I am a Shaafi' student from Cape Town studying at a Hanafi Darul Uloom.

Answer

At least in South Africa, the Shaafi' Math-hab is on its death bed. Those who are supposed to be Shaafi' Ulama, simply pick and choose from different Math-habs as it suits their whimsical fancies. They are liberals who flit from Math-hab to Math-hab, and from Math -hab to the nafs which is the ultimate determinant for their fatwas of corruption which they issue even in conflict with the Shaafi' Math-hab. They are Shaafi's only in some zaahiri ahkaam such as Rafa' Yadain, Salaat, Wudhu, etc. They will switch from math-hab to math-hab without compunction.

Even though you are studying at a Hanafi Madrasah, if you are a genuine Taalib-e-Ilm, you will, Insha-Allah, gain sufficient expertise to become grounded in the Shaafi' Math-hab by studying the Shaafi' Kutub. It will not be a problem. Apply yourself fully to the Kutub. Do not stunt your isti'daad (ability) by calcifying your brains with the computer. Do not become a computer molvi. All the students of current Darul Ulooms are heavily reliant on computers for the smattering of knowledge which they glean from spiritually impure devices. The gross deficiency of Isti'daad has precluded meaningful access to the Kutub of the Shariah. Cut and paste jobs are the specialities of the paper 'mujtahids' of our era. They simply lap up whatever the internet disgorges. They are scandalously reliant on the computer-crutch.

Create a strong Munaasabat with the Kutub, so that these original sources do not become closed books for you.

Although we are Hanafis, we are constrained to assist numerous Shaafis from various countries of the world. We answer their queries by making research of the Shaafi Kutub. In this era in which admut taqleed is an entrenched disease, it is necessary to rigidly cling to the Math-hab. Do not corrupt your roohaaniyat – Taqwa and Baseerat – by studying at any of the miscreant 'Shaaf'i' outfits in South Africa. Your academic independence and intellectual progress will become stagnated and even retrogress until you will become a proponent of baatil without even realizing the gnawing disease of baatil ta'weel in which most Ulama – Shaafi' and Hanafi – of the current era excel. This is the age in which the ulama-e-soo' preponderate, and the Ulama-e-Haqq are the Ghuraba predicted by Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam), and for which Nabi-e-Kareem (Sallalahu alayhi wasallam) offered Congratulations and good tidings.

Study carefully the following kitaabs which we have published: (1) Tresses of Jannat (2) The Sunnah Beard (3) Thikrullaah in the Mirror of the Sunnah, and (4) The Rainwater Hadith. From these publications you will understand why we discourage students from studying at the so-called Shaafi' Madrasah. The originality of the Shaafi' Math-hab is not of imperative import at such liberal institutions where the characters hallucinate that they are 'mujtahids'.

May Allah Ta'ala imbue Noor in your studies, and may He grant you Taqwa and Baseerat.