From what I feel, overall, Hanafi is the strictest and Shafi is the easiest: 1) You can only pray the fardh and not every pray anything else (including witr) - no problem 2) no kaffarah for eating intentionally 3) no hurme musahharat 4) plucking of eyebrows allowed 5) shaving the beard allowed 6) pants below the ankles allowed 7) combining salat in journey allowed without any excuse 8) i heard combining salat during rain also allowed 9) no zakat on gold/silver jewellery 10) bismillah not a requirement for slaughter 11) it seems niqab not required either 12) udhiya/qurbani not wajib 13) witr not wajib 14) haram fantasizing about opposite gender not sinful even while having intimate relations 15) all seafood allowed Catch all: if anything is stricter compared to other madhabs, one can follow the other madhab by doing mix-and-match without any need/excuse - absolutely no problem - this is what has been relayed to me reliably from Moulana Taha Karan I personally do not recall encountering any issue where the Shafis did not opt for another less reliable position or position from another madhab when their opinion was strict, unless the easier opinion is an opinion held by the salafis.