BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF IMAM AL-NAWAWI

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF IMAM AL-NAWAWI Yabya ibn Sharaf, Mubyi al-Din Abu Zakariyya al-Nawawi' ( 63 r-676 AH) the pious, ascetic, most learned, scrupulously God­ wary, accomplished jurisprudent and hadith master, the impecca­ ble Shaykh al-Islam by the unanimity of the people of the Sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), fearless be­ fore kings, lordly and chaste, who died young yet, in a short life of 4 5 years, produced works of learning that made him the principal authority in the later Shafi'i school. He is the "the standard-bearer of the Friends of God" (al-Dhahabi); and he himself said, "God has blessed me in the right use of my time," in reference to Imam al-Nawawi's remarkable scholarly output and achievements. Imam al-Nawawi is named after his hometown of Nawa near Damacsus. He is "the Spiritual Pole of the noble Friends of God, the Legist of Humankind, the Reviver of the Sunna and the Slayer of Innovation" (al-Sakhawi). May God bestow great and endless mercy on h im, bless him, and reward him on behalf of every Mus­ lim! Early Education and Teachers Imam al-Nawawi came to Damscus in 649 and lived in the Ma­ drasa al-Rawwabiyya. In four and a half months, he memorized Abu Isbaq al-Shirazi's manual of Shafi'i fiqh entitled al-Tanbih and a quarter of Abu Isbaq ibn Ahmad al-Muhadhdhab fi'l-madhab with his shaykh J.<;_haq ibn Ahmad al-Maghribi, after which he went on the Pilgrimage with his father-ailing during most of the xx

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF IMAM AL-NAWAWI trip--and took up residence in Madinah for a month and a half and then returned to Damascus. In his early studies, the Imam said, "It occurred to me to study medicine, so I bought the Qanun of Ibn Sina, wheՙupon darkness filled my heart and I remained unable to work for several days. Then I came to my senses and sold the Qanun, after which light filled my heart." Shaykh 'Abd al-Fattab Abu Ghudda commented: "In this way does God Most High create in souls attraction for one type of knowledge and aversion to another, proficiency in one, and deficiency in another; and in this there are great exam­ ples of wisdom, both hidden and manifest.'" Imam al-Nawawi's teacher include: al-Radi ibn al-Dahhan; Shaykh al-Shuyukh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Muhammad al-Anäari; Zayn al-Din ibn 'Abd al-Da'im; 'Imad al-Din 'Abd al-Karim ibn al-Ha­ rastani; Zayn al-Din Khalid ibn Yusuf; Taqi al-Din ibn Abi al­ Yusr; Jamal al-Din ibn al-$ayrfi; and Shams al-Din ibn Abi 'Umar. With Abu Isbaq Ibrahim ibn 'Isa al-Muradi, Imam al-Nawawi studied al-Bukhari's and Muslim's compendiums of sound (sabib) hadiths; with al-Taflisi, he studied jurisprudence (usul); with Ah­ mad al-Miäri he studied grammar; and with Imam Ibn Malik, the author of the Al-fi-yya, he studied the finer aspects of Arabic language. Curriculum and Daily Schedule Al-NawawI's student 'Ala al-Din Abu al-I:Iasan Ibn al-'Attar said that the Imam every day read before his shaykhs the fol­ lowing: two sessions in Imam al-GhazalI's al-Wasit; one in Abu Ishaq's al-Muhadhdhab (both in Shafi'i jurisprudence); one in Ibn al-Ginni's al-Luma' in grammar; one in al-Jam' bayn al-Sabibayn in hadith;3 one in Sabib Muslim; one in Abu Isbaq's al-Luma' and al-Fakhr al-RazI's al-Muntakhab in the principles of jurispru­ dence; one in Ibn al-Sikkit's !slab al-Mantiq in philology; one in morphology; one in the principles of jurisprudence; one in hadith narrator-criticism; and one in Islamic doctrine. XXI

ETIQUETIE WITH THE QURAN Imam al-Nawawi's students include: the orator Sadr al-Din Su­ layman al-Ja'fari; Shihab al-Din al-Irbidi; Ibn Abl al-Fath; and the hadith master Imam al-Mizzi. During his period of study, the Imam said that he spent six years during which he wasted absolutely no time, whether day or night. He was completely devoted to his studies, even when walk­ ing in the street. Only after this did he begin writing and teaching. His Asceticism and Extremely Simple Living Imam al-Nawawi was a strict ascetic in the manner of the early Muslims, neither eating nor sleeping except out of necessity. He fasted continually throughout the year, eating a simple dish at nightfall and drinking some water before dawn. This he did once every twenty-four hours. He avoided moist foods, such as fruits and cucumber, in order not to induce drowsiness. He dressed aus­ terely, owning only one long shirt and a small turban. He divided his time between worship and learning. Asked why he never allowed himself to eat food grown in Da­ mascus, he said: "Damascus abounds in endowments [awqaf] and properties restricted to those under legal guardianship, and to make use of them is impermissible except in the most appro­ priate and beneficial manner. In addition, the normal procedure in Damascus is to use one-crop sharecropping contracts, and there is disagreement [among the lcgists] about it [being lawful]: how then can I rest happy eating from this?" His Superlative Mastership in Hadith and Jurisprudence " In addition to his perseverance in the struggle against the ego, his application in scrupulous Godfearingness, watchfulness over his soul, the purification of the soul from its defects, and its dis­ cipline, he was also an accomplished master in hadith and its sci­ ences, its narrators, the authentic and the defective, and a fore­ most authority in the [Shafi'i] school." A recent study shows that Imam al-Nawawi's verdict on narrator-commendation and gener­ ally identical to thos՚ of Imam Ibn I::Iajar al-'Asqalani, a remarkXXII

