Taha Hussein (1889–1973)
Author of The Days: His Autobiography in Three Parts
About the Author
Taha Husayn, if not the most influential force in modern Arabic literature, is certainly a major one. His numerous publications in literary and cultural criticism, and particularly his autobiography, have variously inspired, proselytized, annoyed, or angered a host of Arab writers and others. Born show more to a traditional village family near Maghaghah in Upper Egypt in 1889, he was stricken as a young boy with blindness. This did not, however, prevent him from receiving the traditional education of the village kuttab school, which centered on learning the Qur'an by heart. In spite of his handicap and modest background, and because of his talent and promise he was sent to Cairo at age 13 to attend the great mosque school of al-Azhar. From there he went on to the Egyptian University (now Cairo University), where he wrote his thesis on the classical poet Abu al-'ala' al-Ma'arri. He continued his studies at the Sorbonne between 1915 and 1919, receiving a doctorate. Upon returning to Egypt, Taha occupied a number of high academic and administrative posts at the Egyptian University and Alexandria University. From 1951 to 1952, he was Minister of Culture. His chief fame in the Arab world---and certainly in the West---rests on his autobiography al-Ayyam (The Days), published in three parts from 1929 to 1967. In English, the first part has been translated as An Egyptian Childhood, the second part as The Stream of Days, and the last part as A Passage to France. Although this work clearly is an account of Taha Husayn's life from childhood in his village through his years at al-Azhar and then in France, it does not read strictly as autobiography. The first two volumes are narrated in the third person, with Taha always referred to as "our friend." The language is clear, concise, and very moving. Perhaps the next most influential, and also very controversial, of Taha's works was Fi al-Shi'r al-Jahili (Concerning Pre-Islamic Poetry), which appeared in 1926. Aimed at breaking traditional approaches to Arabic literature and at stimulating serious literary criticism, the work suggested that the entire corpus of pre-Islamic literature was a forgery. Needless to say, this provoked strong criticism. Another seminal book is Mustaqbal al-Thaqafah al-Misriyah (The Future of Culture in Eqypt), published in 1938, which used new analytic techniques to make classical Arabic literature accessible and relevant to the twentieth century. Taha's best-known works of fiction are Du'a al-Qayrawan (The Call of the Curlew) and al-Adib (The Writer). (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Taha Hussein
على هامش السيرة 16 copies
المعذبون في الأرض 5 copies
الأيام (Arabic Edition) 5 copies
حديث الأربعاء 4 copies
صوت أبى العلاء 3 copies
سنوحى المصرى 2 copies
مرآة الإسلام 2 copies
على هامش السيرة - الجزء الثاني 2 copies
حديث الأربعاء 2 copies
على هامش السيرة - الجزء الأول 2 copies
في الادب الجاهلي 2 copies
الأيام (Arabic Edition) 2 copies
المُثُل الدنيا 1 copy
حياة طبيب 1 copy
أحاديث جدتي 1 copy
حديث المساء 1 copy
جنة الحيوان 1 copy
قطوف 1 copy
أديب 1 copy
わがエジプト コ－ランとの日々 1 copy
الايام 1 copy
Souls for sale نفوس للبيع 1 copy
حديث الأربعاء الجزء الأول 1 copy
بين بين 1 copy
الايام 1 copy
ما وراء النهر 1 copy
Kniha dní 1 copy
مع المتنبّي 1 copy
مع المتنبى 1 copy
Volání hrdličky 1 copy
من لغو الصيف 1 copy
الأيام = Al-Ayyām = The days 1 copy
Sejarah Yang Tercicir 1 copy
بَين بَين 1 copy
صوت باريس - الجزء الثاني 1 copy
خواطر 1 copy
مستقبل الثقافة في مصر 1 copy
مع المتنبي - الجزء الاول 1 copy
العنوان 1 copy
احاديث 1 copy
مِرآت الضمير الحديث 1 copy
المعذبون فى الأرض 1 copy
الأيام (في مجلد واحد) 1 copy
Zov kerevana 1 copy
Zilele 1 copy
I giorni 1 copy
Kesaksian Sang Penyair 1 copy
من بعيد 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Hussein, Taha
- Other names
- Ḥusayn, Ṭāhā
حسين، طه، - Birthdate
- 1889-11-14
- Date of death
- 1973-10-28
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Cairo
Sorbonne - Occupations
- novelist
essayist
literary critic - Organizations
- Faculté des lettres du Caire
Université d'Alexandrie
Ministère de Éducation Nationale, Egypte (Ministre) - Awards and honors
- Grand collier de l'Ordre du Nil
Grand-croix de l'Ordre égyptien du Mérite
Première classe de l'Ordre libanais du Mérite
Grand cordon de l'Ordre du Mérite civil, Syrie
Grand cordon de l’Ordre du Mérite tunisien - Relationships
- Okada, Amina (Petite-fille)
Nasser, Gamal Abdel (Président)
Durkheim, Emile (Professeur) - Nationality
- Egypt
- Birthplace
- Maghaghah, Egypt
- Places of residence
- Paris, France
- Place of death
- Cairo, Egypt
- Associated Place (for map)
- Egypt
Members
Reviews
كتاب عظيم أنصح الجميع به لإجلاء الغيوم عن أصنام لم يتطرق أحد يوماً لمناقشتها فضلاً عن نقدها. الكتاب مشوق للغاية لمن لديه أدنى صلة بالأدب الجاهلى
بداية القصة كانت ممتازة جدا، توقعت أن أنهيها فى يوم او يومين، لكن مناجاة آمنة كانت فوق الاحتمال وجاءت مبكرة. أحسست ببعض الملل لكن مع النصف الثاني تبدأ أحداث جديدة والمناجاة تجدها مناسبة ومبررة اكثر.
القراءة الثانية للمؤلف بعد تحفته شجرة البؤس. لا أتوقع قراءة أفضل منها له فى show more الرواية، لكن أمني النفس بالآمال. show less
القراءة الثانية للمؤلف بعد تحفته شجرة البؤس. لا أتوقع قراءة أفضل منها له فى show more الرواية، لكن أمني النفس بالآمال. show less
A wonderful book that attempts to set a new way of reading into historical characters; don't just admire the events but use them to build a profile that helps you later in verifying their other related events. Both of the book heros amaze, and the writer conveyed it all in his well known extraordinary style.
من ترشيحات بلال فضل. ذكر الكتاب على ما أظن فى أولى حلقات برنامجه عصير الكتب. فكرة الكتاب جميلة. أقل مما توقعت ككتاب لكن كما توقعت من الكاتب ولغته الجميلة. يستحق القراءة لو أنك محب لكتابات طه حسين.
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Statistics
- Works
- 109
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 423
- Popularity
- #57,687
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 11
- ISBNs
- 70
- Languages
- 11