Answered by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher
How should one respond to the accusation that the Shafi’i madhhab is a
purely theoretical school of thought. As I saw one Maliki put it “The
Shafi’i madhhab is currently and always has been a strictly academic
non-practical and theoretical ivory-tower madhhab”. Could you provide some
examples that show this not to be the case.
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
The practical nature of all four schools of Sunni Islam is established by the fact that Muslims all over the world have lived their lives according to the dictates of each of these schools for over a millennium.
To claim that any of the four schools is has never been practical or applicable goes against this plain fact and requires proof. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), said in a famous hadith included by Imam Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him) in his collection of 40 hadiths, “The onus of proof is on the one who makes the claim.” (Bayhaqi)
And Allah knows best.
Hamza.