Imam al-Nawawi in his al-Adhkar (Dar Ibn Kathir: Damascus, Beirut), first edition, annotated by Muhyi al-Din Muttaqi, p. 333 states:
CONCERNING THE VISIT TO THE GRAVE OF THE PROPHET AND THE INVOCATIONS PERTAINING THERETO
Know that it is incumbent upon every pilgrim to go and visit the Prophet(s), whether this visit is on his way or not.
Indeed, the visit of the Prophet(s) is among the most important of the acts that draw one near to Allah and of the most gainful of errands and of the most excellent of quests.
Once one turns his steps to visit the Prophet (s), let him invoke abundant blessings on him while on the way.
As soon as his sight reaches the trees of Madina, he invokes even more blessings. He is to ask Allah to benefit him through the ziyarah of him (i.e. Allah’s Apostle) and to make him successful in both worlds as a result of it.
He is to say: “O Allah! Open for me the doors of your Mercy, and provide for me from the ziyarah of the grave of Your Prophet what you provided to Your Friends and Devotees, and forgive me and show mercy to me, O the best to ask for one’s needs.”
CONCERNING THE VISIT OF THE MOSQUE OF THE "PROPHET (S)
“Know that it is recommended that whoever wants to visit the mosque of the Prophet invoke abundant blessings on him while on the way there.
As soon as his sight reaches the trees of Madina and its sanctuary, he is to even increase the blessings and greetings being sent to him (i.e. Allah’s Apostle). He is to ask Allah to benefit him through the ziyarah of the mosque and to make him successful in both worlds as a result of it.
He is to say: “O Allah! Open for me the doors of your Mercy, and provide for me from the ziyarah of the mosque of Your Prophet, peace be upon him, what you provided to Your Friends and Devotees, and forgive me and show mercy to me, O the best to ask for one’s needs.”
Look at such grave distortions!
We read:
About Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir al-Arna'ut I saw the following in a booklet by Hassan ibn `Ali al-Saqqaf entitled: al-Ighatha bi adillat al-istighatha [Rescue with the proof-texts of seeking help] (Amman: Maktabat al-Imam Nawawi, 1410/1990) p. 17.):
"This is the original [ghayr munharif] text of Imam Nawawi in the Book of Pilgrimage which is part of his larger book "Kitab al-Adhkar" [Book of Invocations and Prayers], according to the original manuscript, published editions (cf. Dar al-fikr in Damascus p. 306), and Ibn 'Allan's commentary on the Adhkar:
"CONCERNING THE VISIT TO THE GRAVE [Qabr] OF THE "PROPHET (S) AND THE INVOCATIONS PERTAINING THERETO:
"Know that it is incumbent upon every pilgrim [yanbaghi] to go and "visit the Prophet, whether this visit is on his way or not. " Indeed, the visit of the Prophet (s) is among the most important "of the acts that draw one near to Allah [qurubat] and of the most "gainful of errands and of the most excellent of quests. "Once one turns his steps to visit the Prophet (s), let him invoke "abundant blessings on him while on the way. As soon as his "sight reaches the trees of Madina [he invokes even more blessings]..."
"Below is the corrupt [munharif] text of the same passage of Imam Nawawi's book, as it has been corrupted by 'Abdul Qadir al-Arna'oot of salafite claim [al-mutamaslif]... in the edition of Dar al-Huda, Riyadh, 1409/1989 sponsored by the Supervisory Board for Publications, which is presided by the Authority for Scholarly Research and Ifta, p. 295:
"CONCERNING THE VISIT OF THE MOSQUE [masjid] OF THE "PROPHET (S):
"Know that it is recommended [yustahabb] that whoever wants to "visit the mosque of the Prophet (s) invoke abundant blessings on "him while on the way there. As soon as his sight reaches the trees "of Madina..."
"Then the said Salafi editor took a further liberty by completely eliminating the account of al-`Utbiyy told by al-Nawawi [at the end of this section], because it contradicts (what comes from) that impure spring [the Salafi School].
Is this scholarly trustworthiness? He could have commented on it and denied it, as some of his [Salafi] brothers have done in other editions. He did not have to commit such corruption of the text, such disgraceful tampering which leads Muslims to doubt in the great texts of our heritage that are printed and disseminated among all." (End of Saqqaf's text)
This is the story of al-`Utbiyy in Nawawi's book:
"Al-`Utbiyy said: "As I was sitting by the grave of the Prophet (s), a Beduin Arab came and said: Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah! I have heard Allah saying: 'If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful' (4:64), so I have come to you asking forgiveness (of Allah) for my sin, seeking your intercession with my Lord [mustashfi`an bika ila rabbi]. "Then he began to recite (poetry): O best of those whose bones are buried in the deep earth, And from whose fragrance the depth and the height have become sweet, May I be sacrificed for a grave which thou inhabit, And in which are found purity and bounty and munificence! "Then he left, and I dozed and saw the Prophet (s) in my sleep. He said to me: O `Utbiyy, run after the Beduin and give him glad tidings that Allah has forgiven him." And Allah Almighty knows best."
From al-Nawawi, Kitab al-Adhkar (Mecca: al-Maktaba al-Tijariyya, 1412/1992) p. 253-254.
Note: always read the Original Sunni versions not Salafi Fabricated versions!
