Because of the high esteem in which noble descent was held among Quraysh, we find that among the things which Quraysh accused the Prophet (ra) of, his descent is not mentioned, because his origins were well known among them. They accused him of many things that they made up, but this issue was not mentioned at all.

2. He grew up an orphan, for his father ‘Abdullah died when his mother was only two months pregnant with him. When he reached the age of six, his mother Aaminah died too, so at a very early age he (HI) felt the bitterness of being deprived of his parents’ love and compassion. After that, he was looked after by his grandfather ‘Abdul-Muttalib, but he died when the Prophet (SAWS) was eight years old. Then he was looked after by his paternal uncle Abu Taalib, until he grew up and became strong and mature. The Qur’an refers to his being an orphan when it says:

3. The Messenger of Allah (SAWS) spent the first four years of his life in the desert, among Bani Sa’d, so he grew up strong and healthy, eloquent and brave, able to ride horses well at an early age. His talents flourished in the peace and fresh air of the desert.

4. His intelligence was apparent at an early age and could be seen in his features, which aroused the love of all those who saw him. When he was a young boy, the Messenger came and sat on his grandfather’s bed. When he (‘Abdul-Muttalib) sat on it, no one among his children (i.e., the paternal uncles of the Prophet) would sit on it with him. So his paternal uncles tried to make him move, but ‘Abdul-Muttalib said, “Leave my son alone, for by Allah he has a future.”

5. When he was a young man, the Prophet (SAWS) tended the sheep of the people of Makkah in return for a few pennies. It was narrated that he (SAWS) said:

Then when he reached the age of twenty-five, he worked for Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, doing business with her money in return for a salary that she paid him.

6. When he was a young man, he did not join his Makkan peers in their idle leisure pursuits. Allah protected him from that. The books of Seerah state that when he was a young man, he heard singing in one of the houses of Makkah where a wedding party was taking place. He wanted to go to the party, but Allah caused him to fall asleep, and he was only woken up by the heat of the sun. He did not join his people in worshipping idols, he never ate the meat of any animals that were sacrificed to them, he never drank wine, he never gambled, and he never uttered foul speech or bad language.

7. He was known for his wisdom and sound reasoning. The incident when he put the Black Stone back in its place in the Ka’bah is indicative of that. The Ka’bah had been damaged by a flood which caused cracks in its walls, so the people of Makkah decided to knock it down and rebuild it. So they did that, but when they reached the place where the Black Stone was to go, a fierce dispute erupted as to who would have the honour of putting the Black Stone in place. Each tribe wanted to have this honour. The dispute reached the point where they were threatening to fight one another, then they agreed that the first person to come in through the gate of Bani Shaybah should judge amongst them. That person was the Messenger of Allah (SAWS), and when they saw him, they said, “This is Al-Ameen (the trustworthy), we will accept his judgement.” When they told him about that, he solved the problem in a manner that was approved of by all parties. He spread out his cloak, then he picked up the Stone and put it on his cloak. Then he told them that each tribe should take hold of one edge of the cloak and lift it up. When the Stone reached its place, he took it and put it there with his own hand, and they all approved of that. By means of his wisdom, Allah protected the blood of the Arabs from being shed in a feud that only Allah, the Exalted, the Almighty, knows its extent.

8. The Prophet (SAWS) was known among his people for being trustworthy and honest since his youth. He was well known among them for treating people kindly, keeping promises, living an upright life and having a good reputation. This is what made Khadeejah (RA) employ him to engage in trade using her money in the caravan that went to the city of Busra in Syria every year, and made her pay him double what she paid anyone from among her own people. When he came back to Makkah and her slave Maysarah told her how trustworthy and sincere he was, and she saw the great profits that had been made on that trip, she paid him double the sum that she had promised. She also wanted to marry him, and he agreed to marry her even though he was fifteen years younger than her. The best testimony to his good attitude before Prophethood is the fact that Khadeejah said to him when the revelation first came to him in the cave of Hiraa’ and he began trembling,

9. He traveled twice outside Makkah. The first time was with his paternal uncle Abu Taalib when he was twelve years old, and the second time was when he was twenty-five, when he went to engage in trade on Khadeejah’s behalf, with her money. Both trips were to the city of Busra. On both occasions he heard the talk of the merchants and saw the towns of the lands through which he traveled, and the customs of their people.

