Muhammad Khalifa al-Tunisi
- Died
- 1408 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad Khalifa al-Tunisi (1334–1408 AH / 1915–1988 CE) was an Egyptian writer, essayist, and scholar of the Arabic language who headed the literary section of the Kuwaiti magazine al-Arabi.
Early life and education
Al-Tunisi was born in the village of Tunis in Upper Egypt. His father was a farmer whose lineage traced back to the Idrisids, descended from al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, and his mother was of Turkish origin. He began his studies in the village elementary school (kuttāb), where he learned reading, writing, and arithmetic, and memorized the Quran before the age of ten. During this period, he also memorized poetry and prose selections, studied texts on literature and Sufism, and learned portions of jurisprudence, Quranic recitation (tajwīd), and grammar.
In 1927, he entered the primary section of the religious institute in Asyut. He later graduated from the Faculty of Dar al-Ulum in Cairo in 1939 and obtained a postgraduate diploma in 1955.
Career and literary activity
Al-Tunisi taught in Egyptian schools from 1939 to 1964, eventually becoming an educational supervisor for the Arabic language. He took part in the committee for reforming al-Azhar, helping develop the curricula for its primary, preparatory, and secondary tiers, and in 1961 he was assigned to oversee the educational program at al-Azhar's Model Institute. In 1964, he was seconded to teach in Iraq, where he was subsequently delegated to the Iraqi Ministry of Awqaf to reform religious education in its schools, remaining there until 1972.
He began contributing to Arabic periodicals and newspapers in 1932, publishing articles in journals such as al-Risala, al-Thaqafa, al-Kuwait, and al-Balagh, as well as newspapers including al-Asas, al-Jumhuriyya, and al-Qabas. In 1932, he also formed a close relationship with the writer Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad, becoming one of his prominent disciples until al-Aqqad's death on 12 March 1964. Al-Tunisi analyzed his mentor's critical method in Fusal fi al-naqd 'inda al-'Aqqad (Chapters on Criticism in al-Aqqad's Work, 1952). He also composed verse, publishing the collection al-'Awasif (The Storms) in two parts in 1935 and 1947, and produced an Arabic translation of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in 1946. From 1972 until his death, he worked as an editor and head of the literary section at the monthly magazine al-Arabi in Kuwait.
Death
Al-Tunisi died on 22 Jumada al-Ula 1408 AH (11 January 1988 CE). In accordance with his wish to be buried in the place where he passed away, he was interred in Sulaibikhat Cemetery in Kuwait.
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List of Works
al-Khatar al-Yahudi: بروتوكولات Hukama Sahyun (The Jewish Peril: Protocols of the Elders of Zion) is an Arabic translation and analytical study of the antisemitic text known as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Completed in 1951 as the first complete Arabic translation of the work, it includes an extensive analytical introduction alongside a preface by literary scholar Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad.