Biography of Imam An-Nawawi
His Name
He is Al-Imam, Al-Hafith, Shaykul Islam Abu Zakareeyah Yahyah ibn Sharf ibn Maraa ibn Hasan ibn Husain ibn Muhammad ibn Hezam, commonly known as Imam An-Nawai.
A lantern for people in search of the correct path, this remarkable man remains a leader of past, present and future generations to come. His knowledge has helped the blind to see, the deaf to hear and has softened the hardest hearts. By Allah’s permission, the name An-Nawawi remains amongst us as does his books, Forty Hadiths, Riyādus-Sāliheen, Al-Muhaathab fee Fiqh As-Shafi’ , which all are accepted around the world.
His Upbringing
mam An-Nawawi was born in Muhaaram, 631 according to the Hijrah calendar, in Naawaa, a city south of Damascus. As a young child, he demonstrated little interest in playing with other children his age. Instead, young An-Nawawi aspired to learn the Quran. Shaykh Yaseen ibn Yusuf Al-Marakshee said, “I used to see the kids trying to force the Shaykh to play with them. However, he would retreat and cry. It was during his moments of tears that he would learn to read the Quran.”
Later on his father gave him a job working in a store, which took time away from his studies. As a result, his father found him a teacher. “Your father wants you to be the most beneficial and most knowledgeable person of this era”, were the words of encouragement spoken to An-Nawawi by his teacher.
In 649, An-Naawi’s father sent him to Damascus so that he could drink from the springs of knowledge located in that city. At the time, Damascus was known for it flourishing fountains of knowledge and scholars of various subjects. Hence Imam An-Nawawi began to quench his thirst by staying at the Darul Hadith. During his stay there, An-Nawawi clung diligently to the scholars.
Abu Zakaareeyah conducted twelve classes a day with numerous people of knowledge: classes in the subjects of Hadith, Fiqh, Usul, Aqeedah, and the Arabic language. Imam
An-Nawawi wrote about himself:
"I used to provide notes on every book in every class that had commentary. I used to add comments to phrases, edit, and correct the errors in grammar. Allah has truly blessed my time. One day I thought to study medicine, so I bought a book titled Al-Qarnun. As I didn’t have time to read it, my heart became dull. Consequently, I sold the book and my heart’s luster returned."
His studies
Through listening and other means of learning, this outstanding individual specialized in various books of hadith knowledge such as; Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmithi, An-Nisa’, Musnad Imam Ahmed, Musnad Ash-Shafi’, Muwatta Imam Malik, Sharhus Sunnah by Al-Baghawee, and Sunnan Ad-Daruqutnee. In the field of grammar, he obtained his knowledge from Shaykh Ahmed Al-Misree and Ibn Malik (Alfeeyah by Ibn Malik: 1000 lines of poetry on the Arabic grammar). In spite of his intense studies, he still found the time to author books, instruct students, and remain steadfast in his worship of Allah.
His teachers
Al-Hafith Zainudeen Abo Al-Baaqa Khalid ibn Yusef An-Nabulus, Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Muhsin Al-Ansari, Abu Farj Abdur Rahman Ibn’Amr( known asIbn Qudaamah Al-Maqdaasee), Mufti Jamaludeen Abdur Rahman ibn Salim Ibn Yahya, The Judge ‘Emadudeen Abo Fada’il Abdul Kareem and countless others.
His students
Under the tutelage of An-Nawawi, numerous scholars emerged. Scholars like Al-Khateeb Sadruldeen Sulayman Al-Ja’fari, Shehabudeen Ahmad ibn Jow’an and Shehabudeen Al-Irbaadee just to name a few.
His books
Imam An-Nawawi has written an enormous amount of books on various sciences. His works on the subjects of hadith, fiqh, and biographies are well known for their accuracy and arrangements. Some of these famous books include: Sharh Muslim, Riyādus-Sāliheen, Al-Athkar(book of dua), Tayseer fee Ma’refatu Sunnan Al-Bashar (a book on Hadith terminology ).
His death
The pious and trustworthy An-Nawawi never married. He resisted the attractions of this world and chose to devote himself to the purification of his heart and overall well-being. He lived his life according to the words in his books. While residing in his homeland, Imam An-Nawawi became ill and passed away on the 24th of Rajb, 676 hijri, He was 45 years old.
Imam An-Nawawi was a scholar in the Shaf’i school of thought of fiqh. He has written an assortment of books on a number of the Islamic sciences and his sincerity is apparent in his writings, which are known throughout the world. Today, you can hardly find a single masjid where Riyādus-Sāliheen is not shelved or not being read. His forty Hadith should be memorized.[Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih Uthaimeen, Explanation for Forty Hadith, page 7]
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