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Versions of the book “al-Adhkar” of Imam an-Nawawi
Read Here
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The false attribution by the Wahhabis of the book:
“Juz’un fi-Dhikri I‘tiqād as-Salaf fi-l-Huruf wa-l-Aswat”
to Imam al-Nawawi
Abu Bilal Al-Maliki (tr. el-turki):
The rule of the people of hadith is:
ان كنت مدعياً فالدليل ، وإذا كنت ناقلاً فالصحة
“If you claim something, prove it; and if you relate something show its authenticity.”
This book is not by Imam Nawawi for the following reasons:
1) The obscurity of the author of the book from which it quotes.
This book consists of two main sections, aside from the introduction of the publisher.
The
first part comes from the book “al-Muram Mas’alat fi al-Kalam”
by an author named “Abu al-Abbas al-Armawi.” From pages 17 to 69
of the first part there are no words of Imam Nawawi, but only the
words of an Abu al-Abbas al-Armawi.
What is important in this
context, is this unknown person Abu al-Abbas al-Armawi. In no work is
this man mentioned. In no biography, nor any historical texts, nor
any scholars biographical catalogue, nor any book catalogue.
The obscurity of the author alone is sufficient for Ahl al-Hadith, to reject it.
The fabrication of this book becomes even clearer when we realize that in this work Imam Nawawi is supposed to relate to us `aqida from an unknown person. Imam Al-Nawawi a leader of the Ahl al-Hadith in his time would not quote and relate such an important topic from an unknown man especially when the matters cited are blatantly contrary to what Imam Nawawi said in his own popular works. There are plenty of Ahlus Sunnah scholars that Imam Nawawi knew of with certainty that he could quote from.
The second part of the book (From page 70 to page 78) is a summary of the work Hamalat Adab al-Qur’an, and there is nought to criticize.
2) The second proof: The structure of the book.
The book is not written as the publisher or, as the Wahhabis would have us believe. The book is a ‘Copy / Paste’ job. The first part consists of a text from the unknown book, “Al-Muram Mas’alat fi al-Kalam.” The author does not write a single word as a commentary on this text and this is certainly not the method of Imam Nawawi. Even young students would not copy whole texts, add nothing to it and then claim to have written a book.
Imam Al-Nawawi, the author of huge works would not copy a whole book, add an excerpt of one of his own books and then claim to have authored a new book.
3) The third proof is that it is contradictory to the authentic books of the Imam.
The books of Imam Al-Nawawi are world-famous and his style of writing is very well known to us. We also know his aqeedah through his works, which reached us with authentic chains of transmission. We will not put his Sharh on Sahih Muslim, Sahih al-Bukhari or the Rawda and al Majmu or Minhaj behind our backs and cling to a chainless, fabricated, unknown book full of contradictions and catastrophes.
The aqeedah of Imam Nawawi is not only to be found in his books, but also with his numerous students who did not relate any of the odd things in this supposed book of his.
4) The Fourth Proof: The falsification of history.
Between us and Imam Al-Nawawi are 731 years. I wonder how stupid the Wahhabis think the Muslims are? Do the Wahhabis want to tell us that the Muslims and the scholars of the Muslims did not know of this book? Even the contemporaries of Nawawi, his students and the students of his students did not know of this book. Just now in the 20th century the unknown truth has come to light! That kind of distortion reminds me of Christianity – constantly reformed as new (authorless) manuscripts pop up.
Anyone could fabricate a book and attribute it to a scholar. If you know your way in the history of Islamic books, then you would also know about the numerous fabricated books that are attributed to Imam Al-Ghazali or Imam As-Suyuti for example.
But the Muslims have set conditions to allow books to be attributed to their authors with certainty.
– The
Sanad of the book.
– Manuscripts with the Sama’at on them.
–
Not contradicting the other authentic books.
– The mention of
the book in the biographies of the scholar.
– The mention of
the book by other scholars.
– And other conditions which this
book does not fulfill.
5) The fifth Proof: The (non-existent) Sanad
The book has no chain of transmission and we do not know who related it from Imam Nawawi (who isn’t the author anyway). The handwriting (manuscript) gives us no reference to Imam Nawawi, except his name on the cover (which is no proof, since anyone can write any name into a title) and the excerpt of the book Adab Hamalt al-Quran.
6) The sixth Proof: The obscurity of the book itself
Imam Al-Nawawi in his time was very well known. His students and those who studied his life and his works are numerous. But no scholar, no student from him, not one historian, not one biographer, not one shafi’i-scholar, no Faqih, no kalam-scholar not even an anthropomorphist has ever mentioned this book. Those who know the books of Imam Nawawi very well, such as Imam Subki, Sheikh al-Islam Zakariyya, Imam Suyuti or Imam Dhahabi and hundreds of other Schuyukh have never told us of this work. Such a 180 degree turn in the aqida of one of the greatest scholars of this ummah would not have remained unknown, but no one mentioned it.
Bring us the scholars if there are any who have mentioned this book and attributed it to Imam Nawawi!
7) The seventh Proof: The deviant creedal statements in the book
The book contains many erroneous statements in creed all of which we cannot mention here. (If you want more information regarding them just read the refutation by Shaykh Sa’id Fouda).
A single point will suffice:
The author of this book says: Allah Speaks with letters and voice, which are beginningless.
Meaning that the letters are beginningless (Qadim). Even Ibn Taymiyya distances himself from this erroneous belief.
Verily this is an Admonition: therefore, whoso will, let him take a (straight) path to his Lord! 73:19
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