Shafi'i Fiqh

Sidi Abdullah asked me in an email:

“I was noting that in the recent discussion about Shafi’i fiqh and the Maliki madhab, there was no actual articulation of exactly what people love about Shafi’i madhab.  So I am assigning it to you in, say, 250 words or less, insha’llah.”

My Response:

Wa’alaykum Salam my beloved Sidi Abdullah,

It is interesting that you have asked me this question as I have been working on an article I titled “What They Said about Imām Ash-Shāfi’ī”. I have decided to take this opportunity to utilize the quotes I translated for that article so that I can shed light on this important issue. Though I do not speak for every Shāfi’ī and their personal reasons for choosing this madh-hab to guide them along their path in seeking divine legal knowledge, what I am producing in this response is five objective reasons that do not, in themselves surpass 250 words, though their explanations unfortunately surpass 250 words. I am certain that many Shafi’is will echo the same reasons, and may even add more. The following are the five reasons I chose this school: Imam Ash-Shafi’i’s spectacular learning and teaching career, his authoring of the Risālah as well as other works that have come to us only in pieces, the fact that both Imāms Mālik and Ahmad attested to his immense understanding of law, his mastery of the language, and the overall strength of his school in relying upon hadith.

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Imam Tajud-Din As-Subki in his Tabaqat reports the following beneath his entry on Abi Ibrahim Isma’il ibn Yahya Al-Muzani:

“And Al-Muzani reported from Imam Ash-Shafi’i that he heard him saying, ‘It is not permitted (لا يحل) for anyone who hears the the hadith of Rasulullah (’alayhis salam) regarding raising the hands at the beginning of Salah, upon bowing, upon rising from bowing to abandon his [exemplary] model of his actions.”

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Alhamdulilah: A sister recently requested that I compile some statements of the Shafi’i jurists regarding the ‘awrah of a woman amongst other women. Some of the quotes within this article have previously been translated by me in other articles on this website. So do not be surprised if you see repetitive quotes. However, I have added new material. The strongest view of the madh-hab, without doubt, is that it is permitted for a woman to look at another woman save for what is between her navel and knees. There is disagreement amongst the Shafi’i jurists regarding what can be exposed in front of a disbelieving woman however.

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Sister Umm Muhammad wrote in a comment in one of the posts:

Bismillaah.Peace be upon Prophet Muhammad.
As-Salaamu ‘alaykum all.
A request/suggestion:
I’d appreciate if you could research the technicalities behind the whole “not supporting filth with your person” issue during salah. Alot of sisters pick up their children when they pray, but I refrain from doing so because of the almost constant najasah (my kid’s under 2 yrs).

Bismillah, Alhamdulillah:

Dear Sister Umm Muhammad & all others who face this predicament,

I have searched for this issue in the works of jurisprudence and I feel that I am able to quote for you the statements of the Shafi’i scholars, as well as their argument for the permissibility of holding a child during Salah.

The following hadith is what brings forth this discussion:

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Written by Abul Layth

Lesson 2: Continuing the Pre-Conditions of Salāh

Download Lesson in Pdf: Lesson 2: Continuing the Pre-Conditions of Salāh; Facing the Qiblah, Timing, & Taharah (105) - 615.94 KB

This lesson will cover the rest of the issues of Shurūt As-Salāh (the pre-conditions of prayer). The first condition that we will elaborate upon is the necessity of facing the Qiblah. “Facing the Qiblah” includes two sub-issues: not facing the Qiblah due to Extreme peril (al-Khawf , fear) and not facing it in supererogatory Prayers (Tattawwu’ / Nāfil) performed while travelling. The second condition that we will cover is Al-Waqt, that the time for Salāh must be in for the validity of the prayer. This has three sub issues: rain, Hajj, traveling. Then we will briefly go over the necessity of one being pure of Hadath and Najāsah.

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“Shafi’i Salah Fiqh Series; Lesson 1: The First Pre-Condition of Salah, Covering the ‘Awrah”

Compiled by Abul Layth

Updated May 19th 2008

Download Lesson in Pdf: Seekingilm Shafi’i Salah Series; Lesson 1 Covering the Awrah in Salah (132) - 730.5 KB

Introduction

This is lesson one of the SeekingIlm Shafi’ī Salah Fiqh Series. The first lessons will cover the pre-conditions of prayer. Imām An-Nawawī states in his Minhāj that there are five shurūt (pl. of Shart) for Salāh

• 1. Knowing the time for the prayer.
• 2. Facing the Qiblah
• 3. Covering the ‘awrah.
• 4. Being pure from Hadath - طهارة الحدث (ritualistic impurities, i.e. such as passing wind, being in the state of Janābah (sexual defilement), or menstruating, or generally being out of the state of wudhu’).
• 5. Being pure of Najasah - طهارة النجس (impurities, such as feces, dog etc). (See Al-Minhāj)

