He is the great ascetic scholar Abu Zakariyya Muhy al-Dīn Yahya ibn Sharaf ibn Murry ibn Hasan ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Jumu'ah ibn Hizaam Al-Nawawi, named after his hometown Nawa, a village in Hawran, Syria. He then moved to Damascus. He was a leading Shāfi'i scholar, and was the leading scholar of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) in his time.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy upon him) was born in the month of Muharram 631 AH, in the village of Nawa, to righteous parents. When he turned ten, he started memorizing the Qur'an, and learning Islamic Jurisprudence from some scholars in Nawa. By coincidence, Shaykh Yāsīn ibn Yūsuf Al-Marākishi was passing by that village. He saw the boys forcing the young Al-Nawawi to play with them while he was running from them and crying and reading the Qur'an. Al-Marākishi went to Al-Nawawi's father and advised him to devote his son to learning religious knowledge, and he agreed. In 649 AH, Al-Nawawi went with his father to Damascus to continue his learning in Dār al-Hadīth School, and he lived in the dormitory of the Rawāhiyyah School, which was adjacent to the Umayyad Mosque from the eastern side. In 651 AH, he performed Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) with his father then returned to Damascus.
In 665 AH, Al-Nawawi became the Grand Imam at Dār al-Hadīth, and he continued to teach there until he died at the age of 45. After arriving in Damascus, Al-Nawawi's academic life was characterized by three things:
First: perseverance in seeking knowledge and learning in his early life and in his youth. He was totally absorbed in seeking knowledge and found in this endeavor an unparalleled delight. He was indeed serious in reading and memorization; for he memorized 'Al-Tanbīh' in four and a half months, and memorized a quarter of the Chapter of the Worships from 'Al-Muhadhdhab' in the remaining months of that year. In a short period of time, he managed to win the admiration and affection of his teacher Abu Ibrāhīm Is-hāq ibn Ahmad al-Maghribi, so he made Al-Nawawi a teacher assistant in his class.
Second: broadness of his knowledge and culture, as he combined diligent learning with diversification of fields of knowledge and a multi-cultural education. His pupil 'Alā al-Dīn al-Attār mentioned that during Al-Nawawi's time of learning and seeking knowledge, he used to read twelve lessons daily with his teachers with explanation and verification. Those lessons were two from Al-Wasīt, one from Al-Muhadhdhab, one in Al-Jam' bayn al-Sahīhayn, one from Sahīh Muslim, one from Al-Lumma' by Ibn Jinni, one from Islāh al-Mantiq by Ibn Al-Sikkīt in (the Arabic) language, one in morphology, one in fundamentals of jurisprudence; and sometimes one from Al-Lumma' by Ibn Is-hāq and sometimes from Al-Muntakhab by Al-Fakhr al-Rāzi, one in the biographies of Hadīth narrators, and one in the fundamentals of the religion. He used to write down all that is related to these lessons such as the explanation of problematic aspects, clarification of wording, and adjusting grammar and diacritics.
Third: prolific writings. Al-Nawawi started writing books in 660 AH, at the age of 30. Allah blessed for him his time and supported him, so he concentrated his thoughts into great amazing books and writings, in which you sense the simplicity of phrasing, clearness of evidences, and fairness in presenting the views of jurists. To this day, his books are popular amongst Muslims and are a source of benefit to them in all parts of the world.
Among the most important of his works are: Sharh Sahīh Muslim, Al-Majmū' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, Riyād Al-Sālihīn, Al-Adhkār, Tahdhīb Al-Asmā’ wa al-Lughāt, Al-Arba‘ūn al-Nawawiyyah, and Al-Minhāj fi al-Fiqh.
Biographers unanimously agreed that Al-Nawawi was a devoted ascetic, a role model in piety, and second to none in giving advice to rulers and in enjoining virtue and forbidding vice. In this brief biography of Al-Nawawi, we would like to pause with the following prominent aspects of his life:
Asceticism: Al-Nawawi found in the delight of seeking knowledge a substitute for all other transient joys. So, he immersed himself in the sweetness of knowledge and faith. What is noticeable is that he moved from a simple environment to Damascus which had an abundance of joys, and he was at an age when desires are overwhelming. In spite of that, he eschewed all lusts and joys and led an extremely austere and hard life.
