The Life of an-Nawawi

Before commenting on the Forty Hadeeth of an-Nawawi, it would be proper to introduce Imaam an-Nawawi to the reader. It is important for Muslims to take the time to learn about the lives of the pious predecessors. The great scholars and pious individuals of the past can be great examples for the living. Their behaviour and actions can have a great effect upon the hearts. Their examples demonstrate that in every age, there were pious Muslims who followed the way of the Prophet (SAAS) and his noble Companions, without compromise and without giving into the desires of this world. They demonstrate to the Muslims of today that the guidance of the Qur'aan and Hadeeth was sufficient for them to lead their lives in manners pleasing to Allah, although they did not sit with and learn directly from the Prophet (SAAS) or even his close companions.

Today, Muslims face many of the same problems, temptations and difficulties that these pious predecessors faced. The pious predecessors read and intensively studied the Qur'aan and Hadeeth to attain guidance for their lives. They applied the Qur'aan and Sunnah in their lives under various circumstances. What they derived from the Divine Guidance should be considered a light for all of those who come after them who face circumstances similar to theirs.

There are many aspects of an-Nawawi's life, in particular, that may set an example for those living today. In his introduction to his Master's Thesis on an-Nawawi, Ahmad al-Haddaad echoed these views when he stated,

The third reason [for writing about an-Nawawi] was to bring to the forefront the life of this extraordinary man who lived in a later time. It is hoped that this biography will bring to us and the coming generations great benefits with respect to seriousness and striving for knowledge, with respect to asceticism and fearing Allah, and with respect to the bravery in publicly speaking the truth. The lives of the pious have greatest effect on those who hear about them. Allah has certainly spoken the truth when He said, "And all that We relate to you (O Muhammad) of the news of the messenger [is] in order that We may make your heart strong and firm." (Hood 120) [1]

The goal here is to be brief. Therefore, only certain aspects of his life will be highlighted. [2]

Background to an-Nawawi's Life:

Islam in the Seventh Century of Hijrah

The Seventh Century of Islam was a very turbulent time, especially for the area of Sham ("Greater Syria"). It was during this Century that the Mongols invaded the East and the Crusaders controlled part of the Muslim lands from the West. In the year 656 AH, the Mongols invaded and conquered Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasids. In 658, however, under the reign of al-Mudhafar Qutuz ibn Abdullaah and military leadership of al-Dhaahir Baibars, the Muslims handed the Mongols a stunning defeat at Ain Jaloot. Also, in 679, when the Mongols again tried to conquer Aleppo, they were defeated. From that time onwards, Muslim forces continues to battle and make headway against the Mongols. Similarly, the Crusaders were defeated and removed from Sham in the year 691.

By the grace and mercy of Allah, these turbulent times did not mean the end of Islam studies for the inhabitants of that area. In fact, when Noor ad-Deen Zanki (d. 569) entered Sham he found that the light of learning had been extinguished. Therefore, he made a concerted effort to encourage the people of that area to renew their studies of Islam. In the process, he opened many schools for the study of Islam. In fact, he opened the first Dar al-Hadeeth in Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere. This same spirit of spreading knowledge and establishing educational institutions was carried on by those who ruled after Noor ad-Deen Zanki, especially Saif ud-Deen Qalaawoon (d. 689). Therefore, one does not find a shortage of scholars and learning even during that turbulent century of Islamic history.

An-Nawawi's Birth and Upbringing

Muhi ad-Deen [3] Abu Zakariya [4] Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Hizaami an-Nawawi was born in the 631 A.H. (1233 C.E.) in the village of Nawa, south of Damascus, Syria. Coming from Nawa, he is given the descriptive name of an-Nawawi, which is also sometime written an-Nawaawi.

