In Section 20 of the Kashf al-Mahjub, Hujwiri presents Imam Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i — the founder of the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence — as a participant in the Sufi tradition rather than only a jurist. Hujwiri stresses his noble Muttalibi lineage and kinship with the Prophet, his reputation for chivalry (futuwwat) and scrupulous piety (wara'), and his training under Imam Malik in Medina and later Muhammad ibn al-Hasan in Iraq. He highlights Shafi'i's natural inclination toward seclusion and toward verifying the mystical path, notes that followers gathered around him (Ahmad ibn Hanbal among them), and describes an early inner austerity drawn from the Sufis. The passage exemplifies how early Sufi hagiography claimed the great imams of law as fellow travelers on the spiritual path.