IMAM AN-NAWAWI (MAY ALLAH HAVE MERCY ON HIM)
Please note: This information has been derived from various sources. Some has been paraphrased while other parts are direct quotes. All intellectual properties belong to their respective owners.
TIME PERIOD:
The Seventh Century of Islam was a very turbulent time, especially for the area of Shaam. The Mongols invaded the East and the Crusaders controlled part of the Muslim lands from the West. The Muslim forces continued to battle and make headway against the Mongols. Similarly, the Crusaders were defeated and removed from Shaam in the year 691 CE. By the grace and mercy of Allah, these turbulent times did not mean the end of Islam studies for the inhabitants of that area. In fact, Noor-ud-Deen Zanki (d. 569 CE) opened many schools for the study of Islam. He opened the first Dar-ul-Hadeeth in Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere. One does not find a shortage of scholars and learning even during that century of Islamic history.
NAME:
Abu Zakariyyah Muhy-ud-Deen Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Hizaami an-Nawawi or an-Nawaawi
His father named him Muhy-ud-Deen (the reviver of the Religion). Imam Nawawi, who always had respect for his father, refused to use the name out of humility saying, ‘Who am I to give life to the Deen when the Deen lives and I die?’
LINEAGE:
Yahya, son of Sharaf, son of Murry, son of Hasan, son of Husain, son of Muhammad, son of Juma, son of Hizaam. His ancestors were from a place in Syria called Hizaam.
BIRTH:
Imam Nawawi was born in a village called Nawaa, south of Damascus, Syria.
He was born in 631 A.H. (1233 CE) and passed away in 676 A.H. (1277 CE). He only lived 44 years but is an example of someone whose life was so blessed that he left behind a legacy that would take hundreds of years for an average person to build. This is a sign of his acceptance with Allah Almighty.
FAMILY AND UPBRINGING:
Imam Nawawi did not come from a well-known family. They were a modest family, not known for producing great scholars. His father was very pious. His father had a garden in which he would grow food for his family. He would avoid, and taught his family to avoid, eating anything which may be forbidden in any way whatsoever.
Shaykh Afthar (one of his greatest students) mentions from Imam Nawawi’s father that when Imam Nawawi was around 7 years old, Imam Nawawi woke up in the middle of the night. They had a small house and slept in the same room. He asked his parents, ‘Do you all see that?’ They asked him, ‘What? It is dark with no light?’ He asked startled, ‘Do you not see the room filled with Nur?’ They did not understand what he meant but then realised in was the 27th night of Ramadan. His father considered the greatness of his young son who had received the blessings of Laylat-ul-Qadr.
Another indication of who this boy was to become occurred when he was 10 years old. A pious Shaykh named Shaykh Yasin al-Murakashi was walking in the streets of Nawaa. He saw boys playing during their Madrasah playtime. There was a boy off to the side who they kept insisting to join them. He was studying Mushaf and at their insistence started to cry, ’I don’t want to play. I just want to study.’ Shaykh Yasin found the boy’s Qur’an teacher and told him to pay attention to this boy because he will be someone for the Ummah. His Qur’an teacher looked at Shaykh Yasin and said in shock, ‘How can you make a prediction of the future?’ The Shaykh assured him that he is not a charlatan astrologer but rather he saw signs of piety in the young boy. Imam Nawawi’s father is also told to care of his learning. His father, despite being a labouring farmer, dedicated his attention to his son’s studies. He sat him in the store and told his son, ‘You sit here and memorize the Qur’an.’ Thus, Imam Nawawi memorized. His family were pious and his father had a desire that his son dedicate his life to Islamic education from a young age. His father’s prayers came true and now Imam Nawawi is one of the greatest scholars in Islam.
At the age of 18, his father took him to Damascus to continue his studies. Imam Nawawi never
married because he only wanted to dedicate his life to knowledge.
YOUTH AND FURTHER EDUCATION:
Because there were no Islamic institutes where he lived, when he was 18, his father took him to Damascus which was considered the centre of learning and scholarship. During that period, there were more than 300 Islamic institutes, colleges and universities in Damascus. Imam Nawawi first studied at the Saaramiya Madrasah in Damascus. He had no housing there whatsoever.
