How does the Shafi'i school permit the slaughter of the sacrificial animal before the day of Eid, given the Qur'anic texts, "So pray to your Lord and sacrifice," which indicate sequence, and the Hadith, "Whoever slaughters before the prayer, it is charity and not a sacrifice"?

"Daring to disparage imams and deem them ignorant is rejected. No one is infallible, but this does not mean that someone who has not mastered the fundamentals of Islamic sciences should dare to declare imams wrong without examining their sources and methods of inference.

The fatwa you found problematic is not related to Udhiyah (sacrifice on Eid al-Adha), but rather to the obligatory Hady (sacrificial animal) during Hajj. The innocence of Al-Shafi'i from contradicting texts has become clear. Even though his opinion on the issue of Hady is outweighed by others, this does not mean impugning him, for the matter is one of ijtihad (independent reasoning). Magnifying the imams and knowing their worth is part of magnifying the rituals of Allah. Allah Almighty says: 'That [is so]. And whoever honors the symbols of Allah – indeed, it is from the piety of hearts.' (22:32) It is obligatory to maintain proper respect for them even when disagreeing with them or preferring another opinion."