Abd al-Salam Harun
- Died
- 1408 AH
- Born in
- Alexandria
Abd al-Salam Harun (1327–1408 AH / 1909–1988 CE) was an Egyptian philologist, grammarian, and scholar of classical Arabic literature, celebrated as one of the twentieth century's preeminent editors of classical Arabic manuscripts .
Early Life and Education
Abd al-Salam Muhammad Harun was born in Alexandria on 25 Dhu al-Hijjah 1326 AH (18 January 1909 CE) into an established family of religious scholars . His paternal grandfather, Harun ibn Abd al-Raziq, was a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, while his father, Muhammad ibn Harun, served as chief judicial inspector in the Ministry of Justice, and his maternal grandfather, Mahmud ibn Ridwan al-Jaziri, was a member of the High Court .
Harun memorized the Quran by the age of ten and enrolled at al-Azhar in 1921 to study Islamic and Arabic sciences . He subsequently joined the preparatory section of Dar al-Ulum, earning his baccalaureate in 1928, and completed his higher studies at Dar al-Ulum in 1932 .
Academic Career
Harun commenced his career teaching in primary education before being appointed in 1945 as a senior instructor in the Faculty of Arts at Alexandria University . In 1950, he became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Dar al-Ulum in Cairo, where he was appointed head of the grammar department in 1959 .
In 1966, he moved to Kuwait to participate in the founding of Kuwait University, establishing its Department of Arabic Language and its postgraduate studies division, both of which he headed until 1975 . Harun supervised and examined numerous graduate dissertations throughout his academic career .
In 1969, he was elected to the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo, succeeding Muhammad Farid Abu Hadid, and on 3 Rabi' al-Thani 1404 AH (7 January 1984 CE), he was elected the Academy's Secretary-General . He was also appointed an honorary member of the Jordan Academy of Arabic .
Scholarly Contributions and Critical Editing
Harun demonstrated an early aptitude for critical text editing, publishing his first edited text at the age of sixteen . His scholarly methodology was closely nurtured by his maternal cousin, the hadith scholar Ahmad Shakir, who introduced him to major publishing houses and collaborated with him on seminal editorial projects . In 1943, Taha Husayn selected Harun to join a scholarly committee tasked with reviving the literary heritage of Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri .
Over six decades of scholarship, Harun prepared critical editions of major classical monuments, including his renowned multi-volume edition of Kitab al-Hayawan ("The Book of Animals") by al-Jahiz . Drawing from his extensive experience in deciphering and collating manuscripts, in 1374 AH (1954 CE) he authored Tahqiq al-Nusus wa Nashruha ("The Editing and Publishing of Texts"), widely recognized as the first systematic Arabic manual to establish the principles, rules, and methodology of scholarly manuscript editing . He also compiled pedagogical reference works on Arabic grammar and orthography, including Qawa'id al-Imla' ("The Rules of Orthography") .
Recognition and Death
In 1950, Harun received the first prize for editing and publication from the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo, and in 1401 AH (1981 CE), he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize in Arabic Literature for his contributions to the preservation of Arabic heritage .
Harun died on 28 Sha'ban 1408 AH (16 April 1988 CE) . His extensive personal library, containing numerous handwritten marginalia and corrections, was acquired by the King Fahd National Library in Riyadh .
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List of Works
Qawaid al-Imla (The Rules of Orthography) is a concise guide to standard Arabic spelling rules. Designed to meet the practical needs of writers and educators, the manual pairs core orthographical rules with clarifying examples and exceptions to help avoid common ambiguities and errors while upholding the principles of traditional Arabic orthography.
Kunashat al-Nawadir (A Notebook of Rarities) is a compendium of historical, literary, and cultural miscellanies. Arranged alphabetically by topic heading with source citations, it gathers around three thousand notes preserving unusual historical anecdotes, rare insights, and cultural curiosities drawn from classical Arabic literature.
Tahqiq al-Nusus wa Nashruha ("The Editing and Publishing of Texts") is a manual on the methodology of critical Arabic manuscript editing. First published in 1374 AH (1954 CE), the work defines foundational principles for scientific text editing, clarifies practical methods, and emphasizes scholarly integrity in faithfully reproducing manuscript sources.