After some time, he approached the Shaykh of the Madrasah to ask if he had any housing. They had no housing so the Shaykh suggested that he go to Rawaahiyah Madrasah. Imam Nawawi joined Madrasah Rawaahiyah which was affiliated with the Ummavi University. The founder and patron of this Madrasah was a trader named Zakiuddin Abul-Qasim, known as Ibn Rawaha (He was called such because he was a descendant of the great Sahabi Abdullah ibn Rawaha). He studied in this institution for 2 years. There he was given a very small room in which he lived for a number of years. He remained in that small room until he was named the head of the Ashrafiyah Madrasah, a number of years later.
INTELLIGENCE AND STRUGGLE FOR DEEN:
Imam Nawawi states about himself (whilst encouraging other students to continue studying with a cheerful heart despite lack of physical comforts), ‘During my stay in Madrasah Rawaahiyah, I never had complete rest and lived on the limited food supplied by the institution.’
He used to sleep very little at night. When it became difficult, he would lean and slumber against the support of books. After a short duration he would again study.
It was stated that, when one visited him, the room was so small and the books were so many, that the only was one could sit down was to remove the books and pile them on top of each other to make some room to sit.
Imam Nawawi says, ‘For 2 years I was in that Madrasa I never slept on my side. I slept leaning back because I wouldn’t allow myself to sleep too much.’
This attitude of disengagement with worldly comforts allowed him to amass large portions of knowledge in short amounts of time. In 4 months he memorized Kitab-ut-Tarbih, a very difficult book in Shafii fiqh, and then spent rest of period memorizing Hadith.
He used to have twelve study sessions (lessons) a day with his teachers. These included explanations, verifications, commentaries, explaining the different aspects and expressions as well as exacting the correct wordings. This would take, at a least approximation, twelve hours a day.
Al-Qutb al-Yauneeni said, ‘He would not waste any moment of the day or night but he would spend it busy with attaining knowledge. Even when he walking and in the streets he will be busy going over what he had remembered and reviewing his notes. He continued gaining knowledge in that way for a period of six years.’
He would go home to his room at night and he would write. He would write until he couldn’t write anymore that evening, then he would lean back and sleep until he heard the Adhan. He would wake up and restart the same blessed schedule.
One of great statements he makes about that time is, ’It came to my mind while I was engaged in all this study, that perhaps I should study some medicine. So I bought Qitab al-Qanoon of Ibn Sina and brought it home and I resolved that I was going to study medicine. So my heart began to darken and days would pass I was unable to do anything so I started thinking what could it be? And then it came to me I was inspired to recognize, it was because I was busying myself with medicine, so I sold the book and I took out of my house any book that was related to medicine and light entered my heart, and I came back to the state I was in before.’ This does not discourage the study of medicine but shows that Allah Almighty had selected him for expertise in the science of Deen.
Allah Almighty blessed him immensely in his time. He gave him the ability to complete in one day what it takes everyone else 2 years to accomplish. Whatever the book he read, he put down the marginal notes and explanations on that book. According to Imam Dhahabi, Imam Nawawi’s concentration and absorption in academic love gained proverbial fame. This is the only way we can explain this tremendous undertaking that made him one of the greatest scholars of his time in about 10 years. In fact, it made him one of the leading, if not the leading, Imam of his time.
TEACHING:
At the age of 24, he began teaching at the Ashrafiyah Madrasah.
He did not accept a stipend for his teaching. It seems that he may have accepted money for the first year or two. That money he did receive, he would spend on books that were left as endowments after him. However, after that time, he refused to accept any money whatsoever for his services. This shows that he did not spend money on anything besides the very basic necessities and what was required for his studies and writing. He chose not to accrue wealth.
TEACHERS:
During his stay at Damascus, he studied from more than 20 celebrated teachers. He studied all the sciences – whether it be Hadith, Islamic Jurisprudence, its principles, syntax and Etymology – from great scholars of his time. His intelligence, hard work, love, devotion and absorption in his-studies amazed his teachers and they became fond of him and began to praise and admire him. A few examples of his teachers:
- Abu Ibrahim Ishaq bin Ahmad aI-Maghribi
- Abu Muhammad Abdur-Rahman bin Ibrahim al-Fazari,
- Radiyuddin Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al-Mudari
- Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Isa al-Muradi
- Abul-Baqa Khalid bin Yusuf an-Nablusi
- Abul-Abbas Ahmad bin Salim al-Misri
- Abu Abdullah al-Jiyani
- Abul-Fath Umar bin Bandar
- Abu Muhammad at-Tanukhi
- Sharaf-ud-Deen Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad al-Ansari
- Abul-Faraj Abdur-Rahman bin Muhammad al-Maqdisi
- Abul-Fada’il Sallar bin al-Hasan al Arbali etc.
