Sayyida Nafisa, the full name As-Sayyidah Nafīsah bint Amīr al-Muʾminīn Al-Ḥasan al-Anwar ibn Zayd al-Ablaj ibn Al-Hasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib al-ʿAlawiyyah al-Ḥasaniyyah, was a female descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a scholar and teacher of Islam. Having taught Sunni Imam Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi'i, she is the best known female scholar of hadith in Egypt.

Al-Shafi'i was a Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be among the first contributors to the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, having authored one of the earliest works on the subject: al-Risala. His legacy and teaching on the matter provided it with a systematic form, thereby "fundamentally influenc[ing] the succeeding generations which are under his direct and obvious impact," and "begin[ning] a new phase of the development of legal theory."