Piety: in Al-Nawawi's life, there are many examples of extreme piety, among them is that he used not to eat from the fruits of Damascus. When asked why, he answered: “It is full of endowments and properties owned by those under guardianship (after being declared legally incompetent). It is impermissible to dispose of that except in favor of their owners, and watering such properties is shared, and there is disagreement among scholars in this regard. Even those who permitted eating from properties in this case said it has to be in favor of the orphan or the one under guardianship. And people do not do that except with regard to one thousandth of the fruit for the owner, so how can I eat from such a property? He chose to live in Al-Rawāhiyyah School and not any other school because it was built by some traders.
Moreover, Dār Al-Hadīth was assigned a large stipend, but he did not take a penny thereof. Rather, he used to save it with the principal, then, when he had saved the stipend of a whole year, he would buy real estate with it and make it an endowment to Dār Al-Hadīth, or he would buy books and make it an endowment to the School library, and he never took any stipend from elsewhere. He would also not accept a gift or donation unless he needed something and the gift or donation came from a pious person. He did not accept anything from anyone except his parents and relatives. His mother would send him garments to wear, and his father would send him something to eat. He used to sleep in his room in which he stayed when he arrived in Damascus at the Rawāhiyyah School, and he was seeking nothing beyond that.
Giving sincere advice to rulers: Al-Nawawi carried the characteristics of a sincere outspoken scholar in performing Jihād with his tongue and fulfilling the duty of enjoining virtue and forbidding vice. He was true in his advice to the rulers without hoping for any personal interest or private gain. He was indeed courageous; not fearing any reproach for the sake of Allah. He had the eloquence and the proofs to support his claim.
People used to refer to him in serious and grave issues and ask for his Fatwa (juristic ruling), and he used to receive them wholeheartedly and work towards solving their problems, as in the case of the confiscation of the Shām (Levant) orchards:
When the Sultan Al-Zahir Baibars came from Egypt to Damascus after fighting the Tatars (Mongols) and driving them out of his territory, his treasury minister claimed that much of the orchards in Syria were the property of the state, so the Sultan ordered confiscating them and demanded that anyone who claimed ownership of any of these orchards prove his ownership and produce documents. The people resorted to Shaykh Al-Nawawi in Dār Al-Hadīth, so he wrote a letter to the Sultan, saying in it: “Muslims are indeed suffering because of this confiscation of their properties to an unspeakable degree, and they were asked to prove what they are not in need of proving. This confiscation is not held as lawful by any Muslim scholar; rather, whoever has something in his hand then it is his, and no one is permitted to object to that and burden him with producing proof.” The Sultan was angered by such boldness against him and ordered severing the payment of Al-Nawawi and firing him from all his posts. He was told that Al-Nawawi did not receive any payment and did not hold any posts. When Al-Nawawi saw that his letter did not have an effect, he went himself to the Sultan and spoke to him sharply. The Sultan wanted to deal violently with him but Allah directed his heart otherwise and protected Al-Nawawi from his harm. The Sultan then canceled the confiscation order and the people were saved from its evil.
In the year 676 AH, Al-Nawawi returned to Nawa after returning the books he had borrowed from the Endowment Department. He visited the graves of the scholars who taught him; he prayed for them and cried. Then he visited his living friends and bid them farewell. After visiting his father, he visited Jerusalem and Hebron then went back to Nawa where he fell ill and passed away on the 24th of Rajab of that year. When news of his death reached Damascus, the people of Damascus and neighboring areas were all in tears, and Muslims mourned him deeply. The Supreme Judge, ‘Izziddīn Muhammad ibn al-Sāyigh, and a group of his companions went to Nawa to perform the funeral prayer on him at his grave. A number of poets composed elegiac poetry of him. Thus came to an end the life of a renowned Muslim scholar after great endeavors in seeking knowledge. Al-Nawawi left treasures of knowledge for Muslims and they still hold him in high esteem and ask Allah, the Exalted, to bestow His mercy and forgiveness upon him.
May Allah have mercy upon Al-Nawawi, and may he be resurrected among those upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs, and the righteous; and excellent are those as companions.