Are the verses attributed to Imam Al-Shafi'i—"Be a jurist and a Sufi, not just one, for by God, I sincerely advise you. The former is harsh, his heart untouched by piety, and the latter is ignorant; how can an ignorant person be reformed?"—authentic, and what do they mean?

The poetry attributed to Imam Al-Shafi'i regarding Sufism is not known through an acceptable chain of transmission, nor was it mentioned by any of his companions. Moreover, the book "Diwan al-Imam al-Shafi'i" is not reliably attributed to him. It was known that poetry and sayings were falsely attributed to him in abundance.

The unreliability of attributing these words to Al-Shafi'i is evident in several matters: Firstly: What is known about Al-Shafi'i is his condemnation of Sufism, as he said: "If a man becomes a Sufi at the beginning of the day, he will not reach noon until he becomes foolish," and "No one who adhered to Sufism for forty days ever had his intellect return to him." Secondly: The weak and poor composition of this poetry, whereas Al-Shafi'i was known for his eloquence, articulacy, and complete knowledge of poetry. Thirdly: His denial of God-fearing piety from the heart of the jurist and describing it as harshness is a false statement, for the jurist is the most deserving of people to fear God. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Whomever Allah wishes good for, He grants him understanding in the religion."