10. A few years before his Prophethood, Allah made him like to go out to the cave of Hiraa’ — which is a mountain on the north-west side of Makkah, close to the city — where he would stay alone for a month — during the month of Ramadaan — and think about the signs of Allah’s creation and the greatness of His power. He continued to do this until the Revelation came to him with the Qur’an.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

A researcher may learn the following lessons from studying the events described above:1. That the more highly-regarded a daa ‘iyah or social reformer is among his people, the more likely the people will listen to him. People usually look down on callers and reformers if they are of humble origins or modest background. But if there comes to them one whose noble birth or whose family’s social status they cannot deny, they will not be able to say anything about him but lies and fabrications which they will take as an excuse not to listen to him or heed his call. Hence, the first thing that Heraclius asked Abu Sufyaan, after the Prophet (SAWS) had sent a letter to Heraclius calling him and his people to Islam, was: “What is his lineage amongst you?” Abu Sufyaan answered, although at that time he was still a mushrik, “He is one of the noblest of us in lineage.” When Heraclius had finished questioning Abu Sufyaan and had listened to his answers, he explained to him why he had asked him these questions about Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (SAWS). Heraclius said:

It is true that Islam does not give any weight to nobility of descent when it comes to deeds, but this does not mean that there is no connection between noble descent and noble deeds. The higher a person’s status, the more chance there is of success, as the Prophet (SAWS) said according to a saheeh hadith:

2. If the daa ‘iyah goes through the pain of being an orphan or suffering hardship when he is young, that will make him more sensitive to noble humane feelings., and he will be filled with compassion and mercy towards the orphans, the poor and persecuted; he will strive harder to be just to these groups and show mercy and compassion towards them. Every daa ‘iyah needs a large amount of noble humane emotions that will make him feel the pain of the weak and wretched. There is nothing better than suffering in his own life to give him the feelings of the orphans, poor and needy.

3. The closer the daa ‘iyah s lifestyle is to the fitrah (nature), and the further away he is from a complex lifestyle, the more pure, and strong will be his mind, body and soul, and the more sound is his speech and thinking. Hence, it was not by chance that Allah chose the Arabs to bring the message of Islam, because, in comparison to the neighbouring civilized nations, they were purer in spirit, sounder in thinking, more proper in morals, and more able to endure the hardships of war for the sake of Allah and spreading His message throughout the world.

4. No one is qualified to lead the da ‘wah except one who is intelligent and alert. So those of low or average intelligence are the least deserving of leading the intellectual reform or spiritual movement. Rather, it is one of the laws of life that no one who is dull-witted or confused in his thinking or hold weird views will be able to lead in any field of life with any degree of success. If by chance or circumstance such a person attains a position of leadership, he will quickly falter and his people will shun him, after his actions demonstrate his stupidity, oddness or confused thinking.

5. The daa ‘iyah must be able to depend on himself to earn a living, or have a decent source of income, without begging or humiliating himself in any way.

Sincere and noble daa ‘iyahs do not accept to live on people’s charity and gifts. What respect can they have from their people if they humiliate themselves by begging and asking from people, even if they do not do that openly? If we find a person who claims to be a daa’iyah accumulating wealth from people through all kinds of deceit, then we may be certain that he has no self-respect, so how must his people and his neighbours view a person who accepts humiliation for himself? How can he call people to noble characteristics and conduct, and confront false and corrupt rulers, and fight evil and immorality, and spread the noble spirit of righteousness among the ummah?

