Rifa'a at-Tahtawi (also spelt Tahtawy; ar, رفاعة رافع الطهطاوي, ; 1801–1873) was an
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
writer, teacher, translator,
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
and
renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
intellectual. Tahtawi was among the first Egyptian scholars to write about Western cultures in an attempt to bring about a reconciliation and an understanding between
Islamic
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
and
Christian civilization
Christianity has been intricately intertwined with the history and formation of Western society. Throughout its long history, the Church has been a major source of social services like schooling and medical care; an inspiration for art, cultur ...
s. He founded a
School of Languages in Cairo in 1835 and was influential in the development of science, law, literature and Egyptology in 19th-century Egypt. His work influenced that of many later scholars, such as
Muhammad Abduh
; "The Theology of Unity")
, alma_mater = Al-Azhar University
, office1 = Grand Mufti of Egypt
, term1 = 1899 – 1905
, Sufi_order = Shadhiliyya
, disciple_of =
, awards =
, infl ...
.
Background
![Tahtawy memorial sohag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Tahtawy_memorial_sohag.jpg)
Tahtawi was born in 1801 in the village of
Tahta
Tahta ( ar, طهطا / , ALA-LC: ''Ṭahṭā''; ; , ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile in an area known for its agricultural richness. Tahta had a population of 85,528 in the 2017 ce ...
,
Sohag
Sohag ( , ), also spelled as ''Sawhāj'', ''Suhag'' and ''Suhaj'', is a city on the west bank of the Nile in Egypt. It has been the capital of Sohag Governorate since 1960, before which the capital was Girga and the name of the governorate was ...
, the same year the French troops evacuated Egypt. He was an
Azharite
, image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg
, image_size = 250
, caption = Al-Azhar University portal
, motto =
, established =
*970/972 first foundat ...
recommended by his teacher and mentor
Hasan al-Attar Shaykh Hasan al-Attar ( ar, حسن العطار) (1766–1835) was an Islamic scholar, Grand Imam of al-Azhar from 1830 to 1835. A "polymathic figure", he wrote on grammar, science, logic, medicine and history. Hassan al-Attar was appointed Sheikh o ...
to be the chaplain of a group of students
Mohammed Ali was sending to Paris in 1826. Originally intended to be an
Imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
(an Islamic religious guide) he was allowed to associate with the other members of the mission through persuasion of his authoritative figures. Many student missions from Egypt went to Europe in the early 19th century to study arts and sciences at European universities and acquire technical skills such as printing, shipbuilding and modern military techniques. According to his memoir ''Rihla'' (''Journey to Paris''), Tahtawi studied ethics, social and political philosophy, and mathematics and geometry. He read works by
Condillac,
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
,
Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
,
Montesquieu
Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher.
He is the principa ...
and
Bézout among others during his séjour (visit) in France.
In 1831, Tahtawi returned home to be part of the statewide effort to modernize the Egyptian infrastructure and education. He undertook a career in writing and translation, and founded the School of Languages (also knowns as ''School of Translators'') in 1835, which become part of
Ain Shams University
Ain Shams University ( ar, جامعة عين شمس) is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels.
History
Ain Shams University was fou ...
in 1973. The School of Languages graduated the earliest modern Egyptian intellectual milieu, which formed the basis of the emerging grassroots mobilization against British colonialism in Egypt. Three of his published volumes were works of political and moral
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. They introduced his Egyptian audience to
Enlightenment ideas such as
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
authority and political rights and liberty; his ideas regarding how a modern civilized society ought to be and what constituted by extension a civilized or "good Egyptian"; and his ideas on public interest and public good. Tahtawi's work was the first effort in what became an Egyptian renaissance (''
nahda
The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Leb ...
'') that flourished in the years between 1860 and 1940.
He died in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
in 1873.
Muslim Modernity
![كتاب رفاعة الطهطاوي](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8_%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%87%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%8A.jpg)
Tahtawi is considered one of the early adapters to
Islamic Modernism
Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge" attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with modern values such as democracy, civil rights, rationality, equ ...