STUDENTS:
There were hundreds of Imam’s students. Some notables are:
- Alauddin bin Attar
- Ibn Abbas Ahmad bin Ibrahim
- Abul-Abbas al-Ja’fari
- Abul-Abbas Ahmad bin Farah
- Rashid Ismail bin Mu’allim al-Hanafi
- Abu Abdullah al-Hanbali
- AbulAbbas al-Wasiti
- Jamaluddin Sulaiman bin Omar az-Zar’i
- AbulFaraj Abdur-Rahman bin Muhammad
- Badr Muhammad bin Ibrahim
- Shamsuddin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr
- Ash-Shihab Muhammad bin Abdul-Khaliq
- Hibatullah al-Barizi
- Abul-Hajjaj Yusuf bin az-Zaki etc.
HAJJ:
He went to Hajj with his father. His father was very moved by Imam Nawawi’s piety. Imam Nawawi was overtaken by a strong fever which remained until the day of Arafah. His father notes about him that he did not moan or complain once traveling in desert to Hajj with a sever fever. When they returned from that Hajj, his father said it was like Allah was pouring knowledge down into Imam Nawawi.
PIETY:
Imam Nawawi is known for his humbleness for the sake of Allah, his asceticism and adherence to the Sunnah lifestyle. He lived an extremely simple life. Some narrations state that all the clothing he possessed was a turban and long gown.
Imam Nawawi is also one of the rare scholars who never married, despite marriage being a blessed Sunnah. This is because he had dedicated his life to the study and spreading of knowledge and hardly had time relax for himself, let alone to care for the rights of a wife or offspring.
At one point in time, he would not eat anything except some bread and olives that his father would send him from time to time from their garden in Nawaa. Indeed, he refused to eat any of the fruits of Damascus because he feared that orchards, many of which were endowments and for orphans and others, were not handled properly and he feared that the food he would be eating was not from a permissible source. Another reason he gave for not eating the fruit was that much of it was handled through sharecropping and there was a difference of opinion among the scholars concerning the validity of sharecropping. In a footnote, Imam al-Haddaad points out that in reality all of those matters boiled down to one thing: Imam Nawawi was afraid to involve himself in any matter concerning which there was even the slightest doubt.
Cheif Justice Sulaimaan Zara’i narrated that he visited Imam Nawawi on the day of Eid. Imam Nawawi was eating some kind of broth with no meat. He asked Sulaiman to eat with him and he said that is was not appealing to him. Sulaiman’s brother went and bought some roasted meat and sweets. Sulaiman told Imam Nawawi to eat from it and he refused. Sulaiman said to him, ‘O my brother! Is this forbidden?’ He said, ‘No, but it is the food of the tyrants (and extravagant).’
He was also well-known for his modesty. Part of his modesty included never being served by any of his students. At the same time, he continued to serve his students even into his old age.
When someone would go to visit him, he would not sit to socialise because there was not enough room to sit in room due to the room being small in size and full of book. Also, he would sharpen his pens whilst they were present so as not waste time.
An-Nawawi would fast perpetually (every day except the days of Eid). In general, he would only eat once a day, after the last obligatory prayer of the day; and he would only drink once a day, before dawn. When he drank, he would drink cold water out of fear that it may make him drowsy.
BRAVERY:
One day, he was called by king Zhahir Bebris to sign a Fatwa, a way for the king claim religious approval for whatever plan he had. Imam Nawawi came; a skinny man wearing modest clothes. The king commanded him, ‘Sign this Fatwa!’ He read it and refused to sign it. The king got angry and asked why. He replied, ‘Because it contains a clear oppression.’ The king got even angrier and said, ‘Discharge this man from all his positions!’ The king’s servants said, ‘He owns no position at all.’ The king was eager to kill him but Allah prevented him from doing it by putting a fear of it in his heart. When he was asked, ‘Why didn’t you kill him, whereas he had dared to behave so impudent to you?’ The king answered, “By Allah, I feel really low in front of him.’ The king told him to go back to Nawa and he did. The scholars interceded on his behalf but Imam Nawawi refused to return as long the king was alive. One month after this, he passed away.
