Proof Of Being A Waliyullah

Proof of reality of Awliya Allah, the Muslim saints:

Shaykh Nawawi Al-Jawi 

Al-Bantani رحمه الله

(1813 - 1898)

Fathoni, NU Online | Saturday, July 22, 2017 13:00

Over 100 years in the grave after excavation by Saudi authorities the blessed body of Shaykh Nawawi 

Al-Bantani looked like he had just recently been buried. 

What officials found was a body that was still intact. 

No abrasions or signs of decay as is usual in a body that has long been buried. 

Even the white cloth shroud covering his body was not torn and not rotted in the slightest. 

His body was then buried again as before and until now his grave remains in Jannat al-Mu’alla cemetery, Makkah.

▪ This is a brief biography of Shaykh Nawawi Al-Jawi Al-Bantani who was born in 1813 and passed away in 1898. 

His full name is Abu Abdul Mu’thi Muhammad Nawawi bin ‘Umar bin Arabi Al-Jawi Al-Bantani. 

He was born in Tanara, Serang, Banten, in 1230 AH / 1813 AD.

His father was a very respected religious figure. 

He had a family relationship with Maulana Syarif Hidayatullah or Sunan Gunung Jati (Cirebon). 

At the age of 15, a young Nawawi went to study in the Holy Land of Makkah, because then Indonesia - whose name was still Dutch East Indies - was colonized by the Dutch, limiting educational activities in the archipelago. 

A few years later, he returned to Indonesia to distribute his knowledge to society.

He taught in Indonesia for only three years, because the condition of the archipelago was still the same, under the colonization by the Dutch, which made it difficult for him to do his work. 

He went back to Makkah and taught his knowledge there, especially to the Indonesians who studied there. 

- Strategic role for the world and Indonesia

Shaykh Nawawi Al-Bantani was one of three Indonesian scholars who taught at Al-Haram Mosque in 

Makkah Al-Mukarramah in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 

The other two are his students, Shaykh Ahmad Khatib Minangkabau and Shaykh Mahfudz Termas. 

This shows that his scholarship was highly recognized not only in Indonesia, but also in the Arabian peninsula. 

Shaykh Nawawi Al-Bantani himself became a lecturer at Masjid al-Haram until his death until 1898, followed by his two disciples. 

He was buried near to the tomb of the Prophet’s ﷺ wife, Sayyidah Khadijah tul Kubra رضي الله عنها in Jannat al-Mu’alla cemetery, Makkah.

Shaykh Nawawi Al-Bantani earned the title Sayyidu Ulama ‘Al-Hijaz which means the Elders of the Hijaz Ulama or Master of the Hijaz Ulama or the Roots of the Hijaz Ulama. 

What is interesting about the title above is that he not only earned the title Sayyidu ‘Ulama al-Indonesi but that his wisdom was also recognized in the Arabian Peninsula, aswel as in his own homeland. 

In addition, he also received the title of Al-Imam wa al-fahm Al-Youngqqiq which means figures and experts with a very deep understanding aswel as the title of ‘Doctor of Theology’.

Many sources claim that Shaykh Nawawi passed away in Makkah and was buried Jannat al-Mu’alla cemetery in 1314 AH / 1897 AD, but according to Al-A’lam and Mu’jam Mu’allim, two books dealing with influential figures and teachers in the Islamic world, he passed away in 1316 AH / 1898 AD.

رضي الله عنه وأرضاه ونفعنا ببركاته