. Islamic Modernists attempted to integrate Islamic principles with European social theories. In 1826, Al-Tahtawi was sent to Paris by Mehmet Ali. Tahtawi studied at an educational mission for five years, returning in 1831. Tahtawi was appointed director of the School of Languages. At the school, he worked translating European books into Arabic. Tahtawi was instrumental in translating military manuals, geography, and European history. In total, al-Tahtawi supervised the translation of over 2,000 foreign works into Arabic. Al-Tahtawi even made favorable comments about French society in some of his books. Tahtawi stressed that the Principles of Islam are compatible with those of European Modernity.
In his piece "The Extraction of Gold or an Overview of Paris", Tahtawi discusses the patriotic responsibility of citizenship. Tahtawi uses Roman civilization as an example for what could become of Islamic civilizations. At one point all Romans are united under one Caesar but split into East and West. After splitting, the two nations see "all its wars ended in defeat, and it retreated from a perfect existence to nonexistence". Tahtawi understands that if Egypt is unable to remain united, it could fall prey to outside invaders. Tahtawi stresses the importance of citizens defending the patriotic duty of their country. One way to protect one's country according to Tahtawi, is to accept the changes that come with a modern society.
At-Tahtawi, like others of what is often referred to as the ''Nahda'', was spellbound by French (and Western in general) culture in his books. Shaden Tageldin has suggested that this produced an intellectual inferiority complex in his ideas that aided in an "intellectual colonization" that remains till today among Egyptian intelligentsia.
[Tageldin, Shaden. (2011). Disarming Words: Empire and the Seductions of Translation in Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press.]
Work
A selection of his works are:
Tahtawi's writings
* ''A Paris Profile'' (), written during Tahtawi's stay in France.
* ''The methodology of Egyptians minds with regard to the marvels of modern literature'', published in 1869 crystallizing Tahtawi's opinions on modernization.
* ''The honest guide for education of girls and boys'', published in 1873 and reflecting the main precepts of Tahtawi's educational thoughts.
* ''Tawfik al-Galil insights into Egypt's and Ismail descendants' history'', the first part of the History Encyclopedia published in 1868 and tracing the history of ancient Egypt till the dawn of Islam.
* ''A thorough summary of the biography of Mohammed'' published after Tahtawi's death, recording a comprehensive account of the life of Prophet Mohammed and the political, legal and administrative foundations of the first Islamic state.
* ''Towards a simpler Arabic grammar'', published in 1869.
* ''Grammatical sentences'', published in 1863.
* ''Egyptian patriotic lyrics'', written in praise of Khedive Said and published in 1855.
* ''The luminous stars in the moonlit nights of al-Aziz'', a collection of congratulatory writings to some princes, published in 1872.
Tahtawi's translations
* ''The history of ancient Egyptians'', published in 1838.
[Source: Egyptian State Information Service]
* ''The Arabization of trade law'', published in 1868.
* ''The Arabization of the French civil law'', published in 1866.
* ''The unequivocal Arabization approach to geography'', published in 1835.
* ''Small-scale geography'', published in 1830.
* ''Metals and their use'', published in 1867.
* ''Ancient philosophers'', published in 1836.
* ''Principals of engineering'', published in 1854.
* ''Useful metals'', published in 1832.
* ''Logic'', published in 1838.
* ''Sasure's engineering'', published in 1874.
* ''General geography''.
* ''The French constitution''.
* ''On health policies''.
* ''On Greek mythology''.
Notes
Further reading
*
Newman, Daniel (2004)
''An Imam in Paris: Al-Tahtawi's Visit to France (1826–31)'' London: Saqi Books.
* Wael Abu-'Uksa (2016)
Freedom in the Arab World: Concepts and Ideologies in Arabic Thought in the Nineteenth Century Cambridge University Press.
References
*
*
*
External links
* Gran, Peter
Ahram Weekly. 10–16 January 2002.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tahtawi, Rifaa al-
1801 births
1873 deaths
Nahda
Egyptian Egyptologists
19th-century Egyptian historians
Egyptian journalists
Egyptian philosophers
19th-century journalists
Male journalists
Al-Azhar University alumni
19th-century male writers