Taha Husayn
 Personal Information | |
| Full Name | Taha Husayn |
|---|---|
| Religious Affiliation | Islam |
| Birth | 1889 |
| Place of Birth | Muniya, Egypt |
| Place of Residence | Qairo |
| Death | 1973 |
| Professors | Muhammad 'Abduh, Muhammad Bakhit (Mufti of Egypt), Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi |
| Notable roles | Minister of Ma'arif (1950-1952) |
| Works | Fi l-shi'r al-Jahili, al-Fitnat al-kubra, etc.. |
| Activities | He received United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights. |
Ṭāhā Ḥusayn (b. 1889 - d.1973) was an Egyptian Sunni writer, from whom, special views regarding some Shi'a and Islamic issues are reported.
Despite the fact that he believed in the miraculousness of Qur'an, Taha Husayn considered it has been influenced by Jewish stories. He believed that early Sunnis exaggerated Abu Bakr and 'Umar's true identities. In his opinion, at the time of 'Uthman, Umayyads took the control of all the affairs of the caliphate. He believed that Imam Ali (a) never used politics to reach worldly goals. Taha Husayn considered the formation of Shiʿa as a party after Imam al-Hasan's (a) peace treaty with Mu'awiya.
Some of the works of Taha Husayn are Fi l-shi'r al-Jahili, al-Fitnat al-kubra, al-Ayyam and al-Shaykhan.
Life
Taha Husayn was born in Egypt in 1889.[1] At the age of five, he lost his eyesight due to a disease. Traditionally, he went to Maktab-Khana[2] and memorized the whole Qur'an.[3] In 1902, he entered al-Azhar and studied there until 1908.[4] During this period, he learned fiqh, usul, Arabic grammar and logic under teachers such as Muhammad 'Abduh, Muhammad Bakhit (Mufti of Egypt), Muhammad Hasanayn al-'Adwi, Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi, Muhammad Radi and 'Ashur al-Sadafi.[5] He then went to the University of Egypt[6] and earned his PhD in Arabic literature.[7] Then, he went to France and earned a PhD in History from Sorbonne University.[8]
Since 1919, he began teaching the history of Greece and Rome at Cairo university and after a while, he accepted the directorship of the department of literature at this university. Between 1950 to 1952, he was the minister of Ma'arif, but after the fall of the cabinet of Wafd party,[9] he withdrew from politics. During his ministry, Taha Husayn announced the secondary and technical educations free for all and intended to make higher education free too, but the then king of Egypt did not accept it.[10] During the final days of his life, he received United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.[11] He passed away in 1973 at the age of eighty-four.[12]
Views
The Qur'an
In Fi l-shi'r al-Jahili, Taha Husayn claimed that some issues in the Qur'an are influenced by Jewish stories.[13] Following this opinion, the parliament of Egypt ordered to collect the copies of this book from the market and dismissed him from the university.[14] Some believe that those arguments were mostly political.[15]
However, Taha Husayn believed in the miraculousness of Qur'an.[16] In his opinion, the most important reason for considering the Qur'an a miracle is its special order and method in explanation of concepts; such a method which Arabs of the time of the Prophet (s) and after him could not copy.[17]
Rashidun Caliphs
Taha Husayn criticized early Sunnis for exaggerating Abu Bakr and 'Umar, sanctifying them and praising them without thinking.[18] He considered the Council of Six as the cause of dispute among Muslims;[19] because, the individuals whom the Second Caliph introduced for this council, all were willing to introduce themselves as caliph for the sake of protecting Islam and Muslims.[20]
Taha Husayn considered the Third Caliph incompetent in the affairs of caliphate, because during his rule, the greedy among Quraysh and especially Umayads took the control of the affairs of caliphate and even appointed and dismissed people in different positions by themselves. In his opinion, 'Uthman easily surrendered to them.[21] He believed that in the event of the murder of 'Uthman, Imam Ali (a) was among the defendants of 'Uthman, but Talha and Zubayr were inclined toward the rebels.[22]
Shi'a
Taha Husayn believed that most scholars of jurisprudence and theology made a mistake about the history of the formation of Shi'a as a school.[23] He believed that those who helped Imam Ali (a) in the battles were not his Shiʿa, but only wanted to help him.[24] In his opinion, Shiʿa was formed after Imam al-Hasan's (a) peace treaty with Mu'awiya.[25]
He considered Imam Ali (a) a politician who never used politics to reach worldly goals.[26] He believed that although Ali (a) considered the caliphate among the rights of Banu Hashim, after the demise of the Prophet (s), he did not accept the suggestion of his uncle 'Abbas for allegiance to avoid trouble in the society.[27]
Taha Husayn considered Ibn Ziyad the culprit for the battle of Karbala;[28] because, upon his encounter with the army of Kufa, Husayn b. Ali (a) offered 'Umar b. Sa'd three suggestions:
1) To allow him go to Hijaz;
2) To send him to Yazid in Syria to solve the issue between themselves;
3) To allow him to go to one of the Muslims' borders and stay there.
