Draft:Taha Hussein

Taha Hussein
Taha Hussein
Name	Taha Hussein
Other Names	Taha Hussein
Personal Details
Birth Place	Egypt
Brith Date	1889 CE
Death Place	Cairo
Death Date	28 October 1973 (1393 AH)
Religion	Islam

Taha Hussein (14 November 1889 – 28 October 1973) was an Egyptian writer and orator, and one of the pioneers of the modernization movement in Egypt. Taha became blind at the age of three due to an eye infection. After studying with a traditional teacher in his youth, he went to Al-Azhar University where he studied theology and Arabic literature. He suffered from the limitations of his teachers' thinking.

When the national Cairo University was established in 1908, Hussein, despite his blindness and poverty, soon found a place for himself at this university. He was the first graduate of this university to obtain a doctorate. Afterwards, in 1914, he went to the Sorbonne and in Paris in 1917 wrote a doctoral thesis entitled "The Social Philosophy of Ibn Khaldun". Upon returning to Egypt, he became a professor of Arabic literature and one of the founders of Alexandria University.

Biography

Taha Hussein was born on the 20th of Rabi' al-Awwal 1307 AH in Egypt. His father was an employee of the state sugar company, who had thirteen children, and Taha Hussein was the seventh child of his family. Taha Hussein suffered from eye pain during childhood, and due to negligence and incorrect treatment, he lost his eyes at the age of six and became blind, but he did not become desperate or hopeless at all and learned elementary education and the Quran with seriousness and interest in his birth village. He studied for three years at Al-Azhar University and listened to the last lesson that Sheikh Muhammad Abduh gave in the winter of 1905.

After continuing his studies with great Egyptian professors, Taha Hussein traveled to France and received his doctorate from the Sorbonne University in France.

He learned French, Greek, and Latin languages and even translated several books from French into Greek and Arabic. Dr. Taha Hussein has excellent scientific essays in various fields. He served in various positions such as professor at the University of Egypt, Dean of the Faculty of Literature, President of Alexandria University, and Minister of Education of Egypt, and among his valuable services, during the Ministry of Education, was making elementary, preliminary, and technical education free.

In addition to the above activities, he collaborated and was a member of various magazines, publications, and associations in Damascus, Paris, Tehran, Germany, Madrid, Baghdad, and Rome, and received the Legion of Honour from the French government and honorary doctorate degrees from the universities of Madrid and Cambridge.

Sixty-one valuable volumes of books remain from Dr. Taha Hussein, the most famous of which is Al-Ayyam (The Days), in two volumes. This book has been translated and published in eight languages: French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Persian, and Chinese.

Dr. Taha Hussein believed: Acquiring knowledge is as necessary for people as water and air are necessary.

Books Translated into Persian

1. Ali Hamish al-Sira, in three volumes under the title (Around the Prophetic Biography) translated by Badr al-Din Kitabi;
2. Al-Wa'd al-Haqq, under the title (True Promise), translated by Dr. Ahmad Aram;
3. Mir'at al-Islam, under the title (Mirror of Islam), translated by Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Ayati;
4. Ali wa Banuh, under the title (Ali and His Sons) translated by Muhammad Ali Shirazi.

Other Important Books by Dr. Taha Hussein

1. Memoir of Abu al-Ala.
2. His doctoral thesis in French about (Ibn Khaldun).
3. Lessons from Ancient History at the University of Egypt.
4. The Spirit of Education, translation of the book (Gustave Le Bon) from French.
5. Allegorical stories from a group of famous French writers.
6. On Pre-Islamic Poetry.
7. On Pre-Islamic Literature.
8. Literary Life in the Arabian Peninsula.
9. With Abu al-Ala in His Prison.
10. Talk on Poetry and Prose.
11. The Enchanted Palace.
12. The Future of Culture in Egypt.
13. The Voice of Paris.
14. Spring Journey.
15. The Sufferers of the Earth.
16. Literature of Our Era.
17. Allegorical Literature of Greece.
18. The Paradise of Thorns.

Death

He passed away in 1393 Hijri at the age of 84 in Egypt.

See also

• Jahiliyyah
• Arabian Peninsula
• Muhammad Abduh

References

• Biography of Dr. Taha Hussein, Publication date n.d., Accessed: 19 January 2022.