This category covers the science of fiqh according to the school of Imam al-Shafi’i, complete with evidence, explanations by scholars, and applications in daily life. All discussions are based on references from authoritative fiqh texts, such as Fathul Mu’in, Kifayatul Akhyar, Al-Majmu’, and others.
We present discussions on fiqh ranging from acts of worship to transactions, using a comprehensive and easy-to-understand approach, as taught in the Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah Islamic boarding schools.
Short Answer In the Shafi’i school, ivory taken from a dead elephant, a slaughtered elephant, or cut from a living elephant is impure. A smoking pipe made from that ivory is impure too. Using it in a wet mouth is forbidden according to every opinion in the school. Using dry ivory on the body is … Read more
Short Answer A carcass (maytah) is impure. The exceptions are the carcass of fish, locusts, humans, game that died before it could be slaughtered, and the fetus of a slaughtered animal. That is the ruling on carcass in Islam according to the Shafi’i school. Every exception is pure. Everything else stays impure, including a dead … Read more
Why Do Carcass Hides Raise Questions? Bags, Shoes, Belts, and Jackets: Where Does the Leather Come From? Take a quick look at what you are wearing. Leather shoes on your feet, a belt at your waist, a wallet in your pocket, or a leather jacket hanging in the closet. Almost everyone owns at least one … Read more
Water is the purification tool we know best. Yet in Shafi’i fiqh there is also soil for tayammum, stones for istinja, and tanning agents for the hide of carrion. The question is this: if the general purifier is only water, what is the standing of these three? This article answers from Asna al-Mathalib by Shaykh … Read more
For many Muslims, the question of how to purify dog impurity comes up the moment skin or clothing comes into contact with this animal — whether by accident, or because a dog is kept for a legitimate purpose such as guarding property or hunting. Unlike ordinary impurity, which can simply be washed away with plain … Read more
Blood on the body, clothing, prayer garments, bedding, or a mattress can raise three different questions: is blood impure, is it excused, and does it invalidate wudu? These questions must not be merged. Blood may be legally impure, while a small trace can still be excused in prayer. Likewise, contact with blood does not automatically … Read more
Human bodily fluids do not all have the same ruling in Shafi‘i fiqh. Some are najis—physical impurities that must be removed from the body, clothes, or prayer place. Others remain pure even though people may regard them as unpleasant. Each case should be read through three questions: Is the fluid najis? Does its discharge invalidate … Read more
Queefing is the term commonly used for air leaving a woman’s private part. It may also be called vaginal air, air from the front, or simply a sound from the vagina that resembles passing gas. So, does queefing break wudu? In the Shafi’i school, yes—when a woman is certain that air has actually exited through … Read more
Direct answer: in the Shāfiʿī school, human semen is pure, not impure (najis). So the answer to “is semen impure?”, “is semen najis?”, or “is sperm impure?” is no—provided that the fluid is actually semen and has not come into contact with another impurity. This article addresses the legal status of semen as a substance … Read more
This article explains the Shafi’i ruling on dogs in the chapter of ritual purity. Its focus is the legal status of dogs as najis mughallazhah—major impurity—what may transfer impurity, and how an affected object is purified. It does not attempt to cover every question about keeping dogs, hunting with dogs, or guard dogs. Those subjects … Read more