al-Liwa al-Rukn Mahmoud Shit Khattab
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dar Al-Qalam
al-Liwa al-Rukn Mahmoud Shit Khattab (Major General Staff Mahmoud Shit Khattab), subtitled al-Mujahid alladhi yahmilu sayfahu fi kutubih (The Fighter Who Carries His Sword in His Books), is a biographical work by Abdullah Mahmoud al-Tantawi published in 2001 (1422 AH), presenting a concise biographical and intellectual study of the Iraqi military historian and general Mahmoud Shit Khattab (1337–1419 AH / 1919–1998 CE).
Background and Composition
The author became acquainted with Khattab through his pioneering book al-Rasul al-Qa'id (The Messenger the Leader) and later met him personally in Baghdad in 1983 CE. Al-Tantawi regarded Khattab as his third major mentor, after Mustafa al-Siba'i and Ahmad Mazhar al-Azmah. He completed writing the book in Amman on 21 Dhu al-Hijjah 1421 AH (16 March 2001 CE) as a concise introduction intended for the series ‘Ulama’ wa-Mufakkirun Mu‘asirun (Contemporary Scholars and Thinkers), planning to follow it with an expansive study.
Structure and Scope
The book is arranged into an introduction and two main chapters:
- Introduction: Covers the author's relationship with Khattab, his scholarly debt to him, and the origins of the work within the biographical series conceived by Muhammad Ali Dawlah of Dar al-Qalam.
- Chapter One: Glimpses of His Life (Lamahat min Hayatih): Traces Khattab's era, lineage, upbringing, military education, academic memberships, public and ministerial career, personal stances, and death.
- Chapter Two: Introduction to His Writings (Ta‘rif bi-Mu’allafatih): Surveys Khattab's extensive bibliography across multiple genres and analyzes the dedication pages of his works.
Content and Themes
The first chapter details Khattab's birth in Mosul in 1919 CE to Arab parents from the Dulaim tribe and a Qaysi mother, his early upbringing by his paternal grandmother, and his religious education alongside his schooling. It covers his military progression from the Military College in Baghdad (graduating in 1938) and the Staff College (1947) to the Senior Officers College in Britain (1955), as well as his participation in twenty-four specialized military courses. It records his memberships in scholarly institutions, including the Iraqi Academy of Sciences, the Arabic Language Academies in Cairo, Damascus, and Jordan, the Islamic Research Academy at al-Azhar, and the Constituent Council of the Muslim World League. The narrative also recounts his brief tenure in government under President Abd al-Salam Arif, his refusal of subsequent ministerial appointments, his mediations regarding imprisoned Islamic figures such as Sayyid Qutb and Abul A'la Maududi, his firm defense of standard Arabic against regional dialects and free verse, his enduring distress over the defeat in the 1967 June War, and his death on 13 December 1998 in Baghdad while reciting Surah Ya-Sin.
The second chapter examines Khattab's written legacy, noting that his published, manuscript, and periodical writings reached around four hundred titles. It classifies his major publications into biographical studies of Islamic military commanders, specialized military and terminology treatises, moral and literary narratives, and critical reviews. The chapter concludes with a dedicated analysis of Khattab's book dedications, illustrating how his inscriptions reflect his commitment to early Islamic commanders, contemporary fighters, and the liberation of Jerusalem and Palestine.
Publication
The book was published in its first edition in 1422 AH / 2001 CE by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus and al-Dar al-Shamiyyah in Beirut, with distribution in Saudi Arabia through Dar al-Bashir in Jeddah.
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