Aswhab al-Wujuh: Imam Abu Ibrahim Isma’il ibn Yahya al-Muzani (r.a.) in Brief

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is adapted and extracted from “Biographies of Some of the Aswhab al-Wujuh in the Shafi’i Madzhab.”  The Aswhab al-Wujuh are the scholars who developed and transmitted the Shafi’i madzhab from the time of the immediate students of Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi’i (r.a.), circa 200 AH, to the time of Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (r.a.), circa 500 AH.  Thereafter there was a pressing need for recension of all this development into a single body of work.  This task was met by Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Muhammad ar-Rafi’i (r.a.) and Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi (r.a.), who became known as the Shaykhayn in the madzhab. 

Imam Abu Ibrahim Isma’il ibn Yahya ibn Ismail ibn ‘Amr ibn Muslim al-Muzani al-Miswri (r.a.) was a great imam, scholar and a very pious man.  He is one of the great faqih of this ummah, and one of the pupil of imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi’i (r.a.).  He was born in the year of the passing away of Imam al-Layts ibn Sa’d al-Qalqashandi (r.a.) in the year 175 AH. 

He narrated from Imam ash-Shafi’i (r.a.), Imam ‘Ali ibn Mu’abid ibn Shidad (r.a.), Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Nu’aym ibn Hammad al-Khuza’i al-Marwazi al-Faridhi (r.a.), and others.  There are very little narrations from him.  However, he was one of the leaders of fiqh.  Those who narrated from him include Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzaymah (r.a.), Imam Abu Bakr ibn Ziyad an-Nishaburi (r.a.), Imam Abu Ja’far Ahmad ibn Muhammad ath-Thahawi (r.a.), and many others. 

Imam ash-Shafi’i (r.a.) said Imam al-Muzani (r.a.) was the protector of his madzhab.  Imam Abu ‘Isa Muhammad ibn ‘Isa as-Sulami at-Tirmidzi (r.a.) said that he heard Imam al-Muzani (r.a.) say the tawhid of a person is not correct until he recognises Allah (s.w.t.) on the ‘Arsh, with his Swifat.  Imam at-Tirmidzi (r.a.) asked him to clarify, and he said, “All Hearing, All Seeing, All Knowing.” 

Shaykh ‘Amr ibn Utsman al-Makki (q.s.) said; “I did not see anybody from the worshippers from whoever I met who exercised more ijtihad than Imam al-Muzani.” 

Imam al-Muzani (r.a.) used to say, “I am the character from the characters of ash ash-Shafi’i.”  It is said that whenever he missed the prayer in juma’ah, he would pray that prayer 25 times.  He passed away in Ramadhan, in the year 264 AH, at the age of 89 years.