Documents of Taha Hussein's cases

It can be said that the late Dean of Arabic Literature, Dr. Taha Hussein, was described as filling the world and occupying people's minds, like his predecessor, the poet Al-Mutanabbi, in the past and present. Regardless of whether one admires him, is biased towards him, appreciates his positions and role, or is the opposite because he has many enemies, no one denies that Taha Hussein was one of the main axes, if not the primary axis, of the Arab literary movement in the twentieth century. Recently, the discussion about Taha Hussein was renewed on the occasion of the publication of a massive book (by Dar Al-Shorouk), which included Taha Hussein's private papers, or what the researcher of these papers, Dr. Abdulhamid Ibrahim, called "Secret Documents." Among them are countless topics in which Taha Hussein expresses his opinion or takes a stance that may change, little or much, the image known about him by the educated public. In these papers, or documents, there are many letters exchanged between Taha Hussein and Egyptian, Arab, and foreign writers, and undoubtedly, the writer, through the collection of these letters, issues, and stances, composes an important cultural event that warrants reconsideration, first and foremost, of the biography of the 'Dean,' its constants, and its variables. The world of letters between Taha Hussein and others, and upon which most pages of the book focus, represents the hidden and true face of the modern literary movement. The pivot of the wheel Taha Hussein plays the central role in these letters. He received various letters from different classes and groups, from ordinary people and the elite, from men of literature, art, economics, administration, and decision-makers. From here, we find letters from the washerman, the minor employee, the poor student, from Umm Kulthum, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Maysa Ayyad, Talat Harb, Mustafa Nahhas, Al-Rafi'i, Makram Obeid, Fouad Siraaj Al-Din, and from senior sheikhs and Christian religious figures, Jewish rabbis, the British High Commissioner, senior secretaries, and various ministers, and from the Arab world in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. These letters generally explain many phenomena that we look at superficially without knowing their roots, aims, or their complex historical context. Perhaps more importantly, they confront us with a main trait that represents a deep psychological composition, shaping many of our political and intellectual behaviors, which is the trait of split personality. It appears on the surface with one face, and in secret with another. Many figures who attacked Taha Hussein and accused him of deviating from customs and traditions secretly sent him praise messages and poems of admiration, bestowed scientific titles upon him, and described him as a pioneer in science and reform. These letters, whether from or to Taha Hussein, are not merely messages exchanged for information or greetings, but are documents of historical and literary significance. Historically, they shed light on many political events crowded into that period, some of which were directed to Taha Hussein from decision-makers, presenting what concerns them and waiting for his advice and guidance. His analytical ability Taha Hussein was not the type of scholar who isolates himself from the surrounding reality. He was immersed in the political and intellectual currents around him without losing his analytical ability and understanding, returning matters to their fundamental roots. His letters to politicians reveal an interest in political developments and allow the winds to blow and steer ships as the navigator wishes. In one of his letters in the book, he asks Sheikh Ali Abdul-Raziq to abandon politics and dedicate himself to science, as he possesses qualities of scientific leadership capable of placing him among the pioneers. However, Taha often advises his friends on things he himself does differently. In his letters, he entices his friends with leisure and enjoyment of life, while he is immersed with Al-Mutanabbi or other poets of heritage. We see him again attacking politics and advising to stay away from it, while he is deeply involved in its currents. Literarily, these letters, whether from Taha Hussein or to him, are models of high-level craftsmanship, characterized by careful style, rhythmic patterns, matching words and sentences, and other stylistic enhancements common in Taha Hussein’s style. Taha Hussein did not write just a message that fulfills the trait of connection only, but he cared for his letters as much as he cared for his articles. Those who wrote to him also tried to reach this intellectual and literary level; they did not just write words conveying abstract ideas, but paid attention to their words and expressions. Taha Hussein’s letters have both historical and literary value, and are no less significant than his books or his intellectual and political battles. They are, in terms of quantity, large and diverse; Taha Hussein was the focus of his era, writing to both elders and juniors, those in need, and those seeking fame. In terms of quality, they explain many historical and literary phenomena, and from this perspective, they play a role surpassing that of his books because they are secret and personal, shedding light on the circumstances of this personality, who tended to hide himself and mislead the reader in his labyrinths. He played with historical and factual truths to highlight his abilities and to turn the reader into someone amazed. The personality of the Arab literary dean appears gigantic through these letters. Many bestow upon him lofty titles, follow his ideas, and saturate him with stylistic elements. The wave lifted him It was not solely due to the abilities of the 'Dean.' Many of his contemporaries surpassed him in