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The Compassion of Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah)
‘Allaamah Subki (rahimahullah) mentions that on one occasion, Imaam Shaafi‘ee explained a mas’alah to Rabee’ bin Sulaymaan Al-Muraadi thirty nine times, yet he still did not understand it. Rabee’ then woke up and left the gathering out of shame. After the lesson, Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) called him in seclusion and again explained the mas’alah to him, with extreme love and affection, just as he had explained it during the thirty nine times. On the fortieth time, Rabee’ bin Sulaymaan understood it.
(Ma‘aalim-ul-Irshaadiyah pg 77)
Rabee’ bin Sulaymaan (rahimahullah) says that his ustaadh, Imaam Shafi‘ee (rahimahullah), would say to him out of love and affection, “If I could transform ‘Ilm (knowledge of Deen) into food and feed it to you, I would do so.”
(Ma’aalimul Irshaadiya pg. 78)