Al-Maqasid: Nawawi's Manual of Islam

About The Book

Long sold out in North America, al-Maqasid: Nawawi’s Manual of Islam is widely considered the best medium-size handbook available in English for teaching the basics of Islam from a traditional perspective.

This new edition has been revised and updated with a full complement of notes on a number of contemporary Muslim issues, and three major essays have been appended.

The prayers and invocations given in the text have been fully transliterated and their Arabic texts printed in the back. With its almost one hundred new pages, this second edition includes an extensive subject index that lets readers easily locate the answers they are looking for about Islam.

About The Author

Abu Zakaria Mohiuddin Yahya Ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (1233–1277), popularly known as al-Nawawi, an-Nawawi or Imam Nawawi (631–676 A.H. / 1234–1277 CE), was a Sunni Muslim author on Fiqh and Hadith. His position on legal matters is considered the authoritative one in the Shafi'i Madhab. He was born at Nawa near Damascus, Syria. As with many Arabic and Semitic names, the last part of his name refers to his hometown.

He studied in Damascus from the age of 18 and after making the pilgrimage in 1253 he settled there as a private scholar. From a young age he showed signs of great intelligence, and so his father paid for a good education. As a judge, he was much sought after for advice and adjudication of disputes.

During his life of 45 years he wrote many books on Islamic studies and other topics. He collected and sourced 42 Hadith of the Islamic prophet, Mohammed back to one of his companions.

In 1267 he succeeded Abu Shama as professor of Hadith at the Ashrafiyya [school] in the city. He died at Nawa at a relatively young age, having never married.

About The Translator

Nuh Ha Mim Keller is an American convert to Islam. He is a translator of Islamic books and a specialist in Islamic law, as well as being authorized by Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri as a sheikh in Sufism in the Shadhili Order.