6. If the daa ‘iyah is righteous during his youth and has lived a good life, this is more likely to bring him success in his efforts to call people to Allah, reform their morals and fight evil. For there will be no one who can criticize his personal conduct before he began his da ‘wah work. We often see that when people undertake da ‘wah (call, preaching) and reform efforts, especially in the field of moral reform, one of the most off-putting factors is when people remember their immoral past and previous bad behaviour. This ill-spent past may make people doubt the sincerity of such daa ‘iyahs, who may be accused of hiding behind the reform effort for ulterior motives, or of not starting to call for reform until they had had their fill of the pleasures of life, and because of their circumstances or their age they no longer had any hope of continuing to have the worldly gains, wealth, fame or status that they previously enjoyed But in the case of the daa ‘iyah who was righteous during his youth, he can continue to hold his head high with a clear conscience. The enemies of reform will not find any way to criticize him for his recent or more distant past; they will not find in his past any grounds for exposing him or calling people to look down on him.

Yes, Allah accepts the repentance of the one who repents to Him sincerely, and He erases his past evil deeds with his present good deeds, but this does not benefit the daa ‘iyah who wants to succeed in his da ‘wah, who could have hoped for greater success if he had a better past and a better reputation.

7. If the daa ‘iyah has the experience of travel, living with the masses and becoming familiar with the people’s customs, circumstances and problems, this will have a great impact on the success of his da ‘wah. Those who interact with people through books and articles without mixing with people of different backgrounds are doomed to failure in their calls for reform. The people will not listen to them or respond to their call, because they will see that they know nothing about their circumstances and their problems. Whoever wants to bring about reform among religious people has to mix with them in their mosques, gatherings and meetings. Whoever wants to bring about reform among the workers and peasants has to mix with them in their villages and factories, eat with them in their houses, and speak to them in their meetings. Whoever wants to reform the people’s interactions with one another has to mix with them in their marketplaces, shops, factories, clubs and gatherings. Whoever wants to reform politics must mix with politicians and get to know their organizations, listen to their speeches, read their manifestoes and agendas, then get used to the environment in which they operate, their cultural background and the aims which they are striving to reach, so that he will know how to address them without putting them off, and how to aim his reform efforts, so that they will not resist him because of personal dislike or emotional reasons.

So the daa’iyah must have some experience of life and some knowledge of people’s affairs, so that he will be able to fulfil the command of Allah:

How wonderful is the advice to,

8. The daa ‘iyah who wants to call people to Allah should spend time alone every now and then, when his soul may make contact with Allah and he can keep away from all the things that may upset him such as bad attitudes, the stress of life and disturbances around him. During such times of solitude, he should take stock of himself and see if he has fallen short in doing good, or deviated in any way, or failed to follow the wisest course, or made a mistake in his method or way, or indulged in arguments with some people to such an extent that he forgot to remember Allah and feel close to Him, remember the Hereafter with its Paradise and its Hell, together with death and its suffering and agonies. Hence tahajjud and qiyaam al-layl (prayers at night) were made obligatory for the Prophet (0), and they are mustahabbat (recommended) for others. Those who should be most eager to perform these nafl prayers are the daa ‘iyahs who seek to call people to Allah and His shari’ah and Paradise.

Solitude, tahajjud and standing to worship Allah in the depths of the night bring joy which no one knows except those whom Allah honours with these acts of worship. Ibraheem ibn Adham (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say after doing these prayers, “We are experiencing joy which if the kings were aware of it, they would fight us for it.”

