Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura
Friday Sermon
14 October 2011 / 16 Zulkaeddah 1432
Imam An-Nawawi – Appreciating Allah’s
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.
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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?
Today’s 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
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died at a relatively young age. This person is Imam AnNawawi Rahimahullah.
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-Nawawi’s 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
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hadith includes the Syarah Sahih Muslim and Riyadus
Salihin. For works on Fiqh, he wrote the Al-Majmu’ and
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?
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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
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-A’raaf 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
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if we do something beneficial and did not waste those
moments?
My dear beloved brothers,
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 his
research 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
themselves became scholars and jurists.
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till
they
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?
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
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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
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 Allah’s 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 today’s sermon.
Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.
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