Mustafa al-Ghalayini
- Died
- 1364 AH
- Born in
- Beirut
Mustafa al-Ghalayini (1303–1364 AH / 1886–1944 CE) was a Lebanese scholar, linguist, poet, orator, and Sharia judge from Beirut, known for his Arabic grammar and language manual Jami al-Durus al-Arabiyya .
Early Life and Education
Mustafa ibn Muhammad Salim al-Ghalayini was born in Beirut in 1303 AH (1886 CE; other accounts place his birth around 1300 AH / 1885 CE) . He received his primary education in Beirut under teachers that included Muhyi al-Din al-Khayyat, Abd al-Basit al-Fakhuri, and Salih al-Rafi'i . He then traveled to Egypt to study at al-Azhar, where he studied under Muhammad Abduh in 1320 AH .
Career, Political Activity, and Exile
Upon returning to Beirut, al-Ghalayini engaged in teaching, serving at al-Jami al-Umari, the Ottoman College, the Sharia College, and the Sultaniyya School, where he taught Arabic for four years . Following the declaration of the Ottoman Constitution, he founded and published the Beirut periodical al-Nibras for two years . During this period, he affiliated briefly with the Committee of Union and Progress before leaving it to join the Entente Party and subsequently the Reform Party .
During the First World War, al-Ghalayini was appointed as a preacher for the Ottoman Fourth Army; he accompanied the troops from Damascus across the desert toward the Suez Canal near Ismailia and witnessed the battle and retreat . After the war, he resided in Damascus during the Arab Kingdom's rule under King Faysal, where he headed the correspondence bureau in public security and volunteered in the Arab army .
Returning to Beirut, al-Ghalayini was arrested in 1922 on charges of involvement in the assassination of As'ad Bey, the director of internal affairs . Following his release, he moved to Transjordan, where Emir Abdullah I entrusted him with the education of his two sons . After some time, he returned to Beirut, where he was detained by the French mandatory authorities and exiled to Palestine, taking up residence in Haifa before eventually returning to Beirut .
Scholarly Standing and Public Office
Al-Ghalayini was elected a member of the Arab Academy of Damascus . In polemics and cultural critique, he authored al-Islam Ruh al-Madaniyya ("Islam is the Spirit of Civilization") as a direct rejoinder to Lord Cromer, as well as Nazarat fi al-Lugha wa-l-Adab ("Perspectives on Language and Literature") .
In Beirut, he was appointed president of the Islamic Council, served as a Sharia judge, and acted as a court counselor until his death there in 1364 AH (1944 CE; another report gives 1945 CE) .
Answer updated
List of Works
Jami al-Durus al-Arabiyya is a modern Arabic language reference manual that covers the rules of Arabic grammar, morphology, and orthography. Structured in three parts, it treats the fundamentals of grammar (nahw), morphology (sarf), and dictation rules (imla'), presenting linguistic rules in an accessible style alongside an examination of textual citations and illustrative poetic evidence.
Rijal al-Muallaqat al-Ashr is a biographical and literary study of the poets of the ten pre-Islamic suspended odes. Designed as a historical and linguistic guide for students and readers of Arabic, the work pairs introductory overviews of pre-Islamic Arab history and Arabic literature with detailed profiles of the ten poets, tracing their lineages, historical contexts, and selected poetry.