Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri

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Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri
Statue of al-Jawahiri in Najaf
Statue of al-Jawahiri in Najaf
Native name
Arabic: محمد مهدي الجواهري
Born(1899-07-26)July 26, 1899
Najaf, Ottoman Empire (Present Day Iraq)
DiedJuly 27, 1997(1997-07-27) (aged 98)
Damascus, Syria
Occupationpoet
NationalityIraqi
GenreArabic Poetry
Notable worksDiwan al-Jawahiri
SpouseAmna al-Jawahiri

Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri (Arabic: محمد مهدي الجواهري) (26 July 1899 – 27 July 1997) was an Iraqi poet.[1] Considered by many as one of the best and greatest Arabian poets in the 20th century, he was also nicknamed The Greatest Arabian Poet,[2] and is considered a leading classical Iraqi poet[3] and one of the big three neo-classical poets of Iraq alongside al-Rusafi, and al-Zahawi.[4] Notable for his Neo-classical, traditional, and political-themed way of writing, his poems can be read in his collections such as Diwan al-Jawhiri, Return post, and To Sleeplessness, and was honored by many government, including Saddam Hussein's government.[3][5]

Al-Jawhiri was born in the Iraqi city of Najaf into a family known for its literary interests. After publishing his first poem in 1921, he started to work in journalism and as a teacher in Baghdad. Despite harsh criticism towards the Hashemite monarchy, he maintained a good relationship with the royal family and maintained several positions in the royal court, and the Ministry of Education. Through his poetry, he became one of the most socially and politically influential people of his time.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri was born in 1899 in Najaf in Iraq.[6] His father, 'Abd al-Husayn was a religious scholar among the clergy in Najaf who wanted his son to be a cleric as well. So he dressed him in a cleric's 'Abaya and turban at the age of ten. The origin of “Al-Jawahiri” goes back to his Najafi, Iraqi family. Since the 11th century Hijri (15th century CE), the most famous people have inhabited Najaf, and individuals named al-Najafi have earned the title “Bejeweled” (or al-Jawahiri) for their relationship to the book of fiqh values (religious scholarship) which one of his family's ancestors Shaykh Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi had written. The books were called “the jewel of speech in explaining the laws of Islam” and was composed of 44 volumes. Afterwards he was known as the “owner of the jewels,” and his family came to be called “bejeweled” (al-Jawahiri).[citation needed]

Al-Jawahiri read the Qur'an and did not memorize it at an early age. Then his father sent him to great teachers to teach him reading, writing, grammar, rhetoric and jurisprudence. His father and others planned for him to learn speech from Nahj al-Balagha and poetry from the works of Abbasid Poet al-Mutanabbi.[citation needed]

Poetry and career[edit]

Learning was organized at an early age and even in his childhood Al-Jawahiri displayed an inclination for literature. He began to read the Book of Eloquence and Demonstration by Al-Jahiz and the Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldun, and collections of poetry. It was early in his life when he first wore the clothing of a religious man and he participated in the 1920 revolution against the British authorities.[citation needed]

Royal court of King Faisal I[edit]

In the late 1920s, al-Jawhiri wrote of the relationship between King Faisal I and Arab Nationalist Sati' al-Husri. He recorded that Faisal I was angry with al-Husri due to him trying to inflame sectarianist tensions in Iraq while Faisal I wanted to save Iraq from sectarianism, as such, there was no strong bonds between the two at the time.[7] In 1927, while at a vacation in Iran, al-Jawahiri wrote some lines admiring Iran and its landscapes which al-Husri, who was general director at the Ministry of Education, used to frame al-Jawahiri as an Iranian loyalist and someone who impugned Iraq and Arabism by preferring Iran and its culture which became a controversial issue in Iraq.[8] In his memoirs, al-Husri claimed that al-Jawahiri was an Iranian who has an Iranian citizenship.[9] At the time, al-Jawahiri was still working in Najaf as a school teacher, protested the unrealistic allegations but due to split opinions on the issue, as well as the fears of sectarianist tensions, al-Jawahiri decided to respectfully resign from his position. Even though the case was turning against al-Husri by this point. Due to this case, and also knowing that the poet came from an old Iraqi family that have a patriotic stance, Faisal I recruited al-Jawahiri as part of his royal court.[8]

After a meeting with Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr, who was a supporter against al-Husri's allegations,[8] al-Jawahiri put on modest traditional robes and headed to King Faisal I's palace who congratulated him on his new position. The King took a liking to the poet who occupied him during his visits to various shrines, and also a trip south the country where al-Jawahiri witnessed the King supporting various tribal sheikhs on the issue of agriculture of the region. Al-Jawahiri has also recorded that the King's office was a simple room with a table, a carpet, four chairs, a portrait of himself, and another of French writer Anatole France.[10]

In 1929, King Faisal I opened the first girls' school in Najaf received backlash from the conservative groups in the traditionalist city. In response during the opening occasions, al-Jawahiri, who was a Najafi himself, wrote scathing lines criticizing the conservative nature of the city's people in his poem named "The Reactionaries" which was published under a pen name in several newspapers. This would cause a large outcry in the city which reached King Faisal I's attention. Faisal I would confront al-Jawahiri reportedly saying "Are you aware of the calls and cables I have received who all say that this is the work of your "son, Muhammad," who works under your auspices and protections? And do you know how much grief this has caused me?" In response, al-Jawahiri apologized and offered to resign, but Faisal I forgave al-Jawahiri and decided to keep him in his royal court.[10]

