Madhāhib

Legacy of the Shāfiʿī Madhhab in SA

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The following short lecture series by Mufti Taha Karaan methodically covers the historical development of the Shāfiʿī madhhab. This includes the Usuli development of the madhhab, major figures that propagated the madhhab, evolution of the madhhab in different geographical locations including the impact the had on the outlook of the madhhab, and the personalities that undertook the task of synthesizing or refining the variant opinions within the madhhab.

by Mufti Mohammad Taha Karaan

Dua e Qunūt

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If a Shāfiʿī muqtadi (follower) reads Fajr ṣalāh behind a Ḥanafī imam, what would be best for the Shāfiʿī to do with regards to Dua e Qunūt? Can he shorten the qunūt? If he does shorten the qunūt, does he make sujūd al-sahw (the prostration of forgetfulness)? If he reads the entire qunūt and joins the imam in sajdah, does he still make sajdah?

Keeping a Beard

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I’ve had people recently asking me the ruling for shaving the beard in accordance to my understanding all four schools of thoughts had a consensus that shaving is haram; however, I have read recently that the relied-upon position for the Shāfiʿī madhhab is that it is makrooh (not sinful) to shave the beard. Is this correct?

The ruling on Music and Fundraising using Ḥarām Means

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We are an Islamic School and wish to raise funds to construct a toilet block. We have been advised to hold a musical show. We are told that Mufti Kifayatullah has given a legal edict that permits the usage of riba [usury] for the construction of toilets. Would the same reasoning apply here as well? Also, should we be incorrect in our initial assumption, what if there were no other means to raise funds? Will this be deemed a case of darurah [necessity] and thereby render it permissible?

Al-Fatāwā al-Sirājiyyah on the Shāfiʿī Qiblah

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The Shāfiʿī position, of course, is that one should face the actual qiblah (ʿayn al-qiblah), while the Ḥanafīs take the more indulgent position of the general direction of the qiblah (jihat al-qiblah). With the Ḥanafīs having taken a position of greater latitude it becomes difficult to understand why the Shāfiʿī qiblah comes to be described as “wrong”, since one would naturally expect the narrower position to be subsumed within the broader one.

An allegation against Imam as-Subki

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The charge leveled against Imâm Taqiyy ad-Dîn as-Subkî is that despite possessing all the requirements for ijtihâd, he did not perform ijtihâd, and preferred to remain within the bounds of his madhhab, since the adoption of independent ijtihâd would preclude him from rising to positions which were reserved for fuqahâ of the madhâhib.