Imam al-Nawawi
| Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Title | Imam |
| Born |
Muharram 631 AH/ October 1233 Nawa, present Syria |
| Died | 24 Rajab 676 AH / 21 December 1277 (age 45) Nawa, present Syria |
| Resting place | Nawa, present Syria |
| Occupation | Historiographer, bibliographer, scholar, jurist. |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i |
| Creed | Ashari |
| Main interest(s) | Hadith studies, Islamic jurisprudence. |
| Arabic name | |
| Personal (Ism) | Yahyah |
| Patronymic (Nasab) | Ibn Sharaf ibn Marri ibn Hassan ibn Hussain ibn Muhammad ibn Juma ibn Hazm |
| Teknonymic (Kunya) | Abu Zakaria |
| Toponymic (Nisba) | al-Nawawī |
Abu Zakaria Yahya Ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī (Arabic: أبو زكريا يحيى بن شرف النووي; 1233–1277), popularly known as al-Nawawī or Imam Nawawī (631–676 A.H./1234–1277), was an influential Sunni Shafi'ite jurist and hadith scholar. He authored numerous and lengthy works ranging from hadith, to theology, biography, and jurisprudence. Al-Nawawi never married.
Imam Nawawi adhered to the orthodox Sunni Ash'ari creed. In line with this school, he did not interpret the mutashabihat, or 'unapparent in meaning' verses and hadiths in a literal anthropomorphic way. 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.
He was born at Nawa near Damascus, Syria. As with many Arabic and Semitic names, the last part of his name refers to his hometown.
Shaikh 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 he 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.
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