1936 Iraqi coup[edit]

In 1936, al-Jawahiri published the newspaper "al-Inqilab", following the military coup that was initiated by by general Bakr Sidqi. Because of his positions against the coup, he was imprisoned for three months and the newspaper was closed. After his departure and the fall of the military coup government, he reopened the newspaper in the name of "al-Ra'i al-'Am". The articles he published were the reason for the newspaper’s closure once again, to the point that pressure prompted him to emigrate to Iran and then return after a while.[11]

Career as a poet[edit]

In 1928, al-Jawahiri published the volume "Between Feelings and Emotions," his first poetry collection which he had been preparing since 1924 to distribute under the title "The Dangers of Poetry in Love, Nation and Ode." After he left Najaf for Baghdad, he went to work in the press, and put out a group of papers – among them was al-Furat (The Euphrates).[citation needed]

When Iraqi poet Hussein Mardan was arrested on accounts of writing pornography after his poem collection "Naked Poems" were leaked, al-Jawahiri was called into the trail by the court's judge as a witness. Al-Jawahiri stated that Mardan should be praised for his poems, instead of imprisoned. Al-Jawahiri's testament helped Mardan's case.[12] Later, Mardan, along with his friends, would seek advice from al-Jawahiri to further advance their works in poetry.[13]

Al-Jawahiri was a part of the flourishing coffeehouse culture of Baghdad that was flourishing in the 1940s and the 1950s. Certain coffeehouses started to be associated with various writers, artists, and poets, especially those with already established respectable reputations like al-Jawahiri.[12] Al-Jawahiri himself was started to be associated with the Parliament Café, and the Hassan Ajami Café on al-Rashid Street, in which he would recite poems that gave crowds motivations in demonstrations. Among al-Jawahiri's favorite coffeehouses was the Hassan Ajami Café, a coffeehouse that has a respectable reputation from the circle of Baghdad's artists and writers. In this coffeehouse, al-Jawahiri would meet various younger poets, including a young Mardan, seeking his advice and encouragement.[13]

Al-Jawahiri played a big role in demonistrations against the 1948 Anglo-Iraqi treaty signed by the Salih Jabr government. However, his brother, Ja'far, was killed during the al-Wathbah uprising of 1948 on al-Ma'mun Bridge, which inspired one of his most famous poems, "My Brother Ja'far." Al-Jawahiri was touched by the event and he would famously recited the poem at the Haydar-Khana Mosque to an audience of Muslims, and Jews forty days after his brother's funeral. A verse from the poem, "Do you know or do you not know / that the wounds of victims are a mouth?" became an icon of modern Iraqi poetry.[14] Al-Jawahiri had also invited fellow Iraqi poet al-Sayyab to deliver a poem which also honored Ja'far.[15]

Al-Jawahiri was elected the first head of the Union of Iraqi Writers,[16] and was reelected on several occasions.[citation needed]

Views[edit]

Al-Jawahiri, despite his conservative upbringing, was not particularly a very religious man. As a poet, he was described as someone who had "no roots in the Ottoman period" and, or the mix of Turkish, Persian, and Arabic literature which was common in the Ottoman Empire. Due to being a mmeber of the Communist Party as early as his early 30s, he was a communist but did not subscribe to ideas of pan-Arabism.[5]

Legacy[edit]

On January 2, 2024, the Iraqi government initiated a construction project to develop a new residential city named “Al-Jawahiri City” west of Baghdad with “30,000 housing units spread across more than 17.8 million m2”.[17]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Adel Darwish, 'Obituary: Mohammed Al-Jawahri', The Independent, 11 August 1997. Online (subscription only) at HighBeam.
  2. ^ "Al Jawahiri life".
  3. ^ a b c Dougherty, Beth K.; Ghareeb, Edmund A. (2013-11-07). Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Scarecrow Press. p. 340. ISBN 978-0-8108-7942-3.
  4. ^ Caiani 2013, p. 40-41.
  5. ^ a b DeYoung 1998, p. 38.
  6. ^ Banipal: Magazine of Modern Arab Literature. Margaret Obank. 2004. p. 14.
  7. ^ Allawi 2014, p. 480.
  8. ^ a b c Allawi 2014, p. 493.
  9. ^ DeYoung 1999, p. 39.
  10. ^ a b Allawi 2014, p. 494.
  11. ^ Taher, Ahmed (2018-08-22). "من اعلام بلادي – محمد مهدي الجواهري – عراقٌ انا". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  12. ^ a b Caiani 2013, p. 41.
  13. ^ a b Caiani 2013, p. 42.
  14. ^ DeYoung 1998, p. 189.
  15. ^ DeYoung 1998, p. 190.
  16. ^ Banipal: Magazine of Modern Arab Literature. Margaret Obank. 2004. p. 4.
  17. ^ "Iraq initiates new $2bn residential city near Baghdad". Construction Week.

Works cited[edit]

External links[edit]

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