Al-Shafi'i was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, and ascetic, and the founder and eponym of the Shāfiʿī school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He played a formative role in the systematization of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence and is regarded as its founder. His al-Risāla was among the earliest works devoted to the subject and gave Islamic legal theory a systematic form, thereby "fundamentally influencing the succeeding generations which are under his direct and obvious impact," and "beginning a new phase of the development of legal theory." September 1, 767 – January 20, 820; died at 52. Alive at the same time as Charlemagne, Muḥammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, Abu Nuwas, Ādi Shankara, and Jabir ibn Hayyan. Wiki link