al-Mustashriqun li Najib al-Aqiqi
- Author died
- 1402 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Maʻārif
al-Mustashriqun (The Orientalists) is an Arabic biographical encyclopedia by the Lebanese scholar and man of letters Najib al-Aqiqi (1335–1402 AH / 1916–1982 CE), surveying Western scholars of Arab and Islamic studies, their institutions, and their academic contributions over the course of a millennium .
Scope and Content
Subtitled Mawsu‘ah fi Turath al-‘Arab, ma‘a Tarajim al-Mustashriqin wa-Dirasatihim ‘anhu, mundhu Alf ‘Am hatta al-Yawm ("An Encyclopedia of Arab Heritage, with Biographies of Orientalists and Their Studies on It, from One Thousand Years Ago to the Present Day"), the work is designed as an extensive biographical and bibliographical compendium . It traces the history of Orientalist studies from early European contacts and medieval translators through the modern period, profiling hundreds of Western scholars arranged by their respective countries and traditions . Each biographical entry typically outlines the scholar’s life, academic positions, institutional affiliations, published studies, critical editions of Arabic texts, and translations .
Publication History
The work was initially issued as a single volume of approximately 250 medium-format pages by Matba‘at al-Ittihad in Beirut . Al-Aqiqi later expanded the work considerably across successive printings into a three-volume encyclopedia published by Dar al-Ma‘arif in Cairo, including an expanded third edition in 1964 and a fourth edition in 1400–1401 AH (1980–1981 CE) .
Reception and Significance
Upon its initial publication, the book was reviewed by al-Ustadth al-Humani in the journal Majallat al-Risala, who praised al-Aqiqi for gathering the scattered figures of Orientalism across different times and places into a unified Arabic survey that evaluated their contributions, motivations, and scholarly stances . Modern scholars, including Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Namlah, have characterized al-Mustashriqun as a foundational and uniquely comprehensive reference work for the Arabic library, noting that subsequent Arabic studies and biographical surveys of Orientalists rely heavily upon its data .
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