''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa'' (, ) was an Islamic revolutionary journal founded by

Muhammad Abduh Muḥammad ʿAbduh (1849 – 11 July 1905) (also spelled Mohammed Abduh, ar, محمد عبده) was an Egyptians, Egyptian Ulama, Islamic scholar, journalist, teacher, author, editor, Judge (Islamic law), judge, and Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah#Grand ...

and Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī. Despite only running from 13 March 1884 to October 1884, it was one of the first and most important publications of the ''

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 ...

''. It was directed toward the Islamic ''

Ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

'', and called upon it to unite. It also took a firm stance against European colonialism, and it was banned by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

authorities in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. ''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa'' is an Arabic term with religious significance, appearing twice in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...

History and profile

It was started in a room in

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. ...

, and the first edition was published on 13 March 1884, corresponding with 15 Jumādā al-Ūlā, 1301.

Ibrāhīm al-Muwayliḥī Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, ; Arabic synonym of " Abraham") is the 14th chapter ( surah) of the Qur'an with 52 verses ( āyāt). The surah emphasizes that only God knows what goes on inside a man's heart, implying we must accept each oth ...

and his son Muhammad al-Muwaylihi, both in exile from 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) ...

, helped with its publication.'''' The

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, se ...

Muhammad Abduh summarized the main goals of the magazine in a speech he sent to his friend, the English poet

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (17 August 1840 – 10 September 1922), sometimes spelt Wilfred, was an English poet and writer. He and his wife Lady Anne Blunt travelled in the Middle East and were instrumental in preserving the Arabian horse bloodlines ...

: protecting the independence of Eastern peoples from the aggression of Western countries, and to discomfort the English government to the point where it rescinds its activities that perturb Muslims. Also among the goals of the magazine, as can be ascertained from its editorial line: a call to unite and stand in solidarity, and to embrace the

, and to liberate Egypt and Sudan from

British colonialism The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

Censorship

''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa'' was banned by British authorities in Egypt and India, and an elaborate network including Arab businessmen in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

disseminated copies throughout the Arab world.

End of publication

Muhammad Abduh and Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī decided to end the magazine in October 1884 after publishing 18 editions over the course of 8 months, probably due to financial problems resulting from the ban.

Legacy

Some issues of ''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa'' were found in the library of ''Dar al-Arab'' publishers, in addition to some other writings and speeches of Muhammad Abduh and Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī. In 1957, these were published with a foreword from

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...

in a book entitled ''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa wa al-Thawra al-Tahririya al-Kubra'' ()''.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urwah Wuthqa 1884 establishments in France 1884 disestablishments in France Arabic-language magazines Islamic magazines Magazines established in 1884 Magazines disestablished in 1884 Magazines published in Paris Defunct magazines published in France