It is sufficient for us to note the words that Allah addressed to the Messenger of Allah (saws):

Extracted from “ The Life of Prophet Muhammad: Highlights and Lessons” Published by International Islamic Publishing House

Source:islaam.net

The Life of an-Nawawi

Before commenting on the Forty Hadeeth of an-Nawawi, it would be proper to introduce Imaam an-Nawawi to the reader. It is important for Muslims to take the time to learn about the lives of the pious predecessors. The great scholars and pious individuals of the past can be great examples for the living. Their behaviour and actions can have a great effect upon the hearts. Their examples demonstrate that in every age, there were pious Muslims who followed the way of the Prophet (SAAS) and his noble Companions, without compromise and without giving into the desires of this world. They demonstrate to the Muslims of today that the guidance of the Qur’aan and Hadeeth was sufficient for them to lead their lives in manners pleasing to Allah, although they did not sit with and learn directly from the Prophet (SAAS) or even his close companions.

Today, Muslims face many of the same problems, temptations and difficulties that these pious predecessors faced. The pious predecessors read and intensively studied the Qur’aan and Hadeeth to attain guidance for their lives. They applied the Qur’aan and Sunnah in their lives under various circumstances. What they derived from the Divine Guidance should be considered a light for all of those who come after them who face circumstances similar to theirs.

There are many aspects of an-Nawawi’s life, in particular, that may set an example for those living today. In his introduction to his Master’s Thesis on an-Nawawi, Ahmad al-Haddaad echoed these views when he stated,

The third reason [for writing about an-Nawawi] was to bring to the forefront the life of this extraordinary man who lived in a later time. It is hoped that this biography will bring to us and the coming generations great benefits with respect to seriousness and striving for knowledge, with respect to asceticism and fearing Allah, and with respect to the bravery in publicly speaking the truth. The lives of the pious have greatest effect on those who hear about them. Allah has certainly spoken the truth when He said, “And all that We relate to you (O Muhammad) of the news of the messenger [is] in order that We may make your heart strong and firm.” (Hood 120) [1]

The goal here is to be brief. Therefore, only certain aspects of his life will be highlighted. [2]

Background to an-Nawawi’s Life:

Islam in the Seventh Century of Hijrah

The Seventh Century of Islam was a very turbulent time, especially for the area of Sham (“Greater Syria”). It was during this Century that the Mongols invaded the East and the Crusaders controlled part of the Muslim lands from the West. In the year 656 AH, the Mongols invaded and conquered Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasids. In 658, however, under the reign of al-Mudhafar Qutuz ibn Abdullaah and military leadership of al-Dhaahir Baibars, the Muslims handed the Mongols a stunning defeat at Ain Jaloot. Also, in 679, when the Mongols again tried to conquer Aleppo, they were defeated. From that time onwards, Muslim forces continues to battle and make headway against the Mongols. Similarly, the Crusaders were defeated and removed from Sham in the year 691.

By the grace and mercy of Allah, these turbulent times did not mean the end of Islam studies for the inhabitants of that area. In fact, when Noor ad-Deen Zanki (d. 569) entered Sham he found that the light of learning had been extinguished. Therefore, he made a concerted effort to encourage the people of that area to renew their studies of Islam. In the process, he opened many schools for the study of Islam. In fact, he opened the first Dar al-Hadeeth in Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere. This same spirit of spreading knowledge and establishing educational institutions was carried on by those who ruled after Noor ad-Deen Zanki, especially Saif ud-Deen Qalaawoon (d. 689). Therefore, one does not find a shortage of scholars and learning even during that turbulent century of Islamic history.

An-Nawawi’s Birth and Upbringing

Muhi ad-Deen [3] Abu Zakariya [4] Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Hizaami an-Nawawi was born in the 631 A.H. (1233 C.E.) in the village of Nawa, south of Damascus, Syria. Coming from Nawa, he is given the descriptive name of an-Nawawi, which is also sometime written an-Nawaawi.

