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

It had to do with the gardens that they had owned and kept. They had been taken over by the Mongols. After the Mongols were thrown out of Damascus, the ruler appointed a Hanafi jurist who stated that as long as the people do not bring proof that those lands belonged to them in prior years, some sort of document, for example, then it would belong to the ruler and the government. This was a great hardship on the people as many of those lands were in the possession of their families for years and they had no proof for such. Al-Nawawi became harsh with the ruler after he would not respond to his pleas and the request of the other scholars and return the gardens to their rightful owners. Finally, the ruler became upset and told his workers to cut off al-Nawawi's salary. He was told that he does not receive any salary or wages. He asked, "How does he eat?" They said, "From what his father sends him from time to time." The ruler said, "By Allah, I thought about seizing him and having him killed but then it was if I saw a lion with his mouth open between him and me. Had I approached him, he would have attacked me."1 Indeed, it was narrated by many that the ruler, the military hero of the wars against the Mongols, greatly feared al-Nawawi. After the face to face meetings with the ruler were of no avail, al­ Nawawi sent a letter to the ruler advising him to change his ways and to treat the citizenry in the proper manner. Here are some excerpts from that letter­ note how forcefully he tries to move the ruler by quotes from the Quran and hadith, In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. All praises are due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Allah says, "And remind, for verily reminding profits the believers" [al­ Dhaariyaat 55]. Allah says, 1 Quoted in al-Suyooti, al-Minhaaj, p. 29; al-Haddaad, p. 107; The Life of Imam al-Nawawi "[And remember] when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture to make it known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it" [ali-Imraan 187]. And Allah says, LJ ., x ., 0ҭ:Wlj Ү']\ Iȟ i)jé үj êJJ:i\j Y.Jl Iȟ i)jéj ,,.. / k M ,,.. ,,. M "Help you one another in righteousness and piety; but do not help one another in sin and transgression" [al-Maaidah 2]. Allah has obliged the responsible people to advise the Sultan and to advise the Muslim masses. In an authentic hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Religion is sincere advice to Allah, His Book, the leaders of the Muslims and the masses."1 From the matters of giving advice to the Sultan, may Allah strengthen him and guide him to the obedience of Allah, is to inform the Sultan whenever anything is done in contradiction to the principles of Islam. Allah has made obligatory kind treatment of the citizenry and looking after the affairs of the weak, as well as removing any harm from them. Allah says, / ੃" i j : I / I :/ <> <> "'1 / ూ· / ਲ਼਴ుJ "And lower your wing [i.e., be kind and courteous] to the believers" [al-Hijr 88]. In an authentic hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Are you not but supported and provided for only due to your poor?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, 1 Here al-Nawawi was paraphrasing a hadith found in al-Bukhari and Muslim. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi J.,.౅\ i Yy _.? if ƛ_.? ࣨ Ȟ\ Ƣ y..U\ y _.? if ƛ_.? r-L-- iY' Ƣ if ¥-i 0 yJI tJ ȡ\ 015" L. ȡ\ 0 y tJ ȞIJ "Whoever removes a difficulty from a Muslim in this world, Allah will remove for him a difficulty of the difficulties of the Day of Judgment. Allah is assisting the servant as long as he is assisting his brother."1 The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, • - I ' ' J , ' , ' • - t ' , ` ƣ -" 1 ·r ·. - r ·. -- # ·---. lj $ .%1& ... -• . ƣ -" 1 ·r ·. - r ·. - ::111 - Ï ! c.,?-J if J , . ਮ ਯ ਰ • Ï ! c.,?-J if ਱ "O Allah, if anyone is in charge of anything for my Ummah and he is harsh upon them, then be harsh upon him. And if anyone is in charge of anything for ml Ummah and he is gentle upon them, then be gentle with him." He also said, "All of you are shepherds [people in places of responsibility] and you will all be asked about your flock. "3 The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, "The just will be with Allah upon minbars of light to the right of the Merciful, and both of His hands are right hands.