The first Shafi'i: the jurisprudential and Hadith-oriented thought

Because Abu Yaqub Al-Buwayti (died: 231 AH) - the first Caliph of Shafi'i (died: 204 AH) - contributed significantly to the formation of the Shafi'i school, and to the convergence of the two competing jurisprudential approaches: the approach of the People of Hadith and the approach of the People of Opinion, throughout the 3rd Hijri / 9th Gregorian century. This work aims to employ one of Max Weber's concepts (1920 AD) in the study of jurisprudential schools, specifically in how Abu Yaqub Al-Buwayti received the Shafi'i school, and to trace his role in its establishment and transmission, as well as in the broader development of Islamic jurisprudential thought. The thesis of this work, through analyzing the content of "Al-Buwayti's Mukhtasar" - the earliest work in the second tier of Shafi'i writings - and tracking its circulation and transmission history, presents three main arguments: First, that the personal reading of the Shafi'i school, which was presented and developed by Al-Buwayti, was characterized by an archaeological tendency clearly based on Hadith. Second, that Al-Buwayti's Shafi'i approach was methodical by nature, rooted in the fundamentals of Shafi'i jurisprudence and the central "Principle of Hadith," expressed in the brief phrase: "If the Hadith is authentic, then it is my school." And finally, that Al-Buwayti's Hadith-based approach found its most enthusiastic audience among the People of Hadith, as he provided them with a way to engage with opinion while maintaining the dominance and centrality of Hadith, thus contributing to the creation of a shared methodological foundation for Sunni Islamic jurisprudence.