Ahmad al-Hashimi
- Died
- 1362 AH
- Born in
- Cairo
Ahmad al-Hashimi (1295–1362 AH / 1878–1943 CE) was an Egyptian educator and man of letters, best known for his pedagogical manuals on Arabic literature and rhetoric, including Jawahir al-Balagha.
Lineage and education
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn Mustafa al-Hashimi was born in Cairo in 1295 AH (1878 CE), into a family tracing its descent to al-Husayn ibn Ali. He received an Azhari education and studied under the scholar and reformer Muhammad Abduh.
Career and educational work
Al-Hashimi dedicated his career to school administration and teaching in Cairo. He served as director of several private schools—one for boys and two for girls—as well as the schools of the Islamic Society and the Fu'ad I and Crown Prince schools in Shubra. He also served as an inspector for the Victoria Evangelical schools in Cairo.
In his teaching career, al-Hashimi focused on making classical linguistic and literary arts accessible to students in modern secondary schools. In 1319 AH, he completed his manual on prose and composition, Jawahir al-Adab fi Insha' Lughat al-Arab. Prompted by his experience teaching Arabic rhetoric in secondary education, he subsequently composed Jawahir al-Balagha fi al-Ma'ani wa al-Bayan wa al-Badi', structuring the traditional threefold disciplines of rhetoric alongside practical exercises for learners.
Death
Al-Hashimi died in Cairo in 1362 AH (1943 CE).
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Sihr al-Halal fi al-Hikam wa al-Amthal (Permissible Magic in Maxims and Proverbs) is a compendium of poetic adages and proverbs. Structured alphabetically by the letters of the Arabic alphabet, the work brings together poetic verses that function as proverbs and aphorisms, addressing a broad range of ethical, social, and philosophical subjects.
Jawahir al-Balagha fi al-Maani wa al-Bayan wa al-Badi (The Jewels of Rhetoric in Semantics, Figures of Speech, and Embellishments) is an Arabic textbook on classical rhetoric. Designed as an instructional manual, it offers a systematic presentation of the three traditional branches of Arabic rhetoric—ilm al-maani, ilm al-bayan, and ilm al-badi—by combining theoretical rules with applied examples to facilitate student comprehension.
Jawahir al-Adab fi Adabiyyat wa Insha Lughat al-Arab ("Jewels of Literature on the Literary Arts and Epistolography of the Arabic Language") is an Arabic literary anthology and manual of composition completed in 1319 AH. It serves students and writers by outlining foundational rules for Arabic prose composition, letter-writing, and eloquence alongside selected classical models of rhetoric, speeches, epistolary prose, and moral maxims.