History of Allamah Nawawi Rahimahullah

Dec 26, 2023 | Malfoozat, Posters

Transcribed from the Islaahi Majlis conducted on 14/12/2023

Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam mentioned that there are two qualities that cannot be found simultaneously in a believer. The first quality is miserliness, and the other is evil character.

عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، زَادَ ابْنُ الْفَضْلِ: الْخُدْرِيَّ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ” خَصْلَتَانِ لا تُجْمَعَانِ فِي مُؤْمِنٍ: سُوءُ الْخُلُقِ، وَالْبُخْلُ ” (سنن الترمذي / خطيب بغدادي ص61 ج1)

Generally a person who is miserly doesn’t necessarily have bad Akhlaaq, and a generous person doesn’t necessarily have good character. What is meant by this Hadith is that a Mu’min should not possess either of these qualities i.e. miserliness or poor Akhlaaq.

لا يدخل الجنة خبّ ولا منّان ولا بخيل (سنن الترمذي)

Another Hadith states, ” A deceptive person, a miser, or one who reminds people of the favours he carried out for them will not enter Jannah.”

المؤمن غر كريم والفاجر خب لئيم (مسند بزار)

Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, “What are the qualities of a Mumin? A Mu’min is a simple minded (clean-hearted) and honorable person, and a transgressor is a deceiver and a mean person.”

However, another Hadith states that, “A Mu’min is never bitten from the same hole twice.” There appears to be a contradiction here between the Ahaadith. In the previous Hadith, Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam described a Mu’min as a simple-minded person, and in this Hadith, Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam depicts the Mu’min as one who is careful regarding his matters. The Ulama have reconciled between the two saying that a Mu’min is always clean-hearted but is not always deceived. He might fall once but not again and again.

Visit to an Institute

There’s a Madrassah in Cape Town which caters for extremely poor girls. This Madrassah is run completely in alignment with Shariah. Nearby the Madrassah, there is a place to accommodate senior Ulama who visit Cape Town for programs. Some girls live a distance from the Madrasah and have to avail of public transport to get there. However, they cannot afford the fare, so after Madrassah, they sell some items through a tuck shop to make up the fare for the next day. They acquire the necessary knowledge of Deen through great sacrifice. It is sad that those institutes where the laws of Shariah are strictly implemented, are not frequented.

It is worthy to note that the Madrasah hosted its annual Jalsa within Shari’ee parameters. There was no meal served, which indicates that it was strictly a gathering to educate the masses and not for merry-making. Also, currently in the world, thousands of people are starving and yet so many institutes are hosting huge Jalsas. We should be cutting down on our lavish ways at these times and suffice on basics if we can’t share the pain with the suffering Muslims.

Allamah Nawawi Rahimahullah

The Kitaab, Riyaadhus Saaliheen, is authored by Muhiuddeen Abu Zakariyya Nawawi Rahimahullah. He was a Shafi’ee and born in a place called Nawa, near Damascus. Not much is known about his family except that his father was a pious man. He was born in the year 631 AH and passed away in 677 AH.

At the beginning of the 7th century, the Mongols invaded many lands of the Muslims. But by the end of the 7th century, they were defeated by the Muslims. During this time, a man named Nooruddeen Zanghi Rahmatullahi Alaih, who erected the Mimbar of Baitul Muqaddas, established a Darul Hadith in Syria. Queries related to Ahadith are forwarded to a Darul Hadith. Hadith refers to the speech, actions and approval of Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam warned that any person who fabricates a lie against him should make his abode in the fire of Jahannam.

So, in the early part of the 7th century, the Mongols had control of the lands, while at the same time, Nooruddeen Zanghi had established a Darul Hadith. They were never lax in acquiring and imparting the knowledge of Deen, irrespective of the conditions in the world. And this practice has continued until today where we find these Darul Hadith in various places in the world.

Childhood of Allaamah Nawawi Rahimahullah

Allamah Nawawi dedicated his time as a young boy to the Hifdh of Quraan Sharif. The other children in the neighborhood would call him outside to play, but he would always refuse due to learning the Quraan Sharif. One day, they managed to persuade him to join them in playing. After he played, he started to cry. When they questioned him, he lamented that this time he spent in playing could have been dedicated to learning the Quraan Sharif. When his Ustaadh heard about this incident, he wrote a letter to Allamah Nawawi’s father and informed him of it. His father made an intention that he will give this child of his in the Khidmah of Deen.

