Abu Thawr ibn Ibrahim al-Kalbi: He was unparalleled in his lifetime, and when he passed away, he was not replaced
Abu Hatim al-Razi: The Jurist of the Desert, Trustworthy
Abu Hatim ibn Hibban al-Busti: He mentioned him among the trustworthy
Abu Dawud al-Sijistani: Al-Shafi'i does not have a hadith in which he erred
Abu Zur'a al-Razi: There is no hadith from al-Shafi'i that contains an error
Abu Abdullah al-Hakim al-Nishapuri: A leading Imam
Abu Mas'ud Ayyub ibn Suwayd al-Himyari: I never thought I would live to see someone like him, I have never seen a man like him
Ahmad ibn Hanbal: He was like the sun to the world and like wellness to the people, so look at these two from behind or instead of them, and once: His hadith is authentic and his opinion is correct, and once: He had little desire for hadith, and once: I have not seen anyone more knowledgeable in the Book of God Almighty than him
Ahmad ibn Siyar al-Marwazi: If it were not for al-Shafi'i, Islam would have been forgotten
Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i: We have one of the scholars, trustworthy, reliable
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani: The Reviver of Religion at the Turn of the Second Century
Al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Karabisi: We did not know what the Book and the Sunnah were, neither we nor those before us, until we heard from al-Shafi'i
Al-Dhahabi: The Imam, Defender of the Hadith, Trustworthy
Al-Qasim ibn Salam al-Harawi: I have not seen a man more intelligent than al-Shafi'i
Al-Mizzi: The Imam of his time and the Unique of his era
Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi: A young, understanding man, and once: I do not pray a prayer except that I pray for al-Shafi'i in it
Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr al-Hamidi: He said: The Master of Jurists, al-Shafi'i, told us
Ali ibn al-Madini: He said to his son: Do not leave a single letter of al-Shafi'i without writing it down, for in it is knowledge
Qutaybah ibn Sa'id: Al-Shafi'i is an Imam
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Hakam al-Masri: If anyone among the people of knowledge is an authority, then al-Shafi'i is an authority in everything
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Nishapuri: He considered him among the Imams to whom one refers in hadith and in evaluation and criticism
Mus'ab ibn Abdullah al-Zubayri: I have not seen anyone more knowledgeable of the days of the people than him
Yahya ibn Aktham al-Qadi: I have not seen anyone more intelligent than him
Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan: I have not seen anyone more intelligent or more knowledgeable than al-Shafi'i, and I pray to God for him specifically in every prayer
Yahya ibn Ma'in: Trustworthy, and once: If lying were permissible for him, his piety would prevent him from lying