An-Nawawi did not come from a well-known family. There is very little mention, if any, of his grandfather, father and other relatives. This implies that they were a modest family. They also were not known for producing great scholars. However, his father did have a reputation for being very pious and God-fearing. His father had a garden in which he would grow food for his family. He would avoid, and taught his family to avoid, eating anything which may be forbidden in any way whatsoever. This was a true application of the following Hadeeth from Sunan at-Tirmidhi:

"O People! Verily Allah is good and He does not accept but what is good. Allah has ordered the believers with the same command that He ordered the messengers. He said, 'O Messengers, eat of the good and pure things and work righteous deeds. Verily, I am knowledgeable of what you do.' And He said, 'O believers! Eat of the good and wholesome things that We have provided for you.' And he mentioned a man who was on a long journey, with disheveled hair and dust-ridden, stretching out his hands to the sky, saying, 'O Lord, O Lord,' while his food is of the forbidden and his provisions are of the forbidden. How is he going to responded to [by Allah]?"

From his youth, Yahya an-Nawawi was not attracted to sports or playing. Indeed, other children chided him for this. From an early age, he turned his attention to his studies. He hated any activity that would take him away from memorising the Qur'aan. On one occasion, the children forced him to play with them and he cried because of the time that he was wasting. [5] It is not surprising then that he memorised the Qur'aan at an early age.

At the age of eighteen, his father took him to Damascus to continue his studies. He excelled in the Shafi'ee school of fiqh, memorising some of its most important texts. He performed the pilgrimage to Makkah, visited Madinah and other locations but then returned to Damascus until prior to his death, when he returned to his hometown of Nawa.

An-Nawawi's Personal Life:

His Pursuit of Knowledge

An-Nawawi first studies at the Saaramiya school in Damascus. This is where his father left him. He had no housing there whatsoever. After some time, he approached the Shaikh of the school to ask if he had any housing, as many of the schools house their students. They had no housing so the Shaikh suggested that he go to Rawaahiyah School. There he was given a very small room in which he lived for a number of years. In fact, he remained in that small room until he was named the head of the Ashrafiyah school, a number of years later. [6] It was stated that, when one visited him, the room was so small and the books were so many, that the only was one could sit down was to remove the books and pile them on top of each other to make some room to sit.

After Saaramiyah, he continued his studies at the Rawaahiya school in Damascus. At one point in time, he was attending twelve lectures a day on assorted topics, including Arabic language, hadith, fiqh and Islamic legal theory. Some of his well-known teachers [6] included Ishaaq ibn Ahmad al-Maghrabi al-Maqdisi (d. 650 A.H.), Abdur-Rahmaan al-Anbari (d. 661 A.H.) and Abdul-Azeez al-Ansaari (d. 662 A.H.). He studied Sahih Muslim from Abu Ishaaq Ibraaheem al-Waasiti. In 655 A.H., at the age of 24, he began teaching at the Ashrafiyah school. His reputation and excellence as a scholar began to be recognised by the scholars and inhabitants of Damascus.

His pursuit of knowledge dominated his entire life. He would put all of his time into studying, learning, and teaching. It is even stated that he would not sleep except when sleep would overtake him. He would rest on his book and sleep for a little, then he would act startled upon awakening and continues studying. He once said about himself, "I spent two years without lying on the ground [to sleep] on my side." That is, he would always study and write until sleep overtook while in a sitting position. Al-Qutb al-Yauneeni said about him, "He would not waste any moment of the day or night but he would spend it busy with attaining knowledge. Even when he walking and in the streets he will be busy going over what he had remembered and reviewing his notes. He continued gaining knowledge in that way for a period of six years." [6]

It seems - and only Allah knows the reality - that Allah truly blessed his time. Perhaps this was due to a sincere intention to please Allah. As mentioned above, he would attend up to twelve classes a day. Commenting on that fact, al-Diqr wrote,

