e11okt14 - imam nawawi

8/3/2019 E11Okt14 - Imam Nawawi

1/8

Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura

Friday Sermon

14 October 2011 / 16 Zulkaeddah 1432

Imam An-Nawawi Appreciating Allahs

Blessings Of Time And Age

Dear blessed Muslims,

Let us maintain our taqwa to Allah s.w.t. Perform all that

He has commanded and refrain from all that He has

prohibited. Hopefully Allah s.w.t. will grant us a blessed

and long life. Amin Ya Rabbal Alamin.

1


2/8

My beloved brothers,

Allow me to share with you an advice from our Prophet

s.a.w.:

Meaning: If you reach your evening, do not expect to

reach the morning, and if you reach your morning then do

not expect to reach the evening. Take from [optimise] your

health before your sickness, and from your life before your

death." Hadith narrated by Imam Bukhari.

This advice reminds us that as a Mukmin or believer in

Allah, we must appreciate the time that is given by Allah

s.w.t. We need to continue to ponder how we gain the

most benefit from the life that is granted to us by Allah

s.w.t. With this blessing of life, what is our contribution to

our community? What are the deeds and tasks that we

can perform in our lives?

Todays sermon wishes to invite you to reflect upon the life

of a well-known personality, who has contributed his life

and energy towards the spread of knowledge, although he

died at a relatively young age. This person is Imam An-

Nawawi Rahimahullah.

2


3/8

Abu Zakaria, Yahya bin Syaraf An-Nawawi, or better

known as Imam An-Nawawi, was born in Nawa Syria

during Muharram in the year 631 Hijriyyah. His deep

interest in seeking knowledge began when he was still a

young boy. His youth was spent in learning various

knowledge such as Fiqh, Hadith and Philosophy from

learned scholars who were themselves sources of

reference in their respective fields in Damascus at that

time.

The statement of Imam Az-Zahabi in his book Tazkiratul

Huffaz reflects Imam An-Nawawis thirst and

determination in seeking knowledge.

It was narrated by Imam An-Nawawi that when he first

sought knowledge, he went to the extent of attending 12

different classes with various teachers each day. He

recorded down notes and every explanations of all the

books that he studied. This was how Imam An-Nawawi

managed to write and produce a wide range of books on

religious sciences. For example, his famous works on

hadith includes the Syarah Sahih Muslim and Riyadus

Salihin. For works on Fiqh, he wrote the Al-Majmu and

3


4/8

Raudat Talibin, which remain as important sources of

reference for scholars today.

If we examine the books written by Imam An-Nawawi, we

will surely think of them to be the works of someone who

was granted the wisdom of old age, as he produced many

important works in his lifetime which remain relevant for us

today. However, in reality, he died at a young age of only

45 years old!

It is obvious that Imam An-Nawawi has made tremendous

contributions to the ummah, even though he lived for a

short time in this world. This is what is meant by the

blessings of time and age.

My dear beloved brothers,

It is important for us to observe how we manage our time

effectively. Apart from our daily tasks, let us ask ourselves

what are the contributions that we have made for the

benefit of the ummah?

The benefit of a long, blessed life that Allah has granted to

us is indeed an opportunity for us to increase our

investments for the Hereafter. Every sincere deed that we

perform will be rewarded by Allah s.w.t. Imagine how

4


5/8

Imam An-Nawawi planned and spent his life in a day.

There were moments where he set them aside for

teaching, learning, writing, carrying out dakwah,

performing ibadah and so on. The important thing for us is

to be earnest in every task that we perform so that they

will be beneficial. Let us reflect upon Allah s.w.t.s

reminder in surah Al-Araaf verse 34:

Meaning: To every people is a term appointed: when their

term is reached, not an hour can they cause delay, nor

(an hour) can they advance (it in anticipation).

Does this verse make us ponder upon the value of each

and every second of our lifes that Allah has given to us?

Every moment that we spent without performing anything

productive is a moment that is gone and wasted. Imagine

how much contribution, deed or reward that we can obtain

if we do something beneficial and did not waste those

moments?

My dear beloved brothers,

5


6/8

It was narrated in a hadith, that once a man asked the

Prophet s.a.w.: O Rasulullah s.a.w., who is the best of

humankind?The Prophet s.a.w. then replied:

Meaning: Whosoever that has been given a long life and

performs good deeds. The man then asked: Who is the

worst of humankind? Rasulullah s.a.w. replied:

Whosoever that has been given a long life but performs

evil deeds.Hadith narrated by Imam Tirmizi.

Imam An-Nawawi has indeed made an invaluable

contribution to Muslims, particularly in terms of hisresearch and knowledge, from his writings which are

second to none, as well as from providing comprehensive

education to youths of his generation. It has been reported

that Imam An-Nawawi managed to succesfully educate

and developed more than 100 students till they

themselves became scholars and jurists.

If that was the sacrifice and contribution of one Imam who

lived in 7th-century Hijriyyah, how about our contributions

as the ummah of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. for the

benefit of our ummah and our community?

6


7/8

Allah s.w.t. is indeed the Most Just, for he does not look at

the extent of our contributions. Be they big or small, Allah

s.w.t. will instead look at our sincerity when we are

performing our deeds and making any beneficial

contributions.

Let us not make our daily limitations as an excuse from

performing good deeds. This is because we know that

regardless of how small our contributions, and that it may

not even be recognized by our fellow humankind, know

that it will surely be a cause for our salvation from the

Hellfire. Let us reflect upon this hadith of Rasulullah s.a.w.

Meaning: While a man was walking, he saw a thorny

branch on the road, so he removed it. Allah appreciated

his action and forgave him. Hadith narrated by Imam

Bukhari and Muslim.

We know from this hadith, my dear brothers that for one

single physically small contribution made by this man to

prevent harm to another person has invited the Pleasure

of Allah s.w.t. It is clear for us now as the ummah of

7


8/8

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., that there is no excuse for not

making any beneficial contributions to humankind. There

is no limit upon the grace of Allah, as there is also no limit

for Allahs acceptance on the deeds that we perform. The

true value of any deed lies on the basis that we perform

them with utmost sincerity.

May Allah s.w.t. grants us taufik and inayah (assistance)

to practice all that we have learned in todays sermon.

Amin Ya Rabbal Alamin.

8

e11okt14 - imam nawawi

Documents