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF IMAM AL-NAWAWI able assessment in view of Ibo l:Iajar's position as the greatest of all the hadith masters after the luminaries of the early CEnturies.4 His Fearless Admonishing of Princes Imam al-Nawawi used to address those in power and admonish them for the sake of God, in accordance with the obligation of "admonishing [na$iba] princes" which he himself defined: "Ad­ monishing the leaders of the Muslims consists in . . . appraising them of any remiss of which they are unaware concerning the rights of Muslims." He did this several times in the palace of al-Malik al-Zahir who once exclaimed: "I am frightened of him!" Headmastership of Dar al-JJ.adith al-Ashrafiyya in Damascus He took up the headmastership of Dar al-I:Iadith al-Ashrafiyya in Damascus after the death of his Shaykh Abu Shama in 665 AH and held it until his own death eleven years later, never accepting any compensation for his needs. In the time of Imam al-Nawawi, Dar al-I:Iadith had the No­ ble Sandal of the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) in its possession. The Sandal was kept in a wooden box above the Mibrab in its mosque. The mosque, however, was burnt by the Tatars and the relic disappeared, but the Mibriib remains to this day in the mosque of Dar al-I:Iadith's preparatory school (headed by Shaykh Abu al-Khayr al-Midani), near the Umawi Mosque in Damascus. Select Bibliography of Shaykh al-Islam In his brief but blessed life, Imam al-Nawawi authored nearly fifty books. These volumes are-like their author-among the treasures of Islam and contain an immense blessing (baraka) be­ stowed by God. They are characterized by great diligence and scholarship. They are among the most relied-upon works of Is­ lamic law and hadith in Islam. Some of them are listed below: Al-Arba'una }Jadith (The Forty Hadiths) is the most widely read collection of its kinds, in which the Imam chose forty of the most important hadith that pertain to the spiritual and social life of the XX III

ETIQUETIE WITH THE QURAN Muslims. It is a mark of divine approval of Imam al-Nawawi that God Most High has made him famous through this small book­ let, as the Arba'un has been blessed for seven hundred years with unreserved approval and acceptance among Muslims worldwide. Riyad. al-$alibin (Garden of the Righteous), one of the most widely read anthologies of the prophetic traditions focusing on personal ethics. It is comprised of 3 72 chapters spread over nine­ teen books, each chapter citing the verses of Quran and authentic hadiths that pertain to the subject at hand. The Imam finished compiling the work in mid-Ramadan of 670 AH. Al-Adhkar al-Muntakhaba min Kaldm Sayyid al-Abrdr (Sup­ plications Chosen from the Discourse of the Master of the Pious) is a model in the genre unequaled by any similar work. It contains 349 chapters treating every situation Muslims face in their private and public life and adducing the supplication appropriate to each as related from the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace), with sound, fair, or weak chains of transmission. Imam Ibn l:lajar al-'Asqalani held six hundred and sixty classes devoted to the doc­ umentation of the Adhkdr, some of which was recently published in three volumes. Imam Ibn 'Allan al-Siddiqi wrote a nine-vol­ ume commentary on the Adhkar, titled al-Futubdt al-Rabbaniyya 'a/a'l-Adhkar al-Nawawiyya. Sharb $abib Muslim ranks among the great masterpieces of Muslim literature. The Imam titled it al-Minhdj fi Sharb $abib Muslim ibn a/-Ijajjdj (The Method: A Commentary on $abib Muslim ibn al-IJajjdj). The work is built on previous scholarship by the Malik! scholars al-Qadi 'Iyad and al-Mazar!. It numbers about twenty volumes in print. Al-Tarkhi$ fi'l-Ikrdm bi'l-Qiydm Ii Dhawi al-Fatf,li wa'l-Mazi­ yyati min AHl'l-Isldm 'aid Jihati al-Birri wa'l-Taqwiri wa'l-Ibtirdm Id 'aid Jihati al-Riya'i wa'l-I'i,dm (The Permissibility of Dignifying by Standing for Those Who Possess Excellence and Distinction Among the People of Islam: In the Spirit of Piousness, Reverence, and Respect, Notjn the Spirit of Display and Aggrandizement).5 Wird al-Imam al-Nawawi is the Imam's daily devotional sup­ plications and invoc՛tions. XX.IV

