The entire story of Taha Hussein, one of the greatest figures of all time in Arabic literature The Origins of Taha Hussein Taha Hussein was born on November 14, 1889, in Izbet el Kilo, a village in the Minya Governorate of central Egypt. The seventh of 13 children, he contracted ophthalmitis at the age of two, subsequently becoming blind following an operation performed by an inexperienced doctor.

Although he studied at the historic Al Azhar University, he was dissatisfied with his studies, longing for the newly established Cairo University, founded in 1908, where he was admitted after winning a prestigious award. Taha Hussein with his wife Suzanne Bresseau In 1914, he earned a doctorate on the Arab poet Al Ma’arri, which earned him his first academic and international recognition.

Soon after, he went to France to study, first in Montpellier and then at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he earned a second doctorate, this time on the figure of Ibn Khaldun. It was also in France that he met Suzanne Bresseau, who soon became his inseparable companion in life and work.

Scandals and successes In 1919 he returned to Cairo, where he became first professor of history and then professor of Arabic literature and Semitic languages at Cairo University. From then on, his fame spread throughout Egypt, so much so that he was responsible for the completion of Al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr, one of the most important Arabic-language dictionaries, as well as founding rector of the University of Alexandria in Egypt.

In 1926, his career was profoundly shaken by the publication of “On Pre-Islamic Poetry” (Arabic: في الشعر الجاهلي), a text in which he argued that much of pre-Islamic poetry was actually a later invention made by the Quraysh tribe (those associated with the Prophet (pbuh)) to assert their cultural hegemony, as well as arguing that the construction of the Kaaba by Ibrahim and Ismael (referred to in the Quran) was a fabrication. This led to a real outcry in the country, so much so that all copies were immediately recalled and reprinted, omitting the parts relating to the Quran entirely.

This, however, was not enough to completely calm the spirits, so much so that in 1932 Prime Minister Sidky Pasha removed him from his university position. The elevation to master With the Wafd’s victory in the 1936 elections, Taha Hussein immediately regained his seat, becoming one of the most important intellectual figures in Egyptian nationalism.

His great distinction was, on the one hand, pushing for a revival of fusha (“classical Arabic”), but on the other, acknowledging that in Egypt, so-called standard Arabic is often a genuinely foreign language, thus warning against its elitism. From 1950, he served as Minister of Education, initiating a process of profound educational renewal that would later be partially implemented by Nasser.

The relationship with the new leader was never warm or cold, but from his rise to power, Taha Hussein was increasingly relegated to the role of “absolute master” of Arabic literature, increasingly marginalized in political matters. From that moment on he headed towards a sweet old age which saw him finally pass away on 28 October 1973.

Taha Hussein will be one of the protagonists of the ‘Guide’ to Egypt by Medio Oriente e Dintorni, to be released on 25 January, so much so that this article was written for the occasion. Follow me on Facebook, Spotify, YouTube, and Instagram, or subscribe to my Telegram channel or newsletter (released on the 7th of every month); you’ll find all the links in one place: here.

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