. J i ? . .r--J i ? (cont.)

That money that 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.2 One material possession of this world that al-Nawawi did have was books. In general, a student is greatly in need of books. He is perhaps as much in need of books than he is of food and water, as al-Haddaad pointed out. As alluded to earlier, al-Nawawi's small room was like a warehouse of books. One of the testimonies as to how many books al-Nawawi had may be found in his introduction to al-Tahqeeq wherein he said, "I have with me, of the books of Shafi' ee fiqh, and all praises are due to Allah, about one hundred books, including well-known books, rare books and others."3 Al-Haddaad comments, "If that was the case with the number of books of fiqh, which were not as plentiful as they were in later eras, then what about the number of books of hadith he must have had, as there were many more books of hadith available at his time.''4 Taaj al-Deen al-Subki (683-756), who was a Chief Justice (Qaadi al-Qudha), was asked to complete one of al-Nawawi's works, al-Majmoo. He tried to excuse himself by saying that he did not have the number of references available to him that al-Nawawi had. It seems clear, though, that al-Nawawi's goal was not simply to possess a large library. His books were not for decoration or display. Instead, he benefited greatly from those works and, from his lectures and writings, numerous people have benefited from them since then. Al-Nawawi Never Married Al-Nawawi is one of the famous scholars throughout history who never married. Other scholars who never married include ibn Taimiya and Sayyid on those days in which it is prohibited to fast. See al-Nawawi, Sharh sahih Muslim, vol. 8, p. 40. 1 Al-Haddaad, p. 35. 2 See al-Diqr, p. 127. 3 Quoted in al-Haddaad, p. 71. 4 Al-Haddaad, p. 72. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Qutb. Different explanations are offered as to why al-Nawawi remained single. The most obvious reason is his austerity and lack of desire for the pleasures of this world. His life was filled with the desire to learn, teach and engage in acts of worship. The temptations of this life seemed to have never stirred his heart. Some may point to the fact that he did not have the means to wed. It does seem obvious that he never had the means to marry. However, this might have been due to his personal choice. It seems just as obvious that if he wanted to, he could have obtained such means by, for example, receiving a salary for his teaching. Hence, his lack of desire for the things of this world must be considered a stronger explanation for his lack of marrying. Al-Diqr, however, offers another possible explanation. Al-Diqr writes that it could have been the result of his piety and fear of Allah. It is possible that he did not marry because he feared that he would not be able to fulfill the rights of his wife and, therefore, he would be displeasing Allah. Allah states that women have rights similar to those against them. The household is like a small society with the husband being the head of that society. Hence, he is in a very serious position with a great deal of responsibility on his shoulders. In his commentary to the hadith of Asmaa, in which she states that she served her husband in many different ways, al-Nawawi wrote, That is all part of the goodness and kindness that people follow. This is where the woman serves her husband in those things that she mentioned, such as preparing food, cooking, washing clothing and so forth. This is all voluntary work on the part of a woman towards her husband and her good dealings with him. These are all good acts on her part. None of that is obligatory upon her. If she refused to do any or all of that, she would not be sinful. In fact, he must do those jobs for her and it is not permissible for him to force her to do any of them. This is what the woman does on a voluntary basis only. It is a beautiful custom that women have been following since the first generations until now. Only two things are obligatory upon the woman: keeping herself ready and prepared [sexually] for her husband and staying in his house. 1 If that was the reason that al-Nawawi did not get married, it may have been extreme on his part. However, it is a lesson that all husbands should take note of: marriage is not a laughing matter but it is a very serious relationship that Allah will hold one responsible for on the Day of Judgment. 1 Yahya al-Nawawi, Sharh sahih Muslim (Beirut: Daar al-Fikr, n.d.), vol. 14, pp. 164-165. On that question, al-Nawawi is following one of the opinions held by the scholars.