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF IMAM AL-NAWAWI Bustan al-'Arifin fi'l-Zuhr wa'l-Tasawwuf (The Garden of the Knowers in Asceticism and Self-Purification) is a slim compendi­ um of narrations which Imam al-Nawawi did not complete. Irshad Tullab al-}faqa'iq ila Ma'rifat Sunan Khayr al-Khala'iq (Guiding Seekers of Truths to Knowing the Ways of the Best of All Creation), known simply as al-Irshad, is Imam al-Nawawi's concise abridgment of Ibo al-Salab's Muqaddima fi 'Ulum al­ lfadith, which he then condensed in the shorter al-Taqrib wa'l­ Taysir Ii Ma'rifat Sunan al-Bashir al-Nadhir (Access and Facility to Knowing the Ways of the Bearer of Glad Tidings and Warner). Taqrib received an illustrious commentary by Imam al-Suyuti in two volumes, Tadrib al-Rawi. Al-Majmu' Sharl; al-Muhadhdhab (The Compendium: Com­ mentary of the Muhadhdhab) is al-Nawawi's unfinished magnum opus of Shafi'i fiqh. Ibo Kathir said: " I do not know in all the books of fiqh any that excels it."6 (The Imam died-God have mercy on him and grant him Paradise!)-when he reached the chapters on usury, the Shaykh al-Islam al-Subki continued the work, which grew to about eighteen volumes.) Rawt/.at al-Talibin (The Seeker's Garden), a medium-sized ref­ erence manual in Shafi'i fiqh, and the smaller Minhaj al-Talibin (The Seeker's Road) are, respectively, abridgments of Imam al-Raf'i's Sharl; al-Wajiz (also known as Sharl; al-Kabir) and al-Mubarrar. Al-I

ETIQUETIE WITH THE QURAN more extensive than what is included in the last chapter of the Tibyan.7 Imam al-Nawawi's Death Returning to Nawa from a trip to Jerusalem and Hebron, the Imam and Friend of God died in his father's house after a short illness. Al-Dhahabi said, "His grave in Nawa is a place of visita­ tion," and the late Mufti of Lebanon, Shaykh Hasan Khalid, said, " God Most H igh responds to supplication at the grave of Imam al-NawawL" Al-Dhahabi's shaykh, Ibn Farah, said, "Shaykh Mubyi al-Din reached three high stations, each of which would suffice to make its possessor someone people would travel to see: knowledge, asceticism, and command good and forbidding evil." In truth, for these three reasons and more, Imam al-Nawawi is most deserving of the title of Great Master (al-Shaykh al-Akbar) and Authority of Islam (Shaykh al-Islam). (This brief biography has been abridged and reworked from The Righteous Life and Words of the Pious Sheikh al-Islam: Imam Mubyi al-Din Yabya ibn Shara( al-Nawawi, by G. F. Haddad. His main sources were: al-Dhahabi, Tabaqat al-Huffa:r, (4:I470-74); Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-Kubra (8:395-400 #I 288); and Ibn Qadi Shuhba, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyyah (3:9-I 3 #454).) Notes to the Biography I. Pronounced both Nawawi and Nawawi, the latter after his native town of Nawa, the former according to the autograph spelling of his name. 2. 'Abd al-Fattab Abu Ghudda, al-'Ulama' al-'Uzziib. p. 147· 3 . Abu 'Abdullah al-I:Iumaydi al-Andalusi's (d. 488 AH) al-Jam' bayn al-Sabi/:Jayn. There is also Ibn al-Qaysarani's (d. 507 AH) al-Jam' bayn Rijal al-Sabibayn. 4. See I:Iusayn lsma'il al-Jamal's introduction to al-Nawawi's Khu­ la$at al-Abkam fi Muhimmat al-Sunan wa Qawa'id al-Islam, 2 vols. (Beirut: Mu'assasa al-Risala, 1997). 5. Al-Tarkhi$, edited by Kilani Muhammad Khalifa (Beirut: Dar al­ Basha'ir al-Islamiyya, 1988). See Gibril Haddad's extensive translaXXVI

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF IMAM AL-NAWAWl tions from al-Nawawi's Tarkhis and his Sharb Sabib Muslim togeth­ er with Ibo al-Hajj's objections to al-Tarkhis, in the Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine (5:33-41 ). See also, in this issue, chapter 26 on standing out of respect in al-Bayhaqi's al-MadĎhal ila al-Sunan. 6. Ibo Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya, 1 3:279. 7. Tahdhib al-Asma' wa'l-Lughat (Cairo: Idarat al-Tiba'at al-Muniri­ yya, 1927). XXVII