Answered by Sidi Omar Mahmood
Shafi`i fiqh resources
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
as salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,
with regard to beginner fiqh resources in the Shafi`ii madhab…
One thing that struck me about my studies in Yemen,…when I arrived, I learned that the text `Umdat as-Salik (Reliance of the Traveller) is actually considered a very advanced text… in fact, students in Tarim do not study the Reliance until after at least having completed the following texts:
Risaalat al-Jami`ah
Safinat an-Naja
al-Muqaddama al-Hadramiyyah
matn Abi Shuja`
Yaqut an-Nafis
Safwat az-Zubad
for some students, it takes a couple years to finish all these… the point is, the Reliance, which is a very comprehensive and masha Allah text, assumes a lot of its readers.
some of the texts I mentioned are currently being/have been translated. for the Safinat an-Naja, which is an excellent overview of ibadaat for the beginner, it is currently being translated, check out: http://majmu.8m.com
also, the Risaalat al-Jaami`ah, by Habib Ahmad b. Zayn al-Habishi has been translated into English.. but I’m not sure of where to obtain the text…perhaps someone on this list knows?
wassalaam
-Omar