Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuHu,

The two relied-upon sources for fatwa in the Shafi’i Madhhab are Ibn Hajar’s Tuhfat al-Muhtaj and Ramli’s Nihayat al-Muhtaj. In both, Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah is defined as those who maintain the beliefs that the Prophet Muhammad (sallaAllahu alayhie wa sallam) was upon, his companions, and those following them; being represented by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, and those who follow them. (See: Tuhfat al-Muhtaj v. 10; Nihayat al-Muhtaj v. 8, p. 305) The reason for this is as Qalyubi stated, “because they are upon what the Prophet (sallaAllahu alayhie wa sallam) was upon.” (Qalyubi on Mahalli v. 4, p. 322)

And Allah knows best.

Shafiifiqh.com Fatwa Dept.