There are two qawl ( opinions ) for the Shafi’i school i.e Qawl Mashhur and Qawl Mu’tamad.

Generally was is meant by Qawl Mashhur, according to Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al Akiti, is, “In lay terms, the Qawl Mashhur refers to one of the conflicting fatwas or riwayas of our Mujtahid Imam. An example of this is in the mas’ala of dibagha [tanning], according to which the Qawl Mashhur as reported by Imam al-Nawawi in the Minhaj is that the inner side of the tanned hide is pure (as well as the outer surface (i.e., the fleece side), without there being any khilaf); and elsewhere we learn that this position is the Mujtahid Imam’s Qawl Jadid [New Position]. In scholarly terms, the khilaf is at the level of the Imam himself (and not at the level of our Ashab nor at the level of the Madhhab) and is itself technically known as the Qawlayn or the Aqwal of the Mujtahid Imam (instead of the Awjuh of the Ashab or the Turuq of the Madhhab).“

Whereas Qawl Mu’tamad is, “the one relied upon and the one practiced and is the teaching opinion of the school today, based on one of the earlier Rajih positions. In lay terms, this is the final (or official) position that is now followed by the school. But in reality, this is a psuedo-term [istilah ghalat] and it is not used in the Minhaj (although Imam al-Nawawi has occasionally been observed to use the term in its literal sense), nor was it used in any early manuals of the school with a strict technical meaning.”

>>Further reading 

THE SUNNAH OF EID:

by Imam Ali Siddiqui

1. Wake up early.
2. Offer Salatul Fajr. 3.Prepare for personal cleanliness take care of details of clothing, etc.
4. Take a Ghusl (bath) after Fajr.
5. Brush your teeth.
6. Dress up, putting on best clothes available, whether new or cleaned old ones.
6. Use perfume (men only).
7. Have breakfast on Eid-al-Fitr before leaving for prayer ground. On Eid-al-Adha, eat breakfast after Salaat or after sacrifice if you are doing a sacrifice.
8. Pay Zakaat-al-Fitr before Salaat-al-Eid (on Eid-al-Fitr).
9. Go to prayer ground early.
10. Offer Salaat-al-Eid in congregation in an open place except when whether is not permitting like rain, snow, etc.
11. Use two separate routes to and from the prayer ground.
12. Recite the following Takbir on the way to Salaat and until the beginning of Salaat-al-Eid. On Eid-al-Adha, Takbir starts from Maghrib on the 9th Zulhijjah and last until the Asr on the 12th Zulhijjah (Note: For the Shafi’i school, takbir starts after Asar on the 9th and ends after Asr on the third day of Tashrik): Allahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar. La ilaha illallah. Allahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar. Wa-lilahill hamd. (Allah is greater. Allah is greater. There is no god but Allah. Allah is greater. Allah is greater. And all praises are for Allah).

More on Jannah.org

It was a practice of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to spend the last ten days and nights of Ramadan in the mosque for I`tikaf.

Sayyidatina Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: I asked the Messenger of Allah: ‘O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night is the night of Qadr, what should I say during it?’ He said:

اَللَّهُمَّ اِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ ، تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي

Allahumma innaka ‘affuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni’ “

‘Say: O Allah, You are Oft-Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.’”
[Imam Ahmad, Imam Ibn Majah, and Imam at-Tirmidhi].

Abu Hurairah quoted Allah’s Messenger as saying: “Whoever stands (in prayer) in Laylatul Qadr while nourishing his faith with self-evaluation, expecting reward from Allah, will have all of his previous sins forgiven.”
[Sahih Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim].
Islam Awareness 

Please go here if you prefer to read in Malay…. Soal Jawab Fekah

I’ve only just started writing this blog last month, about the madhhab of my Imam, Nasir al Sunnah Imam Muhammad bin Idris al Shafi’i, the 2nd Mujaddid.

In the mean time, most Q&As are from the excellent site SunniPath! I will try to gather Q&A from other sites and if I have the time, try and translate answers from well known Shafi’i madhhab books, insha Allah.

These are some of the kutub read by Malays in the Malay archipelago ( Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand-especially the southern part, Indonesia, Kampuchea and the Philippines-Sulu, Mindanao and southern islands )

1. Muniyyah al-Musalli – by al ‘Allamah Shaykh Daud bin Abdullah al Fatani
2. Fath al Muin – by al ‘Allamah Zain al Din al Malibari ( in Arabic )
3. Sabil al Muhtadin – by al ‘Allamah Shaykh Muhammad Arshad al Banjari
4. Faridah al Fara’id – by al ‘Allamah Shaykh Daud bin Abdullah al Fatani
5. Hidayah al Salikin – by al ‘Allamah Shaykh Abd al Samad al Falimbani
6. ‘Aqidah al Najin – by al ‘Allamah Shaykh Wan Zainal Abidin al Fatani, better known as Tuan Minal
7. Sirr al Salikin – by al ‘Allamah Shaykh Abd al Samad al Falimbani

A small kitab which is widely used in the Malay archipelago. Small but nevertheless very informative and valuable. Written by al ‘Allamah al-Shaykh Abdullah bin Sa’ad bin Sumair al Hadrami al Shafi’i

A brother has translated the kitab into English and you can look it up at Majmu’. The content covers all the basic tenets of Islam as follows

1. Pillars of Islam
2. Pillars of Iman
3. Hukm Shar’i (Legal Rulings)
4. Meaning of “There is no god but Allah”
5. Book of Purification ( Tahara )
6. Book of Prayer ( Salat )
7. Book of Fasting ( Sawm )
8. Book of Obligatory Charity ( Zakat )
9. Book of Hajj
10. Extra Notes on Hajj and Visiting the Prophet (SAW)

In recent times, various Muslim circles have discussed whether we should follow the fiqh of one of the four Imams, such as the fiqh of Imam al-Shafi`i, the fiqh of Imam Abu Hanifa, etc., or whether we should follow the fiqh of the Sunna, or, better still, the fiqh of the Quran and Sunna. This dichotomy comes into high relief when a position documented in the fiqh of Imam al-Shafi`i, for example, is seemingly contradicted by the outward meaning of a hadith of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Should we, in such cases, follow the fiqh of Imam al-Shafi`i, or should we be faithful to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and follow the sahih hadith?

Read the full text by Shaykh Hamzah Karamali here 

This are books by Shafi’i scholars, rahimahumullah, from which rulings are decided in Fiqh according to the school of Imam al-Shafi’i, radiyallahu ta’ala anhu.

1) Tuhfatul Muhtaj – Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Haitami
2) Nihayatul-Muhtaj – Imam Al-Ramli
3) Mughni-Muhtaj – Khatib Sharbini
4) Hasyiah qalyubi wal umairah ‘ala sharhil minhaj
5) Fathul Wahhab – Sheikhul Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari
6) Syarah mahalli ‘ala Minhaj
7) Al-Iqna – Khatib Sharbini
Fathul-Qariib
9) I’anatut-Talibiin – Sh. Abu Bakar Syata
10) Al-Majmu’ – Imam Muhyiddin An-Nawawi
11) Raudatut-Talibiin – Imam Muhyiddin An-Nawawi
12) At-Tahrir – Sheikhul Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari
13) Fathul Jawwad
14) Fatawa al-Kubra
15) Syarah Ubab
16) Minhajul Qawim

This reference is taken from IslamAwareness website

Some brothers at HaqIslam have written a very brief biography of Imam al-Shafi’i. Please click here to read it.