scientific achievement and self-education. But the reason goes back to Taha speaking with the spirit of that period, and being its expressive tongue, a period dominated by European influence, the victory of the Western model, and colonial penetration. Taha Hussein, therefore, does not speak for himself but speaks for others. Behind him are all the high voices of that historical period calling for European civilization. Or, in other words, Taha rode the wave, and that wave lifted him high. In some images, Taha appears exhilarated with his modern life, which those around him are pleased with, while in another image, he appears broken because he represents that model besieged by European life, which imposes retreat upon him. Taha Hussein controls his letters to the sheikhs of Al-Azhar, or to sheikhs in general, especially in comparing contemporary European life with backward Egyptian life. This comparison ends with emphasizing the Western model, its appearances, and mocking the Egyptian model based on Arab-Islamic heritage. This attack was repeated prominently by Taha Hussein, even in his novels and memoirs in 'Al-Ayyam.' He did not aim at the face of truth, nor did he limit himself to artistic necessities in his novels; rather, he digressed, exaggerated, attacked, mocked, and wounded, and did not stop at the idea of character as a human name but attacked it as a symbol of heritage and backward culture. This comparison between the manifestations of modern life in Europe and the backward life in Egypt was not intended by Taha Hussein to urge Egyptians to catch up with advanced civilization, but rather to insult, harm, belittle the heritage, and mock symbols and constants. We revolve in his orbit It was not the case at the beginning of the Nahda with Sheikh Rifa'a Al-Tahtawi, who compared Paris and Egypt calmly, without destroying everything, and with a gentle spirit that sees something beautiful in the West, wishing to see it in the East, especially since our heritage preceded the West in its civilization and presented lofty models to humanity. But this gentle spirit stopped at Taha Hussein, who turned into a storm destroying everything, moving with the wind, and finding encouragement and welcome that turned him into a model followed by generations of writers afterward. It is time to correct these models and portray them objectively. The 'Secret Documents' of Taha Hussein show that many of the letters sent to him by major thinkers and writers seem to revolve around his orbit. Not even the letters of Sheikhs Mustafa Abdul Raziq and Ali Abdul Raziq escaped this. However, a few figures like Al-Aqqad, Tawfiq Al-Hakim, and Dr. Mohamed Kamel Hussein rebel against Taha Hussein’s cloak. They argue with him, modify his opinions, and sometimes criticize some deviations. In a tone that carries a good deal of recommendation, Al-Aqqad explains to him that courage is not in rushing with one’s desires and provoking people. Dr. Mohamed Kamel Hussein gently warns him not to tone down his voice or hide in his tones, lest he spoil his relationship with Madame Taha... and he sends her, on the condition of his sincerity, his greetings! The relationship between Taha and Al-Aqqad can be described as a struggle of giants. Each had his own school, and there was a noble competition between the two that did not deviate into insult, defamation, hatred, or harm. The competition was conducted on a high level governed by ideas, with clever hints exchanged, understood by one from the other, and their intentions understood by the ordinary reader as if they were speaking in a language beyond human language. Each would dedicate his works to the other, wishing that the other's works would continue, both preoccupied with a single goal, with no time wasted on envy or hatred. Perhaps the first letter is among the most dangerous in the history of the Enlightenment movement. It reveals the personalities of both giants: it reveals Al-Aqqad as sharp-minded and broad-visioned, and analyzes Taha Hussein’s personality intelligently, returning it to its hidden motives. Al-Aqqad wrote a book about Al-Ma'arri, and Taha Hussein commented on this book with one that displeased Al-Aqqad. Al-Aqqad was affected by this comment, and his reaction came in the form of that letter, which Taha Hussein summarized precisely, something hundreds of writings could not do. Moreover, like great men, Al-Aqqad did not attack Taha Hussein in a childish manner based on cursing and insult, but exposed his psychological motives and gave them their true names. He does not act out of courage that resists desire, but his courage is of the kind that incites desire and pleasures it. Perhaps this is the key to understanding Taha Hussein’s personality, if we use this Al-Aqqad term. Taha Hussein, as depicted in 'Al-Ayyam,' is thus, whether in the village, in Al-Azhar, in the Egyptian university, or in Paris, moved by a desire from his own self inclined to provocation, even at the expense of truth or the feelings of relatives and surrounding friends. Taha Hussein and Atatürk It is a great achievement of Taha Hussein to challenge society, but the greater achievement is that behind that is not personal desire. Here is the difference between a man seeking success and attracting attention, and a man seeking truth, walking the path of prophets and martyrs. Taha Hussein provokes the masses and raises issues that clash with doctrine, questions certainties, and adopts a satirical style that pushes others to oppose him and creates controversy around him. The secret of Taha Hussein’s greatness in 'Secret Documents' is the heritage and the secret of his downfall is the movement of Westernization, for he is the clearest symbol of the Westernization movement since Rifa'a Al-Tahtawi. Even until the beginning of the third millennium, he spoke more about Paris than about Cairo, and about his