النَّوَوِيّ — العَالِمُ الَّذِي كَتَبَ فِي 45 عَامًا أَكثَرَ مِمَّا كَتَبَهُ أَغلَبُ العُلَمَاءِ فِي عُمُرٍ كَامِل: مُؤَلِّفُ رِيَاضِ الصَّالِحِينَ وَالأَربَعِينَ النَّوَوِيَّةِ وَشَرحٍ عَلَى صَحِيحِ مُسلِمٍ لَا يَزَالُ الشَّرحَ المَعيَارِيَّ بَعدَ سَبعَةِ قُرُون
Al-Nawawi (النَّوَوِيّ; full name: Yahya ibn Sharaf ibn Muri al-Nawawi; born 631 AH / 1233 CE in Nawa, Syria [hence 'al-Nawawi']; died 676 AH / 1277 CE in Nawa at age 45; the extraordinary output: al-Nawawi died at 45 but left behind a body of work that took him less than 30 years to produce [he began serious study at age 18 in Damascus]; his contemporaries marveled at his productivity; he reportedly slept little, ate simply, and refused marriage so as not to distract from scholarship; character: known for his zuhd [asceticism], wara' [scrupulous avoidance of doubtful things], and willingness to speak truth to power; reportedly wrote to the Mamluk sultan against seizing scholarly waqf assets and refused to retract under pressure; major works: [1] Riyadh al-Salihin [Gardens of the Righteous]: one of the most widely read books in Islamic history; a hadith collection organized thematically around ethical and spiritual qualities; used globally for daily reading, teaching, and Friday circles; [2] Al-Arba'in al-Nawawiyya [The Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi]: 42 hadiths [the number exceeded 40 but the name stuck]; each hadith is foundational to Islamic practice; includes 'Actions are by intentions,' 'The halal is clear and the haram is clear,' 'Do not harm and do not be harmed,' 'Part of the excellence of someone's Islam is leaving alone what does not concern him'; the most memorized non-Quranic Islamic text in the world; [3] Sharh Sahih Muslim [Commentary on Sahih Muslim]: al-Nawawi's massive running commentary on the second most authoritative hadith collection; remains the standard reference commentary on Muslim; provides: hadith grading, linguistic explanation, legal derivation, theological notes, character biographies; [4] Al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab: left incomplete; the most encyclopedic work in the Shafi'i legal tradition; continued by al-Subki; [5] Minhaj al-Talibin: condensed Shafi'i fiqh manual; its commentary [al-Nihayah by al-Ramli and Tuhfat al-Muhtaj by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami] shaped all subsequent Shafi'i scholarship; [6] Sharh Sahih Bukhari [incomplete] and Tahdhib al-Asma' wal-Lughat [biographical dictionary]; the Shafi'i tradition: al-Nawawi is the pivotal Shafi'i scholar after al-Nawawi — Shafi'i scholars speak of 'al-Nawawi wa-Ibn Hajar' [al-Nawawi and Ibn Hajar al-Haytami] as the two foundational authorities for Shafi'i fatwa; his 40 Hadith: the selection and framing are al-Nawawi's; the hadiths he selected have a strongly ethical and inner-spiritual orientation [trust, honesty, avoiding harm, sincerity] rather than merely ritual; this ethical orientation explains their global adoption across all schools) is the epitome of Shafi'i scholarly asceticism and prolific output.
Forty-Five Years, an Entire Tradition
Al-Nawawi died at forty-five. He began serious scholarship at eighteen. In roughly twenty-seven years of productive work, he wrote a multi-volume commentary on Sahih Muslim, the most comprehensive encyclopedia of Shafi’i fiqh (Al-Majmu’, left incomplete), a work that remains globally memorized (Al-Arba’in), and one of the world’s most widely read Islamic books (Riyadh al-Salihin).
His contemporaries were already amazed. He reportedly slept only a few hours a night, ate one simple meal a day, never married, and dressed plainly. The scholarship was the life.
The Forty Hadith
Al-Arba’in al-Nawawiyya (actually 42 hadiths) is the most memorized non-Quranic Islamic text in the world. Al-Nawawi’s selection reflects his priorities: the hadiths he chose are disproportionately ethical and inner-spiritual — concerning intention, honesty, avoiding harm, leaving alone what doesn’t concern one, sincerity. Not primarily ritual hadiths, but character hadiths.
His pedagogical insight: these are the hadiths that most directly shape a Muslim’s character and relationship with others, not merely external practice. The selection became the global Islamic curriculum for basic formation.
Sharh Muslim: Seven Centuries of Authority
Sharh Sahih Muslim (Commentary on Sahih Muslim) remains the standard reference commentary on the second most authoritative hadith collection. Every subsequent commentary on Muslim engages al-Nawawi first. Seven centuries of Shafi’i scholarship look to al-Nawawi and Ibn Hajar al-Haytami as the two pillars of authoritative fatwa.
See also: Seerah Al Ghazali, Seerah Al Mawardi, Seerah Ibn Al Qayyim, Seerah Malik Ibn Anas, Seerah Yahya Ibn Mayin