Maqalat al-Tanahi Safahat fi al-Turath wa al-Tarajim wa al-Lugha wa al-Adab
- Author died
- 1419 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Basha'ir Al-Islamiyyah
Maqalat al-Tanahi: Safahat fi al-Turath wa al-Tarajim wa al-Lugha wa al-Adab (Articles of al-Tanahi: Pages on Heritage, Biographies, Language, and Literature) is a collection of scholarly articles, essays, and biographical studies by the Egyptian philologist and editor Mahmud Muhammad al-Tanahi (d. 1419 AH / 1999 CE), focusing on Arabic literary heritage, manuscript studies, and scholarly biography.
Contents and Themes
The collection gathers diverse articles originally published across various literary journals and periodicals, reflecting al-Tanahi's extensive research into classical Arabic manuscripts, philology, and book history. The writings address multiple areas of Islamic and Arabic scholarship:
- Biographical Profiles: Studies on classical figures—such as the Shafi'i scholars Taqi al-Din al-Subki and his son Taj al-Din al-Subki—alongside tributes and academic memoirs dedicated to modern scholars and teachers, notably Mahmud Muhammad Shakir, Abd al-Salam Harun, and Ahmad Ratib al-Naffakh.
- Heritage and Textual Criticism: Essays addressing the methodology of editing classical texts, manuscript dissemination, historical printing in Egypt, and reflections on contemporary manuscript librarians and manuscript catalogers such as Muhammad Rashad Abd al-Muttalib.
- Book Culture and Booksellers: Records documenting the traditional book trade, private libraries, and contemporary manuscript searchers and booksellers (warraqun) across Cairo and Alexandria.
Publication and Structure
The work was published posthumously in two volumes by Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah in Beirut, with its first edition appearing in 1422 AH / 2002 CE.
The opening volume is prefaced with documentation concerning al-Tanahi's life and scholarly career, including an academic biography recording his early memorization of the Quran, his education at Al-Azhar and the Faculty of Dar al-Ulum at Cairo University, and his graduate research on Ibn Mu'ti and Ibn al-Shajari. It also incorporates a comprehensive listing of his critical editions and authored books spanning 1963 to 1998, commemorative essays—such as an overview of his life and scholarship by Dr. Abdallah Hamad Muharib—and facsimile reproductions of personal correspondence sent to him by contemporary Arab scholars.
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