Fatawa al-Nawawi
- Author died
- 676 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah lil-Tiba'ah wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi'
Fatawa al-Nawawi (Arabic: فتاوى النووي, lit. 'The Legal Rulings of al-Nawawi'), also known as al-Masa'il al-Manthura (المسائل المنثورة, 'The Scattered Questions') and al-Manthurat wa-‘Uyun al-Masa'il al-Muhimmat, is a collection of legal responsa (fatwas) issued by the Shafi'i jurist al-Nawawi (631–676 AH / 1233–1277 CE) .
Composition and Arrangement
Al-Nawawi originally issued these legal rulings without arranging them under topical chapters, as they were answers given progressively in response to real-life cases and inquiries (‘ala hasab al-waqa'i‘) . He stated in his opening remarks that he did not impose an initial ordering on the questions, intending to organize them later if completed .
Following al-Nawawi's death, his close student Ibn al-Attar (654–724 AH / 1256–1324 CE)—who was known as Mukhtasar al-Nawawi—took the collection and arranged it systematically according to standard chapters of jurisprudence (abwab al-fiqh) to make the material easily accessible to researchers . In doing so, Ibn al-Attar also supplemented the text with additional rulings and answers that he had personally transcribed from al-Nawawi during teaching sessions, which were not present in the original compilation, while placing questions that had no direct connection to fiqh in separate chapters at the end of the work .
Methodology and Scope
In his opening statement, al-Nawawi outlined his method for the rulings:
- Clarifying concepts and making them accessible to beginner students and laymen unfamiliar with juristic terminology .
- Confining the answers for the most part to the soundest position (al-asahh) within the Shafi'i school, rarely mentioning dissenting views unless necessary .
- Indicating textual evidence for rulings whose legal reasoning might not be readily apparent .
- Attributing uncommon or unfamiliar legal opinions to their respective authorities or transmitters .
The work opens with preliminary rulings on praise and invocations, followed by classic legal categories such as purification (tahara), prayer (salah), and subsequent legal topics .
Transmission and Editions
The book has been preserved in multiple manuscript repositories across the world, including the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus, the Ahmadiyya Library in Aleppo, the National Library of France in Paris, the British Museum in London, the Berlin State Library, the Gotha Research Library, as well as libraries in Cairo, Kuwait, Qatar, and Istanbul .
The collection has been published multiple times in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Pakistan . Notable printings include an edition published by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah in Beirut (1402 AH / 1982 CE) and a critical edition edited and annotated by Muhammad al-Hajjar based on early manuscripts, including the copy in the Ahmadiyya Library in Aleppo, published by Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah in Beirut .
Answer updated