An applied study about the method of al-Imam al-Shāfi'ī and some al-Shāfi'ī scholars in al-saḥīh ḥadīth (Authentic hadith)

Imam al-Shāfi'ī is one of the prominent and followed imams who combined the science of hadith with Islamic jurisprudence. He benefited from both school of Madina and school of Iraq which were known with ra'y and ijtihad. al-Shāfi'ī statement such as "When a hadith is authentic, it is my opinion" was well-known by people. Some scholars practiced with an authentic hadith that other scholars have thought it is authentic or with a hadith that was exist in books aimed to collect only authentic hadiths. On the other hand, some scholars took a sceptic view on authentic hadiths. The reason for scepticism is scholars saw some of the authentic hadiths don't correspond with the general rules of sharia, or contradict with the norm widespread among people, thinking they only practiced with an authentic hadith because it was appropriate to al-Shāfi'ī's statement. Our study has been built on knowing the borders of al- al-Shāfi'ī's statement that the authenticity of the hadith is sufficient to act upon it, and reveal the conditions and rules set by other scholars to practice with this statement, and the present the reasons that rendered al-Shāfi'ī not practice with some authentic hadiths. Besides, it can be found in some al-Shāfi'ī scholar's books weak hadiths and that they acted upon them. Our study aims to reveal the reasons that made the al-Shāfi'ī scholars practice with these hadiths. Our aim in this study is to reveal the reasons for the Shafi'i scholars to act or not to act on these weak hadiths. According to the findings, the Shafi'i scholars dismissed some of the authentic hadiths on the grounds of illaat, stronger evidence, contradiction to ijma or mensuh, personal circumstances, or interpretation of the hadith. On the other hand, it has been understood that they have dealt with some weak hadiths on the grounds of prudence because they are in accordance with the ijma (ijma') and the Qur'anic implication, they are included in the ummum of a sahih hadith, they are in accordance with the qiyas, they are in accordance with the companions' sayings or actions, and they are reinforced by mursal, mutabaat or shawahid. In line with the aforementioned objectives, the study is divided into three main sections. The first part deals with the general approaches of the Shafi'is regarding the acceptance and rejection of hadiths, the second part deals with the reasons why the Shafi'i did not act with these hadiths despite their apparent authenticity and the hadiths that the Shafi'i did not act with because of their the interpretation, and the third part deals with the weak hadiths that the Shafi'i did act with and the reasons for their acting with these hadiths.