Imam Nawawi's commentary on Sahih Muslim is one of the most highly regarded works in Islamic thought and literature.
Accepted by every sunni school of thought, and foundational in the Shaafi school, this text, available for the first time in English, is famed throughout the Muslim world.
After the Qur'an, the prophetic traditions are the most recognised source of wisdom in Islam. Amongst the collected Hadith, Sahih Muslim is second only to the the collection of Imam Bukhari.
With a commentary by Imam Nawawi, whose other works are amongst the most widely-read books on Islam, and translated by Adil Salahi, a modern scholar of great acclaim, this immense work, finally available to English readers, is an essential addition to every Muslim library, and for anybody with an interest in Islamic thought.
He was born at Nawa near Damascus, Syria. As with Arabic and other Semitic languages, the last part of his name refers to his hometown.
Yasin bin Yusuf Marakashi, 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. 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 and in keeping in view the learning quest of his son, decided to dedicate the life of his son for the service and promotion of the cause of Islam
He studied in Damascus from the age of 18 and after making the pilgrimage in 1253, he settled there as a private scholar.
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, and Abul-Fada'il Sallar bin Al-Hasan Al Arbali among others.
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:
This is one of the "hadiths of the attributes," about which scholars have two positions. The first is to have faith in it without discussing its meaning, while believing of Allah Most High that "there is nothing whatsoever like unto Him" (Qur'an 42:11), and that He is exalted above having any of the attributes of His creatures. The second is to figuratively explain it in a fitting way, scholars who hold this position adducing that the point of the hadith was to test the slave girl: Was she a monotheist, who affirmed that the Creator, the Disposer, the Doer, is Allah alone and that He is the one called upon when a person making supplication (du'a) faces the sky--just as those performing the prayer (salat) face the Kaaba, since the sky is the qibla of those who supplicate, as the Kaaba is the qibla of those who perform the prayer--or was she a worshipper of the idols which they placed in front of themselves? So when she said, In the sky, it was plain that she was not an idol worshiper
Nawawi drew the ire of Mamluk Sultan Rukn al-Din Baybars twice. Once when he wrote on behalf of residents of Damascus that if Baybars do not stop taxing people illegally then Allah will tax his deed in al-akhira who sought relief from heavy tax burdens during a drought that lasted many years.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."[19]
Second time Nawawi addressed Sultan Baybars when he wanted the ulama to issue fatwa that waqf belongs to the ruler which originally belonged to Muslim society. An-Nawawi sort of scolded him to fear Allah and control his greed for wealth. to which Sultan Baybars agreed. Some people asked Baybars why he did not lock up an-Nawawi to which Baybars replied whenever he even thinks of locking an-Nawawi up, a kind of fear flows through his heart. Both time Baybars abided by an-Nawawi's letters.
He died at Nawa at the relatively young age of 45.
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 of 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. Ulama's praise him for 3 characteristics:
In 2015, during the ongoing Syrian Civil War, his tomb was demolished by rebels linked to Al Nusra
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.
Adil Salahi is a scholar, author and translator, who has written or translated into English various books on Islam. After working for the BBC Arabic Service for several years, he worked for the Arabic daily, al-Sharq al-Awsat. He continues to publish many Articles in various Publications including , Arab News, a an English daily published in Saudi Arabia. Adil Salahi taught at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, Leicester, England. His popular biography of the Prophet, Muhammad: Man and Prophet, is widely respected and has been translated into multiple languages.
Adil Salahi is a scholar, author and translator, who has written or translated into English various books on Islam. After working for the BBC Arabic Service for several years, he worked for the Arabic daily, al-Sharq al-Awsat. He continues to publish many Articles in various Publications including , Arab News, a an English daily published in Saudi Arabia. Adil Salahi taught at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, Leicester, England. His popular biography of the Prophet, Muhammad: Man and Prophet, is widely respected and has been translated into multiple languages.
Kube Publishing is an independent publishing house that publishes general interest, academic and children’s books on Islam and the Muslim experience.
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