Abū Thawr said, “We have never seen anyone the like of al-Shāfiʿī, nor did he ever see the like of himself” (1). The same judgment was voiced by al-Zaʿfarānī and several others.

Dāwūd ibn ʿAlī al-Ẓāhirī (2), in a book he compiled on the merits of al-Shāfiʿī, wrote: “Al-Shāfiʿī enjoys virtues that have not been combined in anyone else: the nobility of his lineage, the soundness of his religion and creed (3), the generosity of his soul, his mastery in distinguishing sound ḥadith from weak, in identifying the abrogating and the abrogated, his memorization of the Book, the Sunnah, and the history of the caliphs, the excellence of his authorship, and the high calibre of his companions and students—such as Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, famous for his asceticism, scrupulousness, and steadfast adherence to the Sunnah.” He then listed the leading disciples, both those from Baghdad and those from Egypt.

Abū Dāwūd likewise counted Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal among al-Shāfiʿī’s pupils in jurisprudence.

Al-Shāfiʿī—may Allah have mercy on him—was among the most knowledgeable of people concerning the meanings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and the most adept at deriving proofs from them. He was also one of the finest of people in intention and sincerity. He would say, “I wish that people would learn this knowledge and that nothing of it be attributed to me at all, so that I might receive its reward while they do not praise me” (4).

More than one transmitter relates from him: “When an authentic ḥadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reaches you, act upon it and leave my statement, for I too act upon it even if you do not hear it from me” (5). In another wording: “then do not imitate me.” In another: “then pay no attention to my opinion.” [And in yet another: “Fling my statement against the wall; once the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has spoken, I have no statement of my own.”] (6)

He said as well: “For a person (7) to meet Allah with every sin except shirk is better for him than to meet Him with any of the sectarian passions.” In another narration: “it is better for him than to meet Him with the science of kalām.” And he said: “If people knew the passions that lurk in kalām, they would flee from it as one flees from a lion.”