Mahmud Shakir, Abu Fihr

Mahmud Shakir, Abu Fihr (1327–1418 AH / 1909–1997 CE) was an Egyptian scholar of Arabic language, literature, and heritage preservation, renowned for his critical defense of classical Arabic culture and his rigorous philological scholarship Maqalat al-Tanahi Safahat…+1.

Early life and education

Mahmud Muhammad Shakir ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Qadir was born in Alexandria on Monday, 10 Muharram 1327 AH / 1 February 1909 CE Maqalat al-Tanahi Safahat…. His family belonged to the Al Abi 'Alya, an ashraf lineage originating from the Upper Egyptian city of Girga Maqalat al-Tanahi Safahat…. His father, Sheikh Muhammad Shakir (d. 1939 CE; another report gives 1929 CE), was an al-Azhar reformer who had served as head of the scholars of Alexandria and as deputy rector of al-Azhar Maqalat al-Tanahi Safahat…+1. His maternal grandfather was the Maliki jurist Sheikh Harun ibn Abd al-Raziq (d. 1918 CE), whose grandson was the editor Abd al-Salam Harun, while his elder brother was the hadith scholar and judge Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (d. 1958 CE) Maqalat al-Tanahi Safahat….

He began his primary schooling at the Madrasat al-Walida Umm Abbas in Cairo in 1916 Maqalat al-Tanahi Safahat…. In his youth, he developed an interest in mathematics and English before dedicating himself to Arabic literature, memorizing the complete collection of al-Mutanabbi at an early age al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya. He attended the literature circles of Sheikh Sayyid al-Marsafi at the Mosque of Sultan Barquq and studied with him at his home al-Kamil by al-Mubarrad and the Hamasat Abi Tammam of Abu Tammam al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya+1.

University crisis, travel, and scholarship

After receiving his secondary school baccalaureate from the scientific division in 1925, Shakir enrolled in the Faculty of Arts at the Egyptian University al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya. During his studies, an intense conflict erupted between him and his professor Taha Hussein over the authenticity of pre-Islamic poetry, after Shakir recognized that Hussein's lectures mirrored research by the orientalist D. S. Margoliouth al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…+1. Disillusioned by the academic environment and the lack of support from faculty members, he withdrew from the university without completing his degree and traveled to the Hijaz al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…+1.

Upon returning to Cairo, he wrote extensively for periodicals such as al-Muqtataf and al-Risala Majallat al-Bayan+1. In January 1936, al-Muqtataf dedicated a special issue to his pioneering critical study on al-Mutanabbi Majallat al-Bayan+1. His residence in Heliopolis subsequently evolved into an informal intellectual gathering frequented by scholars and students seeking guidance in literary criticism and manuscript editing Majallat al-Bayan. In 1964, he entered a sharp polemic in al-Risala against Louis Awad concerning the literary origins of Risalat al-Ghufran by Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri, which resulted in his two-volume critical work Abatil wa-Asmar ("Fables and Evening Tales") Majallat al-Bayan+1. He also authored Risala fi al-Tariq ila Thaqafatina ("A Treatise on the Way to Our Culture"), which was originally composed as an extensive introduction to the third edition of his study on al-Mutanabbi Majallat al-Bayan.

Standing and recognition

Shakir gained widespread recognition as a leading authority on Arabic philology, classical poetry, and manuscript editing Maqalat al-Tanahi Safahat…+1. He was awarded the Egyptian State Appreciation Award in Literature in 1981, was elected to the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo in 1983, and received the King Faisal International Prize in Arabic Literature in 1984 Majallat al-Bayan.

Death

Shakir died on Thursday, 3 Rabi' al-Thani 1418 AH / 7 August 1997 CE al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…+1.