Early Islamic Legal Theory: The Risāla of Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī presents the foundational work of Islamic jurisprudence written by one of its most influential scholars, al-Shāfiʿī (d. 820 CE). The Risāla is considered a seminal text in the development of *usūl al-fiqh* (principles of Islamic legal theory). In this treatise, al-Shāfiʿī outlines the methodological framework f…