According to Sh-fi ), the Muslims inherit it on the grounds of their being members of the same group (alta s-b); Ab? Han-fa agrees, on the basis of one of the two traditions reported by him (which includes Sh-fi's opinion), although the other tradition grounds it on friendship (muw-l-t), not membership (Abdulhussein Sachedina, 1998, p. 261)."

That al-Shafi'i's legal interpretation - call it Hadith or biography - has withstood the test of time to continue to direct and impact the lives of Muslims, regardless of whether or not the body of legalese was promulgated by Shafi'i or those contemporaries dedicated to his expressions of Hadith, suggests that al-Shafi'i is indeed the most influential jurist in Islamic law since the Prophet Muhammad.

(2000). Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of Al-Mamun. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=105291461
Ruthven, M. (2000). Islam in the World (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=88458871

Sachedina, a.A. (1998). The Just Ruler (Al-Sultan Al-Adil) in Shiite Islam: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=106148856