I was seated beside my master when a stranger entered.
He looked like a wandering ascetic—plain, quiet, unannounced.
In his hand, he carried a small jug.
He greeted Imam Nawawi with a simple salām and said, “This is from someone in the land of the righteous. He sends it to you—with peace.”
The Imam stood immediately and received the jug with reverence.
Turning to me, he said: “Keep this safe in the house. We may need it soon.”
I was struck by how quickly and silently the Imam accepted the gift.
He read my thoughts and said, with a half-smile: “Once, a Sufi sent me a pair of sandals.
Now, another sends a jug. These are the provisions for a journey.”
“I Have Been Given Permission”
A few days later, I was once again by his side when he suddenly turned to me and said:“I have been granted permission to travel.”
I asked, “What do you mean, master?”
He said: “I was sitting in my room at the Rawāḥiyya Madrasah when someone passed by me.
He gestured—from the west of the madrasah to the east—and said: ‘Rise. It is time to visit Bayt al-Maqdis.’”
At the time, I assumed he meant a regular journey.
Only later did I understand—he was speaking of the final journey.
The Farewells
Imam Nawawi turned to me and said: “Come, let us bid farewell to our beloved companions.” Together we visited the graves of his teachers.
He recited Qur’an beside them and wept.
Then we visited his living friends: Shaykh Yūsuf al-Fiqhī, Shaykh Muḥammad al-Ikhmīmī, the Hanbali scholar Shaykh Shams al-Dīn— Each visit carried the tone of farewell.
Every conversation was laced with a quiet knowing.
The next day, he departed. I accompanied him.
There were many moments on that journey I cannot describe here.
Each one deserves its own book.
He visited Bayt al-Maqdis, the sacred sanctuary in Jerusalem.
He offered his salām at the resting place of Prophet Ibrāhīm ﷺ.
Then, quietly, he returned to Nawā, his birthplace.
The Last Days
He took refuge in his father’s home. It was there that illness overtook him. When news of his sickness reached me in Damascus, I rushed to see him. He smiled at my arrival. After a quiet conversation, he said gently: “You may return home now.”
I left him comforted by his calm voice, not knowing it would be our last meeting. It was the month of Rajab, 676 AH.
That night, I saw a dream. The minarets of the Damascus mosque split the sky with a voice: “The funeral prayer… upon the Shaykh…”
The words shook me awake.
Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn.
I knew.
He had returned to His Lord.
A City Weeps
The following Thursday evening, news of Imam Nawawi’s death shook Damascus.
It was said: “Our Imam has left this world.” Scholars and layfolk alike mourned him.
Some wept in gratitude, others in remorse.
That Friday, after Jumuʿah, the funeral prayer was offered across the mosques.He passed away on the night of Wednesday, the 24th of Rajab, 676 AH (December 1277 CE)—at just 44 years old.
A Simple Grave for a Mighty Soul
He was buried in Nawā.
No dome was raised above his grave—just as he had lived, so did he rest:
Simple. Hidden. Silent.
When the townspeople attempted to build a dome, his sister saw him in a dream:
“Tell them,” he said,
“Not to proceed with their plan.
If they build it, it will crumble.”
The next morning, she stopped them.
They placed stones only to protect the grave from the elements.
Even Amīr Khān Sawūsāʿīdī, a ruler in the late 10th century AH, tried multiple times to build over Nawawi’s grave.
Each time, the structure collapsed.
The Imam, it seemed, would have no worldly adornment in death—just as he had in life.
A Dream and a Promise
When Imam Nawawi left Damascus for Nawā, a group of scholars walked with him.
One of them asked, “When shall we meet again?”
The Imam replied: “In 200 years.” He meant, of course, the Last Day.
After His Passing
Qāḍī al-Quḍāt ʿIzz al-Dīn b. Muḥammad b. Saʿīm departed from Damascus with a large group.
They reached Nawā and prayed beside his grave.
It had been Imam Nawawi’s desire to die in the land of Palestine—and Allah fulfilled that wish.
Across the cities of the Levant, elegies were written.
Poems wept.
Hearts trembled.
How could they not, when the Witness of His Time had returned home?
Primary Sources:
- Tuhfat al-Ṭālibīn – Ibn al-ʿAṭṭār
- Tarjumat al-Nawawī – al-Sakhāwī
- Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā – al-Subkī
- Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah
- Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾAl-Imām al-Nawawī – ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Daqar
