Adib Ishaq ( ar, اديب اسحق, ; 21 January 1856 – 12 June 1885) was an important Syrian literary figure of nineteenth-century Arab
Nahda
The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Leb ...
.
Born in
Damascus (then a city of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, and the present-day capital of Syria), he was enrolled at a
Lazarists
, logo =
, image = Vincentians.png
, abbreviation = CM
, nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians
, established =
, founder = Vincent de Paul
, fou ...
' school, where he studied Arabic and French. He left school before he was even twelve years old to meet his family's needs by working at the customs house.
[.] This experience would make him proficient in Turkish as well.
At the age of fifteen, Ishaq joined his father in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
to work for the postal office.
He later found work in the Beirut customs house, but his passion for writing pushed him towards journalism; he contributed to ''
Al-Taqaddum'' (Progress).
He moved to Egypt in 1876.
He became a disciple of
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani
Sayyid Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī (Pashto/ fa, سید جمالالدین افغانی), also known as Sayyid Jamāl ad-Dīn Asadābādī ( fa, سید جمالالدین اسدآبادی) and commonly known as Al-Afghani (1 ...
after meeting him in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
.
In 1879, he founded the
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
ian journal ''
Misr al-Qahira'' (Egypt the Victorious) with the help of
Abdallah Marrash.
He died at his summer estate in al-Hadath
[.] (in present-day Lebanon). A collection of his works in Arabic was published under the title ''Al-Durar'' (''The Pearls'') by Jirjis Mikha'il Nahhas in Alexandria in 1886; another edition of ''Al-Durar'', edited by Adib's brother Awni, was published in Beirut in 1909.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishaq, Adib
19th-century Syrian writers
1856 births
1884 deaths
Syrian magazine founders
Writers from Damascus