'Umar b. Sa'd wrote these suggestions to Ibn Ziyad, but he rejected them and asked for unconditional surrender of Husayn (a).[29] From the viewpoint of Taha Husayn, if any of the suggestions of Husayn (a) were accepted, the blood of the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (s) would be preserved and the Battle of Karbala would not happen.[30]
Works
Some of Taha Husayn's works are:[31]
- Fi l-sayf
- Min Ba'id
- 'Adib wa rahlat al-rabiʿ
- Tajdid dhikr Abi l-Aʿla'
- Hadith al-Arbaʿa'
- Fi l-shiʿr al-Jahili
- al-Fitnat al-kubra (ʿUthman, ʿAli and his sons)
- al-Ayyam
- al-Shaykhan
- Hafiz wa Shawqi
- Min hadith al-shiʿr wa l-nasr maʿa al-mutinabbi
- Lahazat
- Fusul fi l-Adab wa l-Naqd
- Naqd wa Islah
- Mustaqbal al-thiqafa fi Misr(Egypt)
- ʿAla Hamish al-Sira
- Al-Waʿd al-Haqq
- Mir'at al-Islam
- Jannat al-Hayawan
- Duʿa' al-Karwan
- Al-Qasr al-Masḥur
Some of these books are translated into Persian.
Note
- ↑ Jundī, Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, p. 21.
- ↑ Academically, until the 20th century, prior to the current educational system, there was Maktab Khana, namely elementary school in the Islamic world.
- ↑ Jundī, Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, p. 21.
- ↑ Jundī, Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, p. 21.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Āyina-yi Islām, p. 9.
- ↑ Jundī, Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, p. 22.
- ↑ Naẓarī, "Barrasī wa āthār-i Ṭāhā Ḥusayn", p. 24.
- ↑ Naẓarī, "Barrasī wa āthār-i Ṭāhā Ḥusayn", p. 24.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Ān rūzhā, p. 12-13.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Āyina-yi Islām, p. 14.
- ↑ Karīmī, "Dargudhasht-i Ṭāhā Ḥusayn", p. 91.
- ↑ Naẓarī, "Barrasī wa āthār-i Ṭāhā Ḥusayn", p. 24.
- ↑ Jundī, Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, p. 140.
- ↑ Jundī, Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, p. 178.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Āyina-yi Islām, p. 12.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Āyina-yi Islām, p. 122.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Āyina-yi Islām, p. 124.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Shaykhān, p. 6.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 48.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 48.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Āyina-yi Islām, p. 205.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 7.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 175.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 175.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 175.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Āyina-yi Islām, p. 219.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 17.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 244.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 240.
- ↑ Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Fitna al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 244.
- ↑ Naẓarī, "Barrasī wa āthār-i Ṭāhā Ḥusayn", p. 24.
References
- Jundī, Anwar al-. Ṭāhā Ḥusayn ḥayātuh wa fikruh fī mīzān al-Islām. Second edition. [n.p]: Dār al-Iʿtiṣām, 1977.
- Karīmī, Ghulām ʿAlī. 1352 Sh. "Dargudhasht-i Ṭāhā Ḥusayn." Majalla-yi Dānishgāh-i Adabīyāt-i Iṣfahān 9:71-97.
- Naẓarī, ʿAlī. "Barrasī wa āthār-i Ṭāhā Ḥusayn dar adab-i ʿarabī." Kiyhān-i Farhangī 114:24-27.
- Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Al-Fitna al-kubrā. twelfth edition. Cairo: Dār al-Maʿārif, 2002.
- Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, al-Shaykhān. Fourth edition. Cairo: Dār al-Maʿārif, 1969.
- Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Ān rūzhā. Translated to Farsi by Ḥusayn Khadīwjam. Third edition. Tehran: Surūsh, 1358 Sh.
- Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, Āyina-yi Islām. Translated to Farsi by Muḥammad Ibrāhīm Āyatī. Fourth edition. Tehran: Sahāmī-yi Intishār, 1346 Sh.