Egypt’s Ministry of Culture has posthumously honored Al-Taher Makki Al-Mateni Al-Bakri, who died at the age of 93 on April 5, 2017, with Egypt’s highest literary prize – the Nile Award.

Dr. Al-Taher Ahmad Makki Al-Mateni Al-Bakri As-Siddiqi Al-Qurashi was from the “El Mreijat” family and a descendant of the Al-Masaeed Tribe in the villages of Arab Al-Mataenah in Markaz Esna in the Governorate of Luxor in Upper Egypt. His tribe, Al-Mataenah, belongs to Arab Qassas Bani Qassa, the descendants of Muhammad Bin Mutaweh Al-Bakri, who was of the descendants of Talha Bin Abdullah Bin Abdel-Rahman Bin Abi Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with them all), whose ancestors moved from the outskirts of Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah at the beginning of the fifth century AH to Upper Egypt during the era of the Fatimid Ubaydi State.

It should be noted that Dr. Al-Taher Makki – may Allah have mercy on him – was regarded as the world’s most prominent scholar of Andalusian literature. Known as the “Master” of Andalusian Literature, he was also a prominent critic and translator, as well as a dean of comparative literature and professor of Andalusian literature at the Faculty of Dar Al-Ulum at Cairo University.

Al-Dostor Newspaper kept track of the high points of the Dar Al-Ulum author and Arabic language expert’s life and career, which spanned decades of diligent work that finally received the long overdue praise it deserved three months after his death – as though the country were belatedly apologizing to him for the affront.

·  On April 7, 1924, Al-Taher Ahmad Makki was born in the village of Kiman Al Mataenah in Markaz Esna in the southern Egyptian Governorate of Luxor.

·  He studied at Al-Azhar, obtained his primary school education from the religious institute in Qena, and memorized the Noble Qur’an.

·  Makki moved to Cairo to complete his high school education, after which he graduated from the Faculty of Dar Al-Ulum in 1952.

·  He obtained his State PhD in literature and philosophy with a score of excellent from the Faculty of Arts at the Central University of Madrid in 1961.

·  He held many positions in the public, university, and higher education sectors, and also worked as a commissioner for the Faculty of Higher Studies and Research until 1989.

·  He authored 12 books about contemporary Arabic poetry, narrative literature, and Andalusian studies in the fields of literature, history, and philosophy, the most prominent of which were: Contemporary Arabic Poetry: Its Merits and An Introduction to Reading It (1996), Comparative Literature: Its Origins, Development, and Methodologies (2002), Andalusian Literature from a Spanish Perspective (1991), and An Introduction to Comparative Islamic Literature (2002). The Master of Andalusian Literature also devoted his efforts to editing the books The Ring of the Dove (Tawq Al-Hamama), by Ibn Hazm Al-Andalusi, and Al-Akhlaq wa Al-Siyar fi Mudawat An-Nufus (also by Ibn Hazm).

·  He translated three books from French, and six from Spanish.

·  He made numerous contributions to various fields of research and was a member of many councils and committees devoted to cultural affairs, literature, the arts, and the Arabic language.

·  He was the chair of the literary studies department, then a commissioner for Dar Al-Ulum’s Faculty for Higher Studies and Research until 1989. He was also a visiting professor at many Arab and international universities.

·  He was the editor-in-chief of Dar Al-Ulum Newspaper, a member of the Supreme Council of Culture, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian National Library and Archives (Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya).

·  He was a supervisor for more than 35 PhD dissertations and 75 Master’s theses at various Egyptian universities.

·  He was nominated for membership in the Academy of Arabic in 1999.

·  He received many prizes and medals, including: The State Appreciation Prize for the year 1992, the Medal of Sciences and Arts, First Class (1992), and an Award of Excellence from Cairo University (2009).

·  A PhD dissertation was written about him along with a Master’s thesis titled: Creativity and Criticism in the Ideology of Al-Taher Ahmad Makki.

More information about Dr. Al-Taher Ahmad Makki is available on the website of the Sheikhdom of Sijjada Bakria.

Click on the following link for access:

Biography of Dr. Al-Taher Ahmad Makki

Prepared by: Ahmed Farghal Al-De'bassi Al-Bakri

Date of Publication

25 Ramadan 1438 AH / June 19, 2017 AD