Mahmood ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Tanahi was born in a village called Kafr Tabluha in Al-Munoofiyah County, Egypt in 1935, corresponding to 1353 AH. His was a poor family, and he had to rely on his own efforts for much of his learning and achievements. Hence we find him completing his formal education much later than other students. For example he completed his secondary school education at Al-Azhar in 1958, when he was 23, but this does not mean that he neglected his education earlier. Indeed, he completed memorizing the Qur’an when he was 13, and he learned the different methods of its recitation, which include different linguistic variations and nuances. This was instrumental in focusing his interest in Arabic linguistics.
His university education was in Dar Al-Uloom College, which is specialized in Arabic studies, and affiliated to the University of Cairo. He graduated with a BA in Arabic and Islamic Fiqh in 1962, and was determined to pursue his studies further in this area. Thus, he obtained a Masters degree from the same college in 1972, and a Ph.D. degree in 1978. By that time he was a well-established scholar, whose knowledge and achievements had taken him beyond anything a formal degree could gain for him. Together with his friend Dr. Abd Al-Atheem Al-Deeb, he was the first to enter Dar Al-Kutub, the main library in Cairo, and the last to leave every evening.
Mahmood Al-Tanahi studied under a number of highly reputable scholars, including Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zahrah (died in 1974), one of the most eminent fiqh scholars in the twentieth century; Mahmood Muhammad Shakir, (died in 1997) a great scholar of Hadith and Arabic; Abd Al-Ghani Abd Al-Khaliq (died in 1983) a main scholar of Fiqh. His teachers in Arabic and linguistics included some of the most eminent in this field such as Abbas Hassan (died in 1978) and Abd Al-Salam Haroon. (died in 1988)
After graduation, Al-Tanahi worked as a member of staff in the Arab-American Studies Institute in Cairo (1963-5). He was then chosen to work as a specialist in the Arab Manuscripts Institute of the Arab League, and continued in this work until 1978 when he joined the teaching staff of the Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, where he was given a special status of distinction. In 1989 he resigned to take up a teaching post at the University of Cairo until 1997, when he became professor and head of the Arabic Department at the University of Helwan in Egypt.
Al-Tanahi devoted most of his scholarly efforts to Arabic, as he considered language to be the main medium of civilization, national identity and culture. He also felt that a universal high standard of Arabic is essential to preserve our great heritage. He advocates the reinstatement and usage of unfamiliar words, because they belong to the language. He draws a distinction between unfamiliar words and outlandish figures of speech. The latter he criticizes as totally unnecessary and far from useful. Likewise, he was greatly interested in grammar, which he describes as an indispensable tool for literary writers, legislators and Islamic scholars, particularly those who are able to exercise ijtihad, to deduce rulings. To him, grammar is the gateway to all Arabic and Islamic studies.
To gain an insight into Al-Tanahi’s approach to learning we relate this incident. It is well known that Arabic poetry has 17 different meters that allow numerous variations. The study discipline that deals with these is known as Al-Aroodh. Al-Tanahi mentions that when he studied this at school, he could not make head or tail of it, and he could only pass this subject with minimum grade. Once the school year was over, he turned his back to it. Later, when he was working with a German Orientalist on some manuscript, he came across a line of poetry. The Orientalist asked him which meter that line followed, and Al-Tanahi felt so embarrassed as he could not answer. The Orientalist said: “Is it possible that you, a graduate of Dar Al-Uloom, do not know Al-Aroodh?” Al-Tanahi did not reply, but that same night, he took out the book he studied at school on that subject and started learning it anew, devoting much time to it, until he finally was able to master it.
Mahmood Al-Tanahi was much interested in old manuscripts and he worked on many such manuscripts, editing them and preparing them for publication. Indeed, both his Masters and Ph.D degrees were in this area. This type of work involves obtaining as many manuscripts of the same work as possible. The editor would then compare the copies for accuracy of language and syntax. He provides a short biographical note on every scholar mentioned in the manuscript. He also explains any part that requires explanation, whether it is a word that has become unfamiliar, or a concept of a different discipline. He may also need to provide information about places, people and tribes mentioned. Then he works out indexes for the manuscript as it is prepared for publication. The indexes are very important, because they make the work accessible to contemporary scholars and students. Indeed, in this area Al-Tanahi carried the work to its highest standard, because he believed that “a book without indexes is a treasure the key of which has been lost.”
Thus, Al-Tanahi’s works were mainly in these two areas. He edited a number of highly useful manuscripts, the most important of which were Al-Nihayah fi Gharib Al-Hadith wal-Athar, by Ibn Al-Atheer, in five large volumes; and Tabaqat Al-Shafiyyah Al-Kubra, by Ibn Al-Subki. This is a book giving the biographies of the main Shafie scholars over several centuries, in 10 large volumes. His original works were in several areas, such as his book Mustaqbal Al-Thaqafah Al-Arabiyah, or the Future of Arab Culture, and Introduction to the History of Publication of Arabic Heritage. He also compiled and published indexes to a number of highly important books.
Perhaps we could appreciate the originality of Al-Tanahi’s work when we learn his views on the role of the Ottomans in Islamic civilization. The common notion that has been instilled in most Arab minds gives the Ottomans a very poor rating on culture and scholarship. While their military prowess and jihad campaigns cannot be denied, they are often described as having suppressed scholarship and culture. He feels that they played a very important role in spreading Islam into the southeastern parts of Europe. Moreover, The Ottoman rulers were keen to spread education. He cites as evidence the fact that when building a mosque, each sultan or chief minister built next to it a school and a library. This meant that there were great collections of books and manuscripts in Turkey. He estimates that the number of manuscripts in Turkey’s libraries amount to one million, which represents one-third of all Arabic manuscripts throughout the world. He also mentions that these include some very rare and highly useful manuscripts, which are not concentrated only in Istanbul, but available in different parts of Turkey. Furthermore, it was from Turkey that we learned Arabic bibliography.
Mahmood Al-Tanahi died in 1999, at the age of 64. May God shower His mercy on him.
