alNawawi

alNawawi refers to Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi, a prominent 13th-century Sunni Islamic scholar, jurist, and hadith master. Born in 1233 CE (631 AH) in Nawa, a town in the Damascus region of present-day Syria, he spent most of his life in Damascus, where he studied under leading teachers and became a leading authority of the Shafi'i school. He was renowned for his memorization of hadith, his precise legal reasoning, and his emphasis on piety and ethics. He died in Damascus in 1277 CE (676 AH) at a relatively young age, leaving a lasting intellectual legacy.

Al-Nawawi authored several influential works that shaped later Islamic scholarship. His best-known works are Riyad as-Salihin (Gardens of the Pious), a widely read compilation of hadith organized by topics such as ethics, worship, and social conduct; and Al-Arba'in an-Nawiyya (Forty Hadith of Imam al-Nawawi), a concise collection of forty essential hadiths that are commonly studied in introductory courses. He also produced a celebrated commentary on Sahih Muslim, known for its legal analysis and clarification of prophetic traditions.

Legacy and influence: Al-Nawawi’s writings have had a profound and enduring impact on Sunni jurisprudence, hadith studies, and Islamic education. His works are regularly studied in traditional madrasas and by scholars and students around the world, valued for methodological clarity, practical guidance, and emphasis on ethical conduct.