Fakayfa tajiduka ya imam?
How do you find your state O Imam?
Qaal ajuduni minad dunya rahilaa
He replied, I find myself of this dunya, departing
Wa ila ikhwana farikaa
And of my companions, parting
Wa li ka's el manniyati sharibaa
And of the cup of death, drinking
Wa 'ala Allahi waridaa
And to Allah, returning
Wa li soo' a 'amali mulaqiyaa
And to my bad deeds, meeting (to be questioned/punished for them)
Fa la wallahi adri
So, by Allah, I do not know
A roohi taseeru ilal Jannati fa uhannihaa?
Will my soul will be of the inhabitants of Jannah that I may congratulate it?
Am illal Naari fa u'azihaa?
Or to Hellfire (its abode) that I may console it?
This was how he mentioned his sins in poetry before his death, although he was a great Imam of high standing, Allah rest his soul. People had wonderful dreams of Al-Shafi'e (thereafter) and poets wrote many elegies about him may Allah rest his soul and be pleased with him.
This was one of the superior elitist minds of his time and no man the like of him has come after- without exaggeration, scholars all agree that without a doubt he was the Mujadid of the 2nd Century AH. Interesting to note that from the second century AH to the 12th century AH all the Mujadids were of the Shafi'e school of thought! This is of the baraka of Imam Al Shafi'e! Allahu Akbar.
This was small piece I've written was taken from "The Life of Imam Al-Shafi'e" by Shaykh Muhammad Musa Al-Shareef (can be found on youtube)