An-Nawawi did not come from a well-known family. There is very little mention, if any, of his grandfather, father and other relatives. This implies that they were a modest family. They also were not known for producing great scholars. However, his father did have a reputation for being very pious and God-fearing. His father had a garden in which he would grow food for his family. He would avoid, and taught his family to avoid, eating anything which may be forbidden in any way whatsoever. This was a true application of the following Hadeeth from Sunan at-Tirmidhi:

“O People! Verily Allah is good and He does not accept but what is good. Allah has ordered the believers with the same command that He ordered the messengers. He said, ‘O Messengers, eat of the good and pure things and work righteous deeds. Verily, I am knowledgeable of what you do.’ And He said, ‘O believers! Eat of the good and wholesome things that We have provided for you.’ And he mentioned a man who was on a long journey, with disheveled hair and dust-ridden, stretching out his hands to the sky, saying, ‘O Lord, O Lord,’ while his food is of the forbidden and his provisions are of the forbidden. How is he going to responded to [by Allah]?”

From his youth, Yahya an-Nawawi was not attracted to sports or playing. Indeed, other children chided him for this. From an early age, he turned his attention to his studies. He hated any activity that would take him away from memorising the Qur’aan. On one occasion, the children forced him to play with them and he cried because of the time that he was wasting. [5] It is not surprising then that he memorised the Qur’aan at an early age.

At the age of eighteen, his father took him to Damascus to continue his studies. He excelled in the Shafi’ee school of fiqh, memorising some of its most important texts. He performed the pilgrimage to Makkah, visited Madinah and other locations but then returned to Damascus until prior to his death, when he returned to his hometown of Nawa.

An-Nawawi’s Personal Life:

His Pursuit of Knowledge

An-Nawawi first studies at the Saaramiya school in Damascus. This is where his father left him. He had no housing there whatsoever. After some time, he approached the Shaikh of the school to ask if he had any housing, as many of the schools house their students. They had no housing so the Shaikh suggested that he go to Rawaahiyah School. There he was given a very small room in which he lived for a number of years. In fact, he remained in that small room until he was named the head of the Ashrafiyah school, a number of years later. [6] It was stated that, when one visited him, the room was so small and the books were so many, that the only was one could sit down was to remove the books and pile them on top of each other to make some room to sit.

After Saaramiyah, he continued his studies at the Rawaahiya school in Damascus. At one point in time, he was attending twelve lectures a day on assorted topics, including Arabic language, hadith, fiqh and Islamic legal theory. Some of his well-known teachers [6] included Ishaaq ibn Ahmad al-Maghrabi al-Maqdisi (d. 650 A.H.), Abdur-Rahmaan al-Anbari (d. 661 A.H.) and Abdul-Azeez al-Ansaari (d. 662 A.H.). He studied Sahih Muslim from Abu Ishaaq Ibraaheem al-Waasiti. In 655 A.H., at the age of 24, he began teaching at the Ashrafiyah school. His reputation and excellence as a scholar began to be recognised by the scholars and inhabitants of Damascus.

His pursuit of knowledge dominated his entire life. He would put all of his time into studying, learning, and teaching. It is even stated that he would not sleep except when sleep would overtake him. He would rest on his book and sleep for a little, then he would act startled upon awakening and continues studying. He once said about himself, “I spent two years without lying on the ground [to sleep] on my side.” That is, he would always study and write until sleep overtook while in a sitting position. Al-Qutb al-Yauneeni said about him, “He would not waste any moment of the day or night but he would spend it busy with attaining knowledge. Even when he walking and in the streets he will be busy going over what he had remembered and reviewing his notes. He continued gaining knowledge in that way for a period of six years.” [6]

It seems – and only Allah knows the reality – that Allah truly blessed his time. Perhaps this was due to a sincere intention to please Allah. As mentioned above, he would attend up to twelve classes a day. Commenting on that fact, al-Diqr wrote,

