Imām al-Nawawī: A Biography
Name
His name is Abū Zakariyyā Muḥyī al-Dīn Yaḥyā b. Sharaf b. Murī b. Ḥasan b. Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. Jumʿah b. Ḥizām al-Nawawī al-Shāfiʿī.
He is known as al-Nawawī after Nawā, a village in Syria, and later as al-Dimishqī, after Damascus.
Imām al-Nawawī was a prominent scholar of the Shāfiʿī madhhab.
Birth
Imām al-Nawawī was born in Muḥarram 631h in the village of Nawā. By the age of ten he had begun the memorisation of the Qurʾān, and was already studying books of fiqh and other Islamic sciences with the learned scholars of his time.
In 649h he travelled to Damascus with his father to enrol at the Madrasah Dār al-Ḥadīth, which adjoined the eastern side of the Umawī Masjid. In 651h he performed the Ḥajj with his father, and then returned to Damascus.
Life
In 665h Imām al-Nawawī took over the teaching at the Madrasah Dār al-Ḥadīth, which he continued until his death at the age of forty-five.
His student ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn b. al-ʿAṭṭār narrates that, such was his zeal and commitment, Imām al-Nawawī would study twelve lessons every day with his teachers:
- two lessons on al-Wasīṭ;
- a lesson on fiqh;
- a lesson on the aḥādīth shared between Bukhārī and Muslim;
- a lesson on the ṣaḥīḥ of Imām Muslim;
- a lesson on al-Lumaʿ of Ibn Jinnī, on the science of Arabic grammar;
- a lesson on Iṣlāḥ al-Manṭiq of Ibn al-Sikkīt, on language;
- a lesson on morphology;
- a lesson on the principles of fiqh;
- a lesson on al-Lumaʿ of Ibn Isḥāq, or otherwise on al-Muntakhab of Imām al-Rāzī;
- a lesson on asmāʾ al-rijāl;
- a lesson on uṣūl al-dīn.
His student adds that Imām al-Nawawī would write each of these lessons down with their commentary, noting any difficulty, clarifying the text, and glossing the harder words.
Works
Imām al-Nawawī authored many famous works which Muslims continue to benefit from to this day. Among the more famous are:
- Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
- al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab
- Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn
- al-Adhkār
- Tahdhīb al-Asmāʾ wa al-Lughāt
- al-Arbaʿūn al-Nawawiyyah
- al-Minhāj fī al-Fiqh
Character
Imām al-Nawawī was known to be a great ascetic and a man of piety, unmatched in his actions, in commanding the good and in forbidding the evil. The books of history record many illustrations of his piety and his good character.
One such example is that Imām al-Nawawī was known not to eat the fruits of Damascus. When asked why, he replied that many of the lands of Damascus were endowments left for the relief of those in need, the orphans and the poor; he could not be sure that the proceeds from the sale of those fruits were being put to their proper use, and so he would not eat them.
A further example is that he would not accept gifts from any but his close relatives and parents, except where there was a need; and he would only borrow from those who appeared upright in their religion. His mother would send him clothes, and his father provisions. He slept in a room within the Madrasah where he studied. Imām al-Nawawī was a sincere scholar who strove in the path of Allāh ﷻ with his words and his speeches. The people would flock to him, seeking advice and Islamic rulings, and he would receive them gladly and seek to ease their troubles.
Death
In 676h Imām al-Nawawī returned to his home town of Nawā. After returning the books he had borrowed from various endowments, he visited the graves of his teachers and made duʿāʾ for them. After visiting his companions and his parents, he went to Bayt al-Muqaddas, then returned to Nawā. He fell ill and passed away on the 24th of Rajab in 676h.
When the news of his death reached Damascus the whole city mourned. The supreme judge of the time, ʿIzz al-Dīn Muḥammad b. al-Ṣāʾigh, went to Nawā with a group of Muslims to pray over Imām al-Nawawī at his grave.
Imām al-Nawawī strove for knowledge throughout his life, and although he died at the relatively young age of forty-five, he left behind a great deal in the form of his books and his learning. May Allāh ﷻ have mercy upon him and raise him with those whom He has favoured among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the pious.