FIQHI MADHAB AND TAZKIYAH:
Imam Nawawi was a Shafi’ee in Fiqh and he was a Sufi -in the correct and upright meaning of the word- who focused on not only outward knowledge but inward knowledge too; which is the purification of the heart. He writes:
The specifications of the way of the Sufis are five:
1. To keep the Presence of Allah in your heart in public and in private
2. To follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) by actions and speech
3. To keep away from (unnecessary interaction with) people and from asking them
4. To be happy with what Allah gave you, even if it is less
5. To always refer your matters to Allah
STATUS:
His teacher Imam Muhy-ud-Deen says, ‘Imam Nawawi had three distinctive commendable qualities in his person. If anybody has even one out of these three, people turn to him in abundance for guidance.
1) Having knowledge and its dissemination.
2) To evade completely from the worldly inclinations.
3) Inviting to all that is good (Islam) enjoining virtue and forbidding vice.’
RETURN TO HOMELAND:
Imam Nawawi spent 27 years in Damascus and returned to his homeland Nawa, Syria. This world renowned scholar spend the last moments of his life teaching, moulding and benefitting the people the people of his hometown, along with others.
DEMISE:
After a brief illness, he passed away in the month of Rajab in the year year 676 A.H. He was around 44 years of age. Although he lived a short life, he benefitted the world so much that if a person lived hundreds of years, he would not be able to do what Imam Nawawi did. His resting place is in Nawa, Syria. There is a tree growing over his grave. (May Allah Almighty preserve his blessed grave; damage was done to the stone tomb but the tree survived during the ongoing bloodshed in Syria. May Allah Almighty bring peace, justice and safety for the people there and protect them from tyrants. Aameen.) May Allah fill his grave with Nur and benefit us through him. Aameen.
WORKS:
Imam Nawawi is a scholar whom the entire Ummah in indebted to. Allah Almighty gave him a depth of knowledge which is unparalleled. His contributions in every field, primarily the field fo Hadith, are invaluable and his words, views, teachings, explanations, compilations are studied all across the world. His tirelessness and dedication paid off. He would write and write until his hand felt pain, after which he would recite a couplet of poetry to keep him going. Some of his works are:
• Al-Minhaj bi Sharh Sahih Muslim شرح صحيح مسلم, (is considered the best commentary on Sahih Muslim)
• Riyadh as-Saaliheen رياض الصالحين, (a collection of hadith on ethics, manners, conduct, and is very popular in the Muslim world today)
• Al-Majmu’ sharh al-Muhadhdhab المجموع شرح المهذب, (is a comprehensive manual of Islamic law according to Shafii fiqh)
• Minhaj al-Talibin منهاج الطالبين وعمدة المفتين في فقه الإمام الشافعي, (a classical manual on Islamic Law according to Shafii fiqh)
• Tahdhib al-Asma wal-Lughat تهذيب الأسماء, (biographical Dictionary of Illustrious Men chiefly at the Beginning of Islam)
• Taqrib al-Taisir التقريب والتيسير لمعرفة سنن البشير النذير, (an introduction to the study of Hadith)
• Forty Hadiths (al-arbaʿīn al-nawawiyya) الأربعون النووية, (possibly the most celebrated Arba’in work across the world, published along with numerous commentaries)
• Kitab al-Adhkar الأذكار المنتخبة من كلام سيد الأبرار, (is a collection of Sunnah supplications)
• Manasik متن الإيضاح في المناسك, on Hajj rituals
• Ma Tamas ilayhi hajat al-Qari li Saheeh al-Bukhaari ما تمس إليه حاجة القاري لصـحيح البـخاري,
• Tahrir al-Tanbih تحرير التنبيه,
• al-Tibyan fi adab Hamalat al-Quran التبيان في آداب حملة القرآن,
• Adab al-fatwa wa al-Mufti wa al-Mustafti آداب الفتوى والمفتي والمستفتي,
• al-Tarkhis fi al-Qiyam الترخيص بالقيام لذوي الفضل والمزية من أهل الإسلام,
• Sharh Sunan Abu Dawood
• Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari
• Mukhtasar at-Tirmidhi
• Tabaqat ash-Shafi’iyah
• Rawdhat al-Talibeen
• Bustan al-Arifin
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