The greatscholars and pious individuals of the past can be great examples for theliving. Their behavior and actions can have a great effect upon the hearts.
Imam Al Nawawi,also known as Imam Nawawi or Imam An Nawawi, had a very short life of 45 years butduring this short period, he had written a large number of books on differentsubjects and his every book has been recognized as a valuable treasure of Islamicknowledge.
His Birth and Family:
Imaman-Nawawi was born in the holy month of Muharram 631 AH (1233 AD) in NawaVillage, near capital city of Damascus, Syria. Al Nawawi did not come from awell-known family. There is very little mention of his father and otherrelatives. This implies that they were a modest family. They also were notknown for producing great scholars. However, his father did have a reputationfor being very pious and God-fearing.
His fullname is Abu Zakaria Mohi-ud-din Yahya, son of Sharaf An-Nawawi, son of Murry,son of Hassan, son of Hussain, son of Muhammad, son of Juma, son of Hazam. He is given the descriptive name Al Nawawi becauseof his hometown.
Islam in Seventh Century of the Hijra (7thAH):
The 7th century ofIslam was a very turbulent time as Mongols invaded the Muslim lands (MiddleEast). However during the last decade of the century, Mongols were defeated andremoved from these Muslim lands. By the grace and mercy of Allah, theseturbulent times did not mean the end of Islamic studies for the inhabitants of thatarea. In fact, Noor AlDeen Zanki opened the 1st Dar-ul-Hadith inDamascus during this century. One does not find a shortage of scholars andlearning even during that turbulent century of Islamic history.
His Childhood:
From his youth, Al-Nawawi was notattracted to sports or playing. Indeed, the other children chided him forthis. From an early age, he turned his attentionto his studies. He hated any activitythat would take him away from memorizing the Quran. On one occasion, thechildren forced him to play with them and he cried because of the time that hewas wasting. It is not surprising then that he memorized the Quran at an earlyage. His teacher in Nawa conveyed this incident to Imam's father who was a virtuousand pious man. Keeping in view the learning quest of his son, he decided todedicate the life of his son for the service and promotion of the cause ofIslamic Faith. In a short period, An-Nawawi learnt to read the Quran and bythat time he nearly had attained puberty.
His Pursuit of Knowledge:
Imam An-Nawawi lived in Nawatill the age of 18 years. In the year 649 AH, he went to Damascus which, atthat time, was considered the center of learning as there were more than threehundred institutes, colleges and universities in Damascus. He studied Hadith,Islamic jurisprudence and principles from more many great Islamic scholars suchlshaaq ibn Ahmad al Maghrabi Al-Maqdisi, Abdul Rahmaan Al-Anbari and AbdulAzeez Al-Ansaari. He studied Sahih Muslim from Abu lshaaq Ibraaheem Al-Waasiti.Imam Nawawi studied at Madrasah Saaramiya school, Madrasah Rawahiyah (affiliatedwith the Ummvi University) and Daar-ul-Hadits. He began teaching at theAshrafiyah school at the age of 24. His reputation and excellence as a scholarbegan to be recognized by the scholars and inhabitants of Damascus. During thisperiod, he performed the Hajj pilgrimage in 1253 AD.
His pursuit of knowledgedominated his entire life. He would putall of his time into studying, learning and teaching. It is even stated that hewould not sleep except when sleep would overtake him. He would rest on his book and sleep for alittle, then he would act startled upon awakening and continue studying. Heonce said about himself,
"I spent two years without lying on the ground [tosleep] on my side”
Al-Qutb Al-Yauneeni said abouthim,
"He would not waste any moment of the day or night but he would spendit busy with attaining knowledge. Even when he is walking in the streets, hewill be busy going over what he had remembered and reviewing his notes. He continuedgaining knowledge in that way for a period of six years."
His Austerity:
He led a very austere, simple andmodest life although it would have been possible for him to live otherwise,given his teaching position and influence.Some narrations state that all the clothing he possessed was a turbanand a long gown. He did not desire any of the pleasures of this world. At one pointin time, he would not eat anything except some cake and olives that his fatherwould send him from time to time from Nawa. One of the reasons for this wasthat he was certain that such food came from permissible sources.
He did not accept a stipend forhis teaching. Nawawi’s only material possession of this world was books as hissmall room was like a warehouse of books and his goal was not simply to possessa large library. His books were not fordecoration or display. Instead, he benefited greatly from those works and, fromhis lectures and writings, numerous people have benefited from them since then.
Al-Nawawi Never Married:
Al Nawawi never got married andthe reasons for this was his austerity and lack of desire for the pleasures ofthis world. His life was filled with the desire to learn, teach and engage inacts of worship. Al-Diqr writes:
“It is possible that he did not marry becausehe feared that he would not be able to fulfill the rights of his wife due tohis learning desires.”
