Al-Nawawi

He was born at Nawa near Damascus, Syria. ==Life as a scholar==

He studied in Damascus from the age of 18 and after making the pilgrimage in 1253, he settled there as a private scholar. Notable teachers During his stay at Damascus, he studied from more than twenty teachers who were regarded as masters and authority of their subject field and disciplines they taught. An-Nawawi studied Hadith, Islamic Jurisprudence, its principles, syntax and Etymology. His teachers included: • 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 == Creed ==

He did ta'wil on some of the Qur'an verses and ahadith on the attributes of Allah. He states in his commentary of a hadith that: == Relationship with Baybars ==

Al-Nawawi drew the ire of Mamluk Sultan Rukn al-Din Baybars twice. Once, at a time when the people of Damascus sought relief from a heavy tax burden after a years-long drought, Al-Nawawi wrote that if Baybars did not stop taxing its residents abusively then Allah will tax his misdeed in the afterlife. This prompted Baybars to threaten to expel him from Damascus. To this, he responded:"As for myself, threats do not harm me or mean anything to me. They will not keep me from advising the ruler, for I believe that this is obligatory upon me and others." Sheikh Navaid Aziz stated a popular tale of when Al-Nawawi addressed Sultan Baybars when the latter wanted the ulama to issue a fatwa that decreed that the waqf be collected solely for the ruler, despite originally being meant for the people. Al-Nawawi in response scolded him, urging him to fear Allah and rein in his greed, which the Sultan accepted. Some people asked Baybars why he did not imprison Al-Nawawi in retaliation, to which Baybars replied that whenever he thought of locking up Al-Nawawi, a fear flowed through his heart. In both encounters, Baybars abided by Al-Nawawi's counsel. ==Death and legacy==

Al-Nawawi died on 21 December 1277 AD (5 Rajab 676 AH) at the relatively young age of 45. He was buried the next morning. taught in the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan in Cairo, Egypt An-Nawawi's lasting legacy is his contribution to hadith literature through his momentous works Forty Hadiths and Riyadh as-Saaliheen. This made him respected in all madhabs, despite him being of Shafi'i jurisprudence. According to Al-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. == Works ==

During his life of 45 years he wrote "at least fifty books" on Islamic studies and other topics. Some scholar counted pages he written and calculated that he wrote 40+ pages daily from age 18 till his death. Some his writings is still reached vastly as no author has superseded him in those writing. These include: • Al Minhaj bi Sharh Sahih Muslim (), making use of others before him, and is considered one of the best commentaries on Sahih Muslim. It is available online. • Riyadh as-Saaliheen (); collection of hadith on ethics, manners, conduct, popular in the Muslim world. • ''al-Majmu' sharh al-Muhadhab'' (), is a comprehensive manual of Islamic law according to the Shafi'i school has been edited with French translation by van den Bergh, 2 vols., Batavia (1882–1884), and published at Cairo (1888). • Sharh Sunan Abu Dawood • Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari • Mukhtasar at-Tirmidhi • ''Tabaqat ash-Shafi'iyah'' • Rawdhat al-Talibeen • Bustan al-`arifin • Al-Maqasid ==Recent English language editions==

• Bustan al-ʿarifin (The Garden of Gnostics), Translated by Aisha Bewley Minhaj al-Talibin • Minhaj et talibin: A Manual of Muhammadan Law; According To The School of Shafi, Law Publishing Co (1977) ASIN B0006D2W9I • Minhaj et talibin: A Manual of Muhammadan Law; According To The School of Shafi, Navrang (1992) • Minhaj Et Talibin: A Manual of Muhammadan Law, Adam Publishers (2005) The Forty Hadith • Al-Nawawi Forty Hadiths and Commentary; Translated by Arabic Virtual Translation Center; (2010) • ''Ibn-Daqiq's Commentary on the Nawawi Forty Hadiths''; Translated by Arabic Virtual Translation Center; (2011) • The Compendium of Knowledge and Wisdom; Translation of Jami' Uloom wal-Hikam by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali translated by Abdassamad Clarke, Turath Publishing (2007) • ''Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadith'', Translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim, Islamic Texts Society; New edition (1997) • The Forty Hadith of al-Imam al-Nawawi, Abul-Qasim Publishing House (1999) • The Complete Forty Hadith, Ta-Ha Publishers (2000) • ''The Arba'een 40 Ahadith of Imam Nawawi with Commentary'', Darul Ishaat • Commentary on the Forty Hadith of Al-Nawawi (3 Vols.), by Jamaal Al-Din M. Zarabozo, Al-Basheer (1999) Riyad al-Salihin • Gardens of the righteous: Riyadh as-Salihin of Imam Nawawi, Rowman and Littlefield (1975) • Riyad-us-Salihin: Garden of the Righteous, Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyah • Riyadh-us-Saliheen (Vol. 1&2 in One Book) (Arabic-English) Dar Ahya Us-Sunnah Al Nabawiya ==See also==