He used to have twelve study sessions a day with his teachers. These included explanations, verifications, commentaries, explaining the different aspects and expressions as well as exacting the correct wordings. This would take, at a least approximation, twelve hours a day. Then he would need to review what he had learned and memorise what need to be memorised. The very least approximation is that this would also take twelve hours a day. This is twenty-four hours in a day! When would he sleep? When would he eat? When would he perform the acts of worship? When would he perform the voluntary late night prayers? It is well-known that he performed those types of acts of obedience and worship. When would all of that take place? He was in need of studying and reviewing for all the twenty fours in a day and nihgt. This shows how Allah blessed and graced this man. Allah blessed him in his time. He gave him the ability to complete in one day what it takes everyone else two years to accomplish. This is the only way we can explain this tremendous undertaking that made him one of the greatest scholars of his time in about ten years. In fact, it made him the leader (Imam) of his time. This is also the only way we can explain all of his wonderful, detailed and radiant writings in a span of time that lasted no more than fifteen years. He spent all of his lifetime and living hours in learning, teaching and writing. [7]

His Austerity

He led a very austere and simple life. Some narrations state that all the clothing he possessed was a turban and long gown. He did not desire any of the pleasures of this world. At one point in time, he would not eat anything except some cake and olives that his father would send him from time to time from Nawa. One of the reasons for this was that he was certain that such food came from permissible sources.

He would refuse even permissible things out of fear that they may lead him to doubtful matters. Indeed, he refused to eat any of the fruits of Damascus because he knew that orchards, many of which were endowments and for orphans and others, were not handled properly and he feared that the food he would be eating was not from a permissible source. Another reason he gave for not eating the fruit was that much of it was handled through sharecropping and there was a difference of opinion among the scholars concerning the validity of sharecropping. In a footnote, al-Haddaad points out that, in reality, all of those matters boiled down to one thing: al-Nawawi was afraid to involve himself in any matter concerning which there was even the slightest doubt. [8]

An-Nawawi desired to live a simple and pure life, although it would have been possible for him to live otherwise, given his teaching position and influence. Cheif Justice Sulaimaan al-Zara’i narrated that he visited an-Nawawi on the day of Eid. An-Nawawi was eating some kind of broth with no meat. He asked Sulaimaan to eat with him and he said that is was not appealing to him. Sulaimaan’s brother went and bought some roasted meat and sweets. Sulaimaan told an-Nawawi to eat from it and he refused. Sulaimaan said to him, “O my brother, is this forbidden?” He said, “No, but it is the food of the tyrants [and extravagant].” In this matter, he was following the example of the Prophet (SAAS) who could have enjoyed many of the bounties of this world, but, instead, his household would go days without cooking any meat or having their full of bread for two days straight. [9] It seems that an-Nawawi did not consider such food as impermissible, in general, as obviously the Prophet (SAAS) ate such foods. However, it seems that he was never sure that there source was permissible, so he refused to eat such foods. [10]

He was also well-known for his modesty. Part of his modesty included never being served by any of his students. At the same time, he continued to serve his students even into his old age.

An-Nawawi would fast perpetually (every day except the days of Eid). [11] In general, he would only eat once a day, after the last obligatory prayer of the day; and he would only drink once a day, before dawn. When he drank, he would drink cold water out of fear that it may make him drowsy. Al-Haddaad argues that this was done by an-Nawawi so that he would dedicate all of his time to work and worship instead of the pleasures of this life. Al-Haddaad writes that it is said that knowledge is not attained by rest. In fact, he states, a person will not receive even part of knowledge unless he dedicates himself to it. If a person dedicates all of himself to knowledge, then he may achieve a portion of it. Al-Haddaad states that perhaps this was an-Nawawi’s perception of knowledge. He left his heart completely free and open to receive the blessed knowledge of the religion of Islam. [12]

He did not accept a stipend for his teaching. It seems that he may have accepted money for the first year or two. That money he did receive, he would spend on books that were left as endowments after him. However, after that time, he refused to accept any money whatsoever for his services. [13]

