Imam Nawawi - Brief Biography

Tomb of Sayidduna Imam Nawawi

Abu Zakaria Yahya Ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī (1233–1277) (Arabic: أبو زكريا يحيى بن شرف النووي‎‎), popularly known as al-Nawawī or Imam Nawawī (631–676 A.H./1234–1277), was an influential Sunni Shafi'i jurist and hadith scholar. He authored numerous and lengthy works ranging from hadith to theology, biography, and jurisprudence.

He was born in Nawa, a place near Damascus, Syria, in the suburbs of Howran. He bore the signs of heavenly intelligence and wisdom at an stage of his life. For that reason, his father, a virtuous and pious man, arranged for a proper and befitting education for him. According to Sheikh Yasin bin Yusuf Marakashi, a saintly figure of Nawa says:

"I saw Imam Nawawi at Nawa when he was a youth of ten years of age. Other boys of his age used to force him to play with them, but Imam Nawawi would always avoid the play and would remain busy with the recitation of the Noble Qur'an. When they tried to domineer and insisted on his joining their games, he bewailed and expressed his no concern over their foolish action. On observing his sagacity and profundity, a special love and affection developed in my heart for young Nawawi. I approached his teacher and urged him to take exceptional care of this lad as he was to become a great religious scholar and most pious saint of future. His teacher asked whether I was a soothsayer or an astrologer. I told him I am neither soothsayer nor an astrologer but Allah caused me to utter these words." 

His teacher conveyed this incident to Imam's father. Keeping in view of the learning quest of his son, Imam Nawawi's father decided to dedicate the life of his son for the service and promotion of the cause of Islamic Faith. In a short period, Nawawi learnt to read the Holy Qur'an, nearing puberty by that time.

Nawa however had no academic or scholarly atmosphere, with no religious academies or institutes where one could earn excellence in religious learning. His father therefore took him to Damascus, which was then considered the center of learning and scholarship, with students from far and wide gathering. 

During that period, there were more than three hundred institutes, colleges and universities in Damascus. Imam Nawawi joined Madrasah Rawahiyah which was affiliated with the Ummvi University. Noted and eminent teachers of the period taught in that Madrasah. Imam Nawawi says:

"I studied in this institution for two years. During my stay in Madrasah Rawahiyah, I never had complete rest and lived on the limited food supplied by the institution." 

As a routine he used to sleep very little at night. When it became irresistible as a human being, he would lean and slumber for a while against the support of books. After a short duration he would again be hard at his scholastic pursuits.

Teachers and Guides

During his stay at Damascus, he studied from more than twenty celebrated teachers. These teachers were regarded as masters and authority of their subject field and disciplines they taught. Imam studied Hadith, Islamic Jurisprudence, its principles, syntax and Etymology fromgreat scholars of his time. Abu Ibrahim Ishaq bin Ahmad AI-Maghribi, Abu Muhammad Abdur-Rahman bin Ibrahim Al-Fazari, Radiyuddin Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Abu Hafs Umar bin Mudar Al-Mudari, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Isa Al-Muradi, Abul-Baqa Khalid bin Yusuf An-Nablusi, Abul-Abbas Ahmad bin Salim Al-Misri, Abu Abdullah Al-Jiyani, Abul-Fath Umar bin Bandar, Abu Muhammad At-Tanukhi, Sharafuddin Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad Al-Ansari, Abul-Faraj Abdur-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Al-Maqdisi, Abul-Fada'il Sallar bin Al-Hasan Al Arbali etc.

There were hundreds of Imam's students, among them some notables are: Alauddin bin Attar, Ibn Abbas Ahmad bin Ibrahim, Abul-Abbas Al-Ja'fari, Abul-Abbas Ahmad bin Farah, Rashid Ismail bin Mu'allim Al-Hanafi, Abu Abdullah Al-Hanbali, Abul Abbas Al-Wasti, Jamaluddin Sulaiman bin Omar Az-Zar'i, AbulFaraj Abdur-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Abdul-Hamid AlMaqdisi, Badr Muhammad bin Ibrahim, Shamsuddin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr, Ash-Shihab Muhammad bin Abdul-Khaliq, Hibatullah Al-Barizi, Abul-Hajjaj Yusuf bin Az-Zaki etc.

Desire and Crave for Learning

Imam Nawawi had endless thirst for knowledge, and it can be guessed from his daily practice of studies. He used to read daily twelve lessons and write explanation and commentary of every lesson and also made important additions. Whatever the book he read, he put down the marginal notes and explanations on that book. His intelligence, hard work, love, devotion and absorption in his-studies amazed his teachers and they become fond of him and began to praise and admire him. According to Imam Dhahabi, Imam Nawawi's concentration and absorption in academic love gained proverbial fame. He had devoted all his time for learning and scholarship. Other than reading and writing, he spent his time contemplating on the interacted and complex issues and in finding their solutions. Allah had also conferred upon him the gift of fast memory and depth of thought, and he who makes the right use of this boon, there remains no doubt in his sagacity and discernment. Imam Nawawi made full benefit of his God given qualities and potentialities and earned the highest degree of honor.

Simplicity and Manners

The learned persons, elite of the society and the public greatly respected the Imam on account of his piety, learning and excellent character. He used simple dress and ate simple food. Devout scholars do not care about worldly chattels, they give preference to religious and academic pursuits, propagation of Faith etc. They experience more heavenly delight and joy in such activities than those who seek satisfaction in luxurious foods, precious clothes and other worldly things. Imam Nawawi had a prominent place among the erudite notables of his age. He was God-fearing person having illustrious and glorious aims regarding propagation of Faith. Celebrated Sheikh Mohiuddin expresses his impression about Imam Nawawi as thus:

"Imam Nawawi had three distinctive commendable qualities in his person. If anybody have only one out of these three, people return to him in abundance for guidance. First, having knowledge and its dissemination. Second, to evade completely from the worldly inclinations, and the third, inviting to all that is good (Islam) enjoining Al-Ma'ruf [i.e., Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do] and forbidding Al-Munkar [polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden]. Imam Nawawi had all three in him."

Legacy

The learned Imam had a very short life but even during this short period, he had written a large number of books on different subjects. Every work of the Imam is a masterwork and a treasure of knowledge. Hundreds and thousands of people benefit from these works.

Some of the Prestigious Works of Imam Nawawi are:

1. Commentary on Sahih Al-Bukhari

2. Al-Minhaj fi Sharh Sahih Muslim

3. Riyad-us-Saliheen

4. Kitab-ur-Raudah

4. Commentary on Mohadhdhab

5. Tahdhib-ul-Asma was-Sifat

6. Kitab-ul-Adhkar

7. Arba'een

8. At-Taqreeb fi Ilmil-Hadith wal-Irshad fihi

9. Kitabul Mubhamat

10. At-Tibyan

11. Al-Idah fi Manasikil-Hajj

12. Sharh Sahih Al-Bukhari (Naqis)

13. Sharh Sunan Abi Dawud (Naqis)

14. Tabaqat Ash Shafi'iyah

15. Muhimmatul-Ahkam

16. Manaqib-ush-Shafi'i

17. Bustanul Arifeen

18. Al-Khulasatu fil-Hadith

19. Mukhtasar At-Tirmidhi

20. Al-Masa'il Al-Manthurah

21. Al-'Umdah fi Tashihit-Tanbih

After spending 28 years of age, Imam Nawawi returned to his hometown. Soon after his arrival at Nawa, he felt ill and died. Imam Nawawi is still living in the hearts of Muslims. His works are of everlasting value. May Allah bless him.