Priorities and methodology of issuing fatwas in the Shafi‘i madhhab

Abstract

   This article discusses the methodology followed by the scholars of the Shafi‘i school of jurisprudence in determining the offi cial opinion (fatwa) within the madhhab. It explains the reasons why the majority of jurists from the 7^th century AH onwards adopted the opinions of the two great Imams, al-Rafi‘i and al-Nawawi, over others. The article also touches on the approach taken by the jurists from the 11^th century AH onwards, who relied on the opinions of prominent theorists such as Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari, as well as the scholars like Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Makki, Jamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ramli, and the others. Additionally, the article clarifi es whose opinion should be followed in case of disagreement among the mentioned scholars and provides some rules for preferring (tarjih) one opinion over another. All of this is supported by the quotations from the works of authoritative researchers of the madhhab, with the aim of compiling their scattered statements in one place.