One material possession of this world that an-Nawawi did have was books. In general, a student is greatly in need of books. He is perhaps as much in need of books than he is of food and water, as al-Haddaad pointed out. As alluded to earlier, an-Nawawi’s small room was like a warehouse of books. Once of the testimonies as to how many books an-Nawawi had may be found in his introduction to at-Tahqeeq wherein he said, “I have with me, of the books of Shafi’ee fiqh, and all praises are due to Allah, about one hundred books, including well-known books, rare books and others.” [14] Al-Haddaad comments, “If that was the case with the number of books of fiqh, which were not as plentiful as they were in later eras, then what about the number of books of hadith he must have had, as there were many more books of hadith available at his time.” [15] Taaj ud-Deen as-Subki (683-756), who was a Chief Justice (Qaadi al-Qudha), was asked to complete one of an-Nawawi’s works, al-Majmoo. He tried to excuse himself by saying that he did not have the number of references available to him that an-Nawawi had.

It seems clear though, that an-Nawawi’s goal was not simply to possess a large library. His books were not for decoration or display. Instead he benefited greatly from these works and, from his lectures and writings, numerous people have benefited from them since then.

FOOTNOTES

1. Ahmad al-Haddaad, al-Imaam an-Nawawi was Athaaruhu fi al-Hadeeth wa Uloomih (Beirut: Daar al-Bashaair al-Islamiyah, 1992), p.7.
2. Those readers interested in more details about the life of Imaam an-Nawawi may consult Alaa ud-Deen ibn al-Attaar, Tuhfat al-Taalibeen fi Tarjumah al-Imaam Muhiy ud-Deen (Riyadh: Daar al-Sami’ee, 1414 A.H.), passim; Jalaal ud-Deen as-Suyooti, al-Minhaaj al-Sawi fi Tarjamah al-Imaam an-Nawawi (Beirut: Daar ibn Hazm, 1994), passim; Abdul Ghani ad-Diqr, al-Imaam an-Nawawi: Shaikh al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen was Umdat al-Fuqahaa wa al-Muhaditheen (Damascus: Daar al-Qalam, 1980), passim. As-Suyooti relied greatly on al-Attaar, quoting lengthy passages from his work.
3. All of the biographical works give him the nickname “Muhiy ud-Deen” although he himself did not like to be called by it. He said that he did not forgive the person who gave him that nickname. He may have disliked that nickname because it means, “The one who gives life to the religion,” while, in fact, the religion of Islam is not in need of anyone to give it life. Al-Haddaad argues that the name does become him but that out of modesty, he did not like to be called by it. (See al-Haddaad, p.19) According to al-Madaabaghi, if a name or title of praise is disliked by someone, out of modesty, although the title fits him, then it is allowed to call that person by that name. This is not considered a type of backbiting or insult. See Hasan al-Madaabaghi’s comments on the margin of Ahmad ibn Hajr al-Haitami, Fath al-Mubeen li-Sharh al-Arbaeen (Beirut: Daar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1978), p.4.
4. He was given the name Abu Zakaria (“The Father of Zakaria”) although he never had a child by that name. It is not uncommen for me to be given agnomens while they are still under age and that agnomen remains with them throughout their lives. In al-Majmoo, an-Nawawi argues that it is recommended for people to have agnomens, even if they do not have children. See Yahya an-Nawawi, al-Majmoo Sharh al-Muhadhab (Beirut: Daar al-Fikr, n.d.) vol. 8, p.438.
5. Al-Haddaad, p.26
6. Quoted in al-Diqr, p. 29
7. al-Diqr, p.34
8. al-Haddaad, p.87
9. al-Haddaad, p.90
10. al-Diqr, p.129
11. There is a difference of opinion concerning perpetual fasting. An-Nawawi seemed to be of the view that it is permissible as long as one has the ability to do it and as long as one does not fast on those days which it is prohibited to fast. See an-Nawawi, Sharh Saheeh Muslim, vol. 8, p.40.
12. al-Haddaad, p.35
13. See al-Diqr, p.127
14. Quoted in al-Haddaad, p.71
15. al-Haddaad, p.72

Source: http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/seerah/0052.htm