al-Nawaji, Shams al-Din

Shams al-Din al-Nawaji (c. 788–859 AH / 1386–1455 CE) was an Egyptian Shafi'i scholar of Arabic literature, rhetorician, and poet based in Cairo Nazm al-Uqyan fi Ayan al-…+1.

Early life and education

His full name was Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Ali ibn Uthman al-Nawaji, titled Shams al-Din Nazm al-Uqyan fi Ayan al-…+1. His nisba derives from Nawaj, a village in the Gharbiyya province of Egypt near al-Mahalla al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. He was born in Cairo, with sources dating his birth to around 788 AH or shortly after 785 AH al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1. He was raised at the zawiya of al-Ibnasi in the al-Maqsam quarter of Cairo, where he memorized the Quran alongside fundamental texts such as al-Umdah, al-Tanbih, al-Alfiyyah, and al-Shatibiyyah al-Khitat al-Tawfiqiyya a….

Al-Nawaji studied Quranic recitation under Ibn al-Jazari and al-Zaratini Nazm al-Uqyan fi Ayan al-…+1. In Shafi'i jurisprudence, he studied under Shams al-Din al-Birmawi and al-Burhan al-Bayjuri Nazm al-Uqyan fi Ayan al-…+1. In hadith, he studied under al-Wali al-Iraqi, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, and al-Nur ibn Sayf al-Ibyari, and received scholarly authorizations from Siraj al-Din Ibn al-Mulaqqin and al-Haytami al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1. In Arabic grammar and rational sciences, his teachers included Izz al-Din ibn Jama'a, Sibt Ibn Hisham, Badr al-Din al-Damamini, and Jalal al-Din al-Bisati, and he trained in calligraphy under Ibn al-Sani' Nazm al-Uqyan fi Ayan al-…+1.

Travels, career, and controversy

Al-Nawaji traveled to Alexandria, where he heard hadith from its chief judge al-Damamini, as well as to Damietta and al-Mahalla Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…+1. He journeyed to the Hijaz for the Hajj pilgrimage twice, first in 820 AH and again in 833 AH al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. In Cairo, he held teaching appointments in hadith at the al-Jamaliyya and al-Husayniyya madrasas Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi….

Although trained in the religious sciences, al-Nawaji devoted his scholarly focus to literature, rhetoric, and poetry, authoring specialized treatises such as al-Shifa fi badi al-iktifa on the rhetorical figure of ellipsis in prophetic panegyrics, and literary anthologies including Ta'hil al-gharib al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1. He faced a public controversy over his bacchic anthology Halbat al-kumayt, in which critics questioned the propriety of compiling verses on wine and its companions al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1.

Standing and death

Al-Nawaji was regarded as the foremost litterateur and poet of his generation in Egypt al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1. Ibn Hajar described him in his own handwriting as an erudite scholar (allama), and Ibrahim al-Biqa'i cited him frequently in biographical entries, describing him as trustworthy (thiqa) al-Daw al-Lami li-Ahl al-….

Al-Nawaji died in Cairo in Jumada al-Ula 859 AH (May 1455 CE), with reports placing his death on the 15th, 25th, or 26th of the month Mujam al-Muallifin+1. Upon his death, he was eulogized in verse by the poet al-Shihab al-Mansuri Safahat lam tunshar min B….