wife more than about his mother. He praised Sorbonne more than Al-Azhar. Then he looked at all that in his book 'The Future of Culture in Egypt,' a pedagogical book that lays the foundations of education and culture in schools, institutes, universities, and other institutions, after the independence guaranteed by the 1936 treaty, which fundamentally is based on borrowing Western civilization with its good and bad, its sweet and bitter, as he put it! Taha Hussein’s voice was loud in this field, not hidden or diminished, but announced in his writings, creations, stances, with his students, in his private councils, and in his personal letters. It seems that the souls were prepared for this, as the personal letters he sent to Taha Hussein from major writers and thinkers did not escape this intense current, not even some religious figures and personalities who appeared before people as resisting this tide, but in front of Taha Hussein, they are exposed and appear modern, supporting this Western tide, which at the time meant civilization, progress, and modernity. The book states that the role Taha Hussein played in Egypt is very similar to the role played by Kemal Atatürk in Turkey, with the difference in the nature of this role due to the nature of each of the Egyptian and Turkish peoples. A complaint in the letters In his 'Secret Documents,' the Dean of Arab Literature sometimes complains and sometimes is complained to, about what has befallen him or what he has come to. Others also complain to him about their matters and grievances. An Iraqi writer asks him: Why, sir, do we no longer read anything for you in 'Al-Jumhuriya' for some time? Taha Hussein calmly replies: They have recently dispensed with my services, sir. I learned that from a letter I received by mail, stating that the newspaper was dismissing the services of several editors, including Taha Hussein. One day, his son-in-law, Mohamed Hassan Al-Zayyat, comes to him and talks about the separation between Egypt and Syria, and Taha Hussein responds: We left our ambition to precede our capabilities, and in our eagerness, we forgot that the foundation of the renaissance in every country, and the basis of solidarity and rapprochement, is knowledge. In 'Secret Documents,' there is a letter addressed to Taha Hussein from Ihsan Abdul Quddus, written in 1966, during Nasser’s era. It is a lively literary piece reflecting the feelings of Egyptian intellectuals during that period before the 1967 setback, indicating that the setback was not due to military mistakes alone but also concealed a cultural defeat. Taha Hussein, although initially welcoming the July Revolution, changed his stance later, especially in his late days. He appeared broken and pained, and his smile, which used to fill his face even in his darkest moments as he faced the masses for his beliefs, had disappeared. This was not only the case with Taha Hussein but extended to most intellectuals: Abbas Mahmoud Al-Aqqad, and some newspapers described him as reactionary and opposed to socialism, many people avoided him, and he isolated himself at home. Before him, Raziq Al-Sanhouri, head of the State Council, in 1954, was attacked by a group of hired thugs who stormed his office and beat him severely, shouting slogans about the fall of democracy and intellectuals. Taha Hussein, with his social intelligence, tried to contain the authority; sometimes he wrote articles of praise, and sometimes he addressed Nasser with the word 'Sidi.' In all cases, he tried to include suggestive hints in his speech, similar to what he used in 'The Oppressed in the Land.' But this clever style that Taha Hussein mastered was no longer sufficient, and no one paid attention to the voice of intellectuals or cared about implication and symbolism. Their language turned into murmurs containing letters without meaning. The 'Secret Documents' reveal that the real Taha Hussein is different from the Taha Hussein of 'Al-Ayyam,' his famous book in which he narrated what resembles his autobiography. 'Al-Ayyam' presents Taha Hussein as something different from his actual self. He is a maker of himself in everything, the axis of events, with no acknowledgment of a father, brother, or teacher’s merit. Instead, he goes further, hunting mistakes among those around him, trying to spot and mock them. 'Al-Ayyam' portrays him as disconnected from the political and social events of his era, only touching on these events if they are closely or distantly connected to the boy’s adventures, as if this boy is something beyond the events, or perhaps the creator of these events. All this has justification in Taha Hussein’s psychology, not in actual reality. In 'Al-Ayyam,' he depicts himself as an epic hero who attracts events and invents adventures, with abilities reaching the miraculous, transforming him from an ordinary human into a super hero. Women’s letters Taha Hussein kept in his papers three letters from women: Maysa Ayyad, Amina Al-Saeed, and Soheir Al-Qalamawi. Soheir Al-Qalamawi is the only one for whom Taha Hussein kept a letter from her, perhaps he wrote it and then decided to keep it for himself, as he is a type of man who hides his feelings even from his closest. Taha Hussein is usually 'reserved in his emotions, not exceeding the official measure.' But with Soheir, he breaks his habit; he starts with correspondence, urges her to continue, and personally bids her farewell before her trip abroad. Taha Hussein’s letter to Soheir is a literary piece, characterized by his stylistic features of repetition, good division, and rhythmic sound. Perhaps for the first time, Taha Hussein moves from a contemplative stance towards women, who he observes as memories or symbols, to a participatory stance, becoming a party in the equation. The letter is not just a talk about or with women, but a description of Taha Hussein’s personal feelings.