His Writings/Books:
Al Nawawi started writing in theyear 663 or 664. Hence, in a span of twelve or thirteen years, he compiled someof the most important works in the history of Islam. His classic work, AlMajmoo, which he did notcomplete, is published in nine large sized volumes. Following is just some ofhis works that he completed in that short time:
1. Riyaadh Al-Saaliheen ("Gardens of theRighteous")
2. Al Minhaj bi Sharh SahihMuslim (His Commentary to Sahih Muslim)
3.Al-Majmoo Sharh Al-Muhadhdhab
4.Minhaaj Al-Taalibeen
5.Tahdhib Al-Asma wal-Lughat
6.Taqrib Al-Taisir
7.Forty Hadiths
8.Kitab Al-Adhkar
9.Sharh Sunan Abu Dawood
10.Sharh Sahih Al-Bukhari
11. Mukhtasar At-Tirmidhi
12. Tabaqat Ash-Shafiiyah
13. Rawdhat Al-Talibeen
14. Bustan Al-Arifin
His Students:
Besides his writings, of course,Al-Nawawi cast his influence over numerous students. He taught for many yearsand many people benefited from him. Some of his better known students include:
1. Ibn Al-Attar
2. Jamaal Al-Deen al-Mizzi
3. Abu Al-Abbaas ibn Faraah
4. Al-Badr Muhammad ibn Jamaah
5. Abu Al-Rabi Al-Haashimi
Al-Nawawi and the Ruler:
The leader of the Muslims duringmuch of Al-Nawawi lifetime was Al-Sultan al-Dhaahir. He was a war hero. He was the one who foughtthe Mongols and handed them a great defeat. However, his status and popularity didnot prevent Al-Nawawi from standing up to him when he was wrong. On more thanone occasion, Al-Nawawi either approached the ruler in the Hall of Justice orsent him letters concerning a particular matter that was of common interest to thepeople of Damascus. On one occasion, Al-Nawawi sent the Sultan a letter onbehalf of the Muslim masses. It was also signed by a number of other scholars. Basically,this letter was a request from Imam Al-Nawawi for the ruler to lessen the taxesthat were placed on the inhabitants of Syria. Intention of Al-Nawawi's letter wasabout correcting the wrong that was being done by the ruler. He did not bowdown to the ruler just because he was the ruler and just because he had donesome excellent deeds in the past. However, he realized that he must advise theruler. In that response, the ruler claimed that he needed to collect those taxesfor the sake of jihad.
On his continues encounters withruler through letters and his personal persuasion to urge the ruler for all theright reasons, ruler became very upset with Al-Nawawi. Hence, he decided to have him removed fromDamascus. Al-Nawawi said that he would listen and obey- perhaps realizing thatsuch would cause less harm and civil strife then remaining in Damascus andopposing the ruler. Hence, he left Damascus and went to his hometown of Nawa.Scholars of that time went to try to bring Al-Nawawi back to Damascus. However,he refused. He said that he would not enter Damascus if Al-Dhaahir was stillthere. After a few months, Sultan Al-DhaahirBaibars died.
One can see that Al-Nawawi was adefender of the masses, a defender of the scholars and a defender of the truth.He would oppose anyone who went against the Quran and Sunnah. He would not justoppose the little people and leave the powers that be alone. Similarly, hislife was not simply about standing up to the ruler and forgetting about thewrong that others did. Indeed, one must include among his acts of establishinggood and eradicating evil the many writings that he has against differentinnovations that were practiced by the masses of his time.
His Death:
After returning to his hometownin Nawa, Al-Nawawi fell ill and passed away. He died on the 24th of Rajab, 676AH (1277 AD). He died at the age of forty-four. However, by the grace and mercyof Allah, his accomplishments during his short life span were equal to orgreater than many who lived even twice as long as he did.
When the news of his death reachedDamascus, the people were very saddened. Tears flowed from their eyes. One ofthe greatest scholars and greatest leaders of the people had passed away.Indeed, one who was greatly beloved by almost everyone he touched in his lifehad died.
His Burial Place:
He is buried in his hometown ofNawa, Syria. Al-Nawawi wished that his grave would be according to the Sunnahi-e it was to be leveled and not prominent. However, some people decided tobuild a dome over his grave. However, Allah willed that Al Nawawi 's wish befulfilled. Every time they tried to build something over his grave, it wasdestroyed. His grave, after manyattempts, was finally left flat, slightly marked and according to the sunnah. Hisgrave is still well-known and recognized today. May Allah reward Imam Al-Nawawi for all of his efforts and striving for the sake of Allah.
