Ṭāhir al-Jazāʿiri | |
|---|---|
طاهر الجزائري | |
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1852 |
| Died | January 5, 1920(1920-01-05) (aged 67–68)[1] Damascus,Arab Kingdom of Syria |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Creed | Athari[2][3] |
| Movement | Salafiyyah[2][4] |
| Muslim leader | |
Students
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Tahir al-Jaza'iri (Arabic:طاهر الجزائري; 1852–1920[5]) was a 19th century Syrian Muslim scholar and educational reformer[5][1][6] and Islamic scholar.[5]
Tahir al-Jaza'iri (full name:Arabic:طاهر بن محمد صالح بن أحمد بن موهوب السمعوني الجزائري الدمشقي,romanized: Ṭāhir bin Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ bin Aḥmad bin Mawhūb al-Samʿūni al-Jazāʿiri al-Dimashqi[5]) was born in 1852 in Damascus to an academic family of theSam'unAmazigh tribe ofAlgeria.[1][5] His father, Muhammad Salih, a mufti of theMaliki school ofjurisprudence, had migrated from Algeria toDamascus in 1846.[6]
Tahir studied with his father until the latter's death around 1868, after which he studied underAbd al-Ghani Al-Maydani, Abd ar-Rahman al-Bustani, and Abd ar-Rahman al-Bushnaqi at theMadrasa al-Jaqmaqiyya [ar] next to theUmayyad Mosque.[6][1]
Tahir al-Jazairi was interested in Arabic and in Arabic literature, particularly old manuscripts.[6] His mastery ofPersian was comparable to his mastery of Arabic, and he was also proficient inOttoman Turkish.[6] He also studied French, Hebrew, Syriac, Ethiopian, several ancient Semitic languages, and Tamazight, though he did not master these.[6]
At the age of 22, he started teaching at al-Madrasa al-Zahiriyeh in Damascus.[6] Under the reforms of the governorMidhat Pasha, al-Jazairi became inspector of education.[6] According toMuḥammad Kurd ʿAlī, al-Jazairi also designed curricula for elementary education and wrote the necessary textbooks, in topics including Arabic grammar, ethics, religion, and history.[6] Under Midhat Pasha, al-Jazairi also foundedDar al-Kutub az-Zahiriyah, thelibrary of the Az-Zahiriyah, with manuscripts he collected from around Damascus.[6] He then establishedKhalidi Library inJerusalem in the name of Sheikh Raghib al-Khalidi of theKhalidi family.[6] He associated with intellectuals such asJamal al-Din Qasimi,Abd ar-Razzāq al-Baytar [ar], andSalim al-Bukhari [ar].[6]
In 1902 he was dismissed from his position as inspector of libraries.[6] Under continued pressure from Ottoman authorities, he left for Cairo in 1905 where he associated withAhmad Zaki Pasha andAhmed Taymour Pasha.[6] In Cairo he supported himself as a book merchant, dealing in valuable manuscripts.[6] He remained in Cairo for about thirteen years and in 1920 he became seriously ill, and he returned to Damascus. One of his pupils during this period wasMuhib al-Din al-Khatib who would be a significant figure for the Salafi movement in Egypt.[2] Soon after his return he was elected as a member of the Arabic Academy in Damascus and the Director of the Ẓāhirīyyah Library. He died four months later in 1920 and was buried on the Qāsiyūn Mountain in Damascus, Syria.[5]
Shaykh Ṭāhir wrote over 35 books. His most important books are listed below.[5]
Some of his works are still manuscripts that have never been published. Some of the titles are: