Al-Imam Al-Shafii was born in Gaza and learned the Qur'an as a child. He was sent to Al-Badya and lived with an Arab tribe, Hothail, for ten years to master the Arabic language.

In addition to academic pursuits Al-Imam Al-Shafii was a master marksman. He had the ability to shoot ten arrows consecutively without missing the target. Al-Shafii mastered Islamic jurisprudence although he was so young. He was given permission by Muslim Ibn Khalid Al-Zangi to issue religious edicts. Al-Imam Al-Shafii was not satisfied by that, as he heared about the fame of Al-Imam Malik, so he tried to imitate him.

He was a renowned scholar who wrote many books, such as "The Message" in which he discussed the principles of jurisprudence, and Alo'm "the mother" in which he discussed much about the hadith.