When he turned 18, he moved to Damscus where there were approximately 300 Madrasahs at the time. By the age of 24, he completed his studies and was now teaching. This is when the world realized the true potential of Allamah Nawawi. It is said that he did not lay on his back (sleep on a bed) for 2 years. While studying, he would fall asleep on his Kitaab, and when he would awaken, he would continue studying. However, his back never touched the ground in this period.

Allamah Nawawi never married. He was so dedicated to Deen that he feared he would not be able to fulfil the rights of a wife. He passed away at the young age of 45 years old. Despite such a short life, Allah Ta’ala had blessed him with abundance of Barakah in his time. The work accomplished in his short life could not be achieved by people that lived twice his age.  He has written the commentary on Muslim Sharif known as ‘Minhaj’, as well as ‘Al Majmooh’, a Kitaab on Shafi’ee Fiqh. He has written the اربعين Ahaadith, Al Adhkaar Kitaab of Duas, along with many other Kitaabs.

Simplicity and Taqwa of Allaamah Nawawi

He possessed one Kurta and one turban. He was very cautious about the food that he consumed. He didn’t eat from anywhere. At times his father would send him olives and a type of cake and he would be satisfied with this as he was 100% certain of its Halaal status.

During the era of Imaam Nawawi Rahimahullah, the king who overthrew the Mongols was in rule. He was oppressive and extremely powerful. However, this did not deter Allamah Nawawi Rahimahullah from speaking the Haqq even if it went against the king. He once wrote to the king reprimanding him for the oppressive taxes imposed on the Syrians. Speaking out openly against the kings were acts punishable by death but it did not deter him from proclaiming the truth. Like this, he challenged the king many times until one day the king ordered him to leave Damascus. So he returned to Nawa.

Over time, people would beckon him to return to Damascus, but he refused for as long as the king remained in power. Like this he remained in Nawa until eventually he passed away there. He desired that his grave should be 100% in accordance to Sunnah. When Buzurghs pass away, sadly the people get involved in various forms of Bid’aat by building tombs over their graves, or making Sajdah there, etc. However, when they attempted to build a tomb at the grave of Allamah Nawawi, as soon as they built a structure, it would  collapse. This was a Karaamat of Allamah Nawawi Rahimahullah. In this way, his grave remained in accordance to Sunnah.

During the lifetime of Allaamah Nawawi Rahimahullah, there was a greater scholar than him. However, due to the Taqwa of Allaamah Nawawi Rahimahullah, Allah Ta’ala blessed him and he excelled tremendously.

The Great Saints of Fiqh

Just like there are many great personalities in the Hanafi Madhab, likewise there are great personalities in the Shafi’ee Madhab. Imaam Shafi’ee once went from Makkah Sharif to Madinah Sharif. It is mentioned that such a journey would take up to 16 days to complete. On every day of the journey, Imaam Shafi’ee completed a Khatam of Quraan Sharif. The purpose of his journey was to meet Imaam Maalik Rahimahullah. On arriving in Madinah Sharif, he entered Masjidun Nabawi and found that after Salaah, the people gathered around an elderly man who started narrating Hadith from the Muwatta and his students would write them down. Imaam Shafi’ee Rahimahullah did not have any writing material, so he sat down and picked up a blade of grass and moistened it with his saliva. He then started to write on his palm. Imaam Maalik noticed this. At the end of the gathering, Imaam Maalik Rahimahullah approached him and asked, “Where are you from?”  He replied from Makkah. He then asked, “What were you doing when I was narrating Ahadith.” He said, “I was writing Ahadith.” Imaam Shafi’ee said that he wrote the Hadith using a blade of grass on his palm because he did not have a book and pen like the other students. Imaam Maalik asked to see his hand, but saw nothing written on it. Imaam Shafi’ee then explained that by writing in this way, he engraved it on his heart and memorized each Hadith along with the chain of narrators. Imaam Maalik then asked him to relay what he had memorized. In one sitting, he recalled 126 Ahaadith with its chain of narrators and text of Hadith. Imaam Maalik was so impressed that he invited him to be his guest.

