Al-Muzanī narrated to us that he heard al-Shāfiʿī declare, ‘I memorised the Qur’an at the age of seven, and I memorised the Muwaṭṭaʾ at the age of ten (4).’