He used to have twelve study sessions a day with his teachers. These included explanations, verifications, commentaries, explaining the different aspects and expressions as well as exacting the correct wordings. This would take, at a least approximation, twelve hours a day. Then he would need to review what he had learned and memorise what need to be memorised. The very least approximation is that this would also take twelve hours a day. This is twenty-four hours in a day! When would he sleep? When would he eat? When would he perform the acts of worship? When would he perform the voluntary late night prayers? It is well-known that he performed those types of acts of obedience and worship. When would all of that take place? He was in need of studying and reviewing for all the twenty fours in a day and nihgt. This shows how Allah blessed and graced this man. Allah blessed him in his time. He gave him the ability to complete in one day what it takes everyone else two years to accomplish. This is the only way we can explain this tremendous undertaking that made him one of the greatest scholars of his time in about ten years. In fact, it made him the leader (Imam) of his time. This is also the only way we can explain all of his wonderful, detailed and radiant writings in a span of time that lasted no more than fifteen years. He spent all of his lifetime and living hours in learning, teaching and writing. [7]

His Austerity

He led a very austere and simple life. Some narrations state that all the clothing he possessed was a turban and long gown. He did not desire any of the pleasures of this world. At one point in time, he would not eat anything except some cake and olives that his father would send him from time to time from Nawa. One of the reasons for this was that he was certain that such food came from permissible sources.

He would refuse even permissible things out of fear that they may lead him to doubtful matters. Indeed, he refused to eat any of the fruits of Damascus because he knew that orchards, many of which were endowments and for orphans and others, were not handled properly and he feared that the food he would be eating was not from a permissible source. Another reason he gave for not eating the fruit was that much of it was handled through sharecropping and there was a difference of opinion among the  scholars concerning the validity of sharecropping. In a footnote, al-Haddaad points out that, in reality, all of those matters boiled down to one thing: al-Nawawi was afraid to involve himself in any matter concerning which there was even the slightest doubt. [8]

An-Nawawi desired to live a simple and pure life, although it would have been possible for him to live otherwise, given his teaching position and influence. Cheif Justice Sulaimaan al-Zara'i narrated that he visited an-Nawawi on the day of Eid. An-Nawawi was eating some kind of broth with no meat. He asked Sulaimaan to eat with him and he said that is was not appealing to him. Sulaimaan's brother went and bought some roasted meat and sweets. Sulaimaan told an-Nawawi to eat from it and he refused. Sulaimaan said to him, "O my brother, is this forbidden?" He said, "No, but it is the food of the tyrants [and extravagant]." In this matter, he was following the example of the Prophet (SAAS) who could have enjoyed many of the bounties of this world, but, instead, his household would go days without cooking any meat or having their full of bread for two days straight. [9] It seems that an-Nawawi did not consider such food as impermissible, in general, as obviously the Prophet (SAAS) ate such foods. However, it seems that he was never sure that there source was permissible, so he refused to eat such foods. [10]

He was also well-known for his modesty. Part of his modesty included never being served by any of his students. At the same time, he continued to serve his students even into his old age.

An-Nawawi would fast perpetually (every day except the days of Eid). [11] In general, he would only eat once a day, after the last obligatory prayer of the day; and he would only drink once a day, before dawn. When he drank, he would drink cold water out of fear that it may make him drowsy. Al-Haddaad argues that this was done by an-Nawawi so that he would dedicate all of his time to work and worship instead of the pleasures of this life. Al-Haddaad writes that it is said that knowledge is not attained by rest. In fact, he states, a person will not receive even part of knowledge unless he dedicates himself to it. If a person dedicates all of himself to knowledge, then he may achieve a portion of it. Al-Haddaad states that perhaps this was an-Nawawi's perception of knowledge. He left his heart completely free and open to receive the blessed knowledge of the religion of Islam. [12]

He did not accept a stipend for his teaching. It seems that he may have accepted money for the first year or two. That money 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. [13]

One material possession of this world that an-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, an-Nawawi's small room was like a warehouse of books. Once of the testimonies as to how many books an-Nawawi had may be found in his introduction to at-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." [14] 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." [15] Taaj ud-Deen as-Subki (683-756), who was a Chief Justice (Qaadi al-Qudha), was asked to complete one of an-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 an-Nawawi had.

It seems clear though, that an-Nawawi's goal was not simply to possess a large library. His books were not for decoration or display. Instead he benefited greatly from these works and, from his lectures and writings, numerous people have benefited from them since then.

FOOTNOTES