Blessings of Halaal food

The daughters of Imaam Maalik were virtuous ladies. They would sit in the lessons of Hadith behind a Purdah and learn Hadith. If anyone made a mistake, they would knock two sticks together to alert that a mistake was made. They served Imaam Shafi’ee, by laying out his bedding, placing a jug for Wudhu, a Musallah for Salaah and served him supper. (Note: some narrations cite that this incident occurred for Imaam Ahmad Rahimahullah not for Imaam Shafi’ee, whilst others state it was when Imaam Shafi’ee was hosted by Imaam Maalik Rahimahullah). Imaam Shafi’ee Rahimahullah ate all the food to the point where there was no need for them to clean the utensils.

He never used the water or Musallah left in the room, and proceeded for Fajr Salaah. It seemed like he never made Wudhu, nor did he wake up for Tahajjud. The daughters were perplexed and conveyed this to Imaam Maalik Rahimahullah. When Imaam Maalik Rahimahullah confronted him, he said, “When I saw the Barakah in the food, I ate it all as I feared that I will never get such blessed food in the future. Secondly, I wanted to sleep because I was so tired after a long journey, but the food was filled with so much of blessings to the extent that I stayed awake. I then started contemplating regarding a Hadith, that after the passing away of a Sahaabi’s bird, Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam consoled him saying, “O Abu Umayr! What has happened to your bird?” After pondering over this Hadith, 40 Masaa’il came to mind and I started recording it-how to console someone after a loss; addressing a person using a nickname; the manner of speaking to a child.” Like this, Imaam Shafi’ee extracted 40 Masaa’il from this one Hadith. The Hadith is recorded in Adabul Mufrad:

عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَدْخُلُ عَلَيْنَا-وَلِي أَخٌ صَغِيرٌ يُكَنَّى: أبا عُمَيْرٍ، وَكَانَ لَهُ نُغَيْرٌ يَلْعَبُ بِهِ، فَمَاتَ – فَدَخَلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَرَآهُ حَزِينًا. فَقَالَ: “مَا شَأْنُهُ؟ “. قِيلَ لَهُ: مَاتَ نُغَرُهُ. فَقَالَ: ” يَا أَبَا عُمَيْرٍ! مَا فَعَلَ النُّغَيْرُ”

The High Intellect of Imaam Shafi’ee Rahimahullah

Imaam Shafi’ee once mentioned regarding Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam that, what the previous Ambiya were given, Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was given much more than that. He said, if it said about Nabi Isa Alaihis Salaam that he was able to bring the dead back to life, then what can be said about Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam? Imaam Shafi’ee said, “Where Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would deliver the Khutbah, stood a tree trunk on which Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would lean on. When the Mimbar was built and Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam moved from there, the tree trunk started weeping. So Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam caused a tree trunk, a piece of wood to cry.”

Then he mentions how Allah Ta’ala made 12 ways for Nabi Moosa Alaihis Salaam to cross the sea, which was a great feat. However, even greater was the splitting of the moon with just one Mubarak finger of Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. It has been proven that the splitting of the moon took place 1400 years ago, and the mark remains until today. Allah Ta’ala caused water to come out from the rock for Nabi Moosa Alaihis Salaam, but for Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, water came out from his Mubarak fingers.

The winds were under the control of Nabi Sulaiman Alaihis Salaam and he would cover one months journey in half a day yet Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam on the night of Me’raj, travelled to the seven heavens and beyond and returned in just a portion of the night.

Mas’ala of Talaaq

A person came to Imaam Shafi’ee and asked, “What if a person comes with a sealed bag and tells his wife to empty it without opening it, otherwise she is divorced.” Imaam Shafi’ee replied, “If the contents are sugar and salt, dip the bag in water and the contents will be dissolved. Thus the bag will be emptied and the Talaaq will not fall.”

Meat becoming Haraam for the Slaughterer and his Family

Another person then asked, “A person slaughtered an animal and thereafter went out to do some work. When he returned, he told his family that the meat was Haraam for him but Halaal for them.” After a little while his wife said, “It is Haraam for us as well.” They asked the Imaam as to which scenario can this be referring to? Imaam Shafi’ee Rahimahullah replied, “When he slaughtered the animal, he was a Kaafir. When he went out for some work, he became a Muslim. When he returned, now the animal was Haraam for him because it was slaughtered in Kufr. But his family had not accepted Islam so for them, the meat was suitable for consumption. But then, they accepted Islam, so the meat became Haraam for them to consume as well.”

This was the level of understanding and intellect Allah Ta’ala blessed our pious predecessors with. May Allah Ta’ala grant us the ability to recognize these senior scholars and follow in their footsteps. Ameen!

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