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Written by Abul Layth

Imam An-Nawawī states in his primer on Shafi’i fiqh Al-Minhāj,

“And the Qunut is a Sunnah when rising from the bowing position (ruku’) in the second raka’ah of the morning prayer (As-Subh). And what is said is [the supplication],اللهم اهديني فيمن هديت

“Allahumma Ahdini fiman hadayt…”

Until the end of the supplication. The Imam recites [the du'aa] in plural form, and what is correct (sahīh) is that it is Sunnah to send blessings upon Rasūlullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) at the end of the supplication, and that the hands be raised, and that one does not wipe their face, and that the Imām says it aloud while the the one following says Amīn…”¹

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Footnotes (Click ↩ at the end of the note to Go Back to Original Place in the article) :

1. Sirraj Al-Wahhaj ‘Ala Matn Al-Minhāj page 148: Dar-Al-Kutub Al-‘Ilmiyyah [↩]

Compiled by Abul Layth

 

For some time now it has been my intent to do a research paper on the beard. Then I came across the fatwa of Shaykh Muhammad Al-Akiti that surpassed anything that my lowly uneducated soul could produce. With the encouragement of Brother Hussain, I have decided to do my own minimal research and to summarize the research of Shaykh Muhammad while adding a few more quotes prior to it. Ibn Hajr Al-Haytami mentions the following in his Tuhfat Al-Muhtāj:

قال الشيخان يكره حلق اللحية واعترضه ابن الرفعة في حاشية الكافية بأن الشافعي رضي الله تعالى عنه نص في الأم على التحريم قال الزركشي وكذا الحليمي في شعب الإيمان وأستاذه القفال الشاشي في محاسن الشريعة وقال الأذرعي الصواب تحريم حلقها جملة لغير علة بها كما يفعله القلندرية

 ”The two Shaykhs (i.e. Nawawī and Rāfi’ī) considered it makruh to shave the beard. Ibn Ar-Rifa’ah opposed [their opinion] in Hāshiyat Al-Kāfiyah due to the fact that there is a decisive proof (nass) from Imam Ash-Shāfi’ī in his Al-Umm for it being harām to shave the beard. Az-Zarkashī stated that the same was stated by Al-Halīmī in his Shu’ab Al-Imān, as well as his teacher Al-Qaffāl Ash-Shāshī in Mahāsin Ash-Shari’ah and Al-Adhru’ī stated, ‘And what is correct is that it is harām to shave it as the Qalandaris do.’”

Without going into incredible detail the following scholars according to the above quote, as well as the articles that will follow conclude the following:

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The Shafi’i author and jurist Abu Is-haq Ash-Shirāzī stated,

“It is not permitted for women to visit the graves due to what is reported from Abu Hurayrah (radhiya Allahu ‘Anhu) from the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) that he stated, “The curse of Allah is upon women who visit the graves.”¹

 

However, Imam An-Nawawi disagrees.
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Footnotes (Click ↩ at the end of the note to Go Back to Original Place in the article) :

1. Reported by Imam At-Tirmidhī in his Sunan saying afterwards, “Hasan Sahīh” [↩]

Research Compiled by Abul Layth

The Shafi’i jurist and judge, Qadhi Safadi stated regarding this issue,

“They all agree that touching the genitals with something other than the hand does not break wudu’. They disagree about touching the penis with the hand. Abu Hanifah says that it absolutely does not break wudu’ however you do it. Ash-Shafi’i and Mālik say that Wudu’ is broken by touching skin to skin with the front of the hand but not the back. The well-known position of Ahmad is that either the front or back of the hand breaks it. They agree that someone who touches his testicles, even without a covering, does not have to do wudu’. They disagree about touching the opening of the anus. Abu Hanifah and Mālik say that touching it does not break wudu’. Ash-Shafi’i and Ahmad say that it does. There is, however, one position from ash-Shafi’i and one transmission from Ahmad that it does not break wudu’.¹

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Footnotes (Click ↩ at the end of the note to Go Back to Original Place in the article) :

1. The Mercy in the Difference of the Four Sunni Schools by Qadi Safadi, Trans. By Aisha Bewley. Published by Dar-Al-Taqwa 2004 [↩]

Compiled by Abul Layth for all English Speaking Shafi’is 

This article is a compilation of all of the statements of the shafi’i jurists that I could find specifically on the issue of covering the face. I am sure there are more, and if I find more, I will add them to this collection. I have taken many of these quotes from the SeekingIlm research paper “Defending the Obligation of Niqab”. Many, however, are newly translated and are taken from my own personal research regarding this legal issue. I hope this collection of statements encourages all Shafi’is to implement the madh-hab’s official stance on the issue.

Continued