Mustafa Wahbi Tal (; 25 May 189924 May 1949), also known by his pen name Arar (), was a

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian poet, writer, teacher and civil servant, widely regarded as Jordan's most prominent poet and among the best-known Jordanian poets among Arab readers. Born in

Irbid Irbid (), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of Irbid Governorate. It has the second-largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman, with a ...

in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

on 25 May 1899, Tal completed his elementary education in his hometown, later leaving to complete his high school education in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. His rebellious and stubborn temperament would appear as early as his high school years in Damascus, when he would be exiled several times by the Ottoman authorities for participating in school strikes. In his adulthood, Tal would be imprisoned and exiled several times for democratic activism or for insulting high-ranking officials by the governments of the

Arab Kingdom of Syria The Syrian Arab Kingdom (, ') was a self-proclaimed, unrecognized monarchy existing briefly in the territory of Bilad al-Sham, historical Syria. It was announced on 5 October 1918 as a fully independent Arab constitutional government with the perm ...

, and, after its downfall, by the government of the

Emirate of Transjordan The Emirate of Transjordan (), officially the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921,Karak, Transjordan, as an Arabic literature teacher. Later Tal would be appointed as Administrative Governor of

Wadi Al-Seer Wadi Al-Seer or Wadi as-Seer (, meaning "Valley of the Orchards") is a valley (wadi) west of Amman, which gave its name to one of the twenty-two districts of the Greater Amman Municipality in Jordan. It is said to have taken its name from a prehi ...

and

Shoubak Shoubak () is a municipality that lies at the northwestern edge of the Ma'an Governorate in Jordan. It had a population of 19,297. At one of the highest elevations above sea level in Jordan, this municipality is famous for apple and fruit farms. T ...

in the 1920s. After earning a law degree in 1930, he would hold several positions in the judiciary before being appointed as Chief of Protocol at the Emir's Court. Tal then was laid off from his job and imprisoned for 70 days after an altercation with a Prime Minister serving during that time. This would be the latest in a series of exiles and imprisonments he faced throughout his life. Tal became desperate and his alcoholism worsened, contributing to his death on 24 May 1949. Tal's relationship with the nomadic Dom (gypsy) community in Transjordan, which are called Nawar in Arabic, influenced much of his poetry, whereas he named his only poetry collection, ''Ashiyyat Wadi Al-Yabis'', in reference to the festive nights he spent with the Nawar and to a Nawari woman he loved. Tal found justice, equality and lack of classism among the Nawari community, which he thought was lacking in Transjordan's cities. He reflected these views in many of his poems, as well as venerating the lands of Jordan, and at other times vehemently criticizing its government's policies. He also wrote poems dedicated to criticizing British policies which supported

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

in Palestine along with British colonial officers in Transjordan, while other poems he wrote venerated alcohol and were about women. Tal is Jordan's most celebrated poet. The country's most illustrious literary award is named after him, and his hometown of Irbid holds an annual literary festival in his name. The house where he used to live in Irbid was turned into a museum that welcomes hundreds of visitors annually. He was married four times, two of which ended in divorce. He had ten children. His eldest son

Wasfi Tal Wasfi Tal (; also known as Wasfi Tell; 1920 – 28 November 1971) was a Jordanian politician, statesman and military officer. He served as the 15th Prime Minister of Jordan for three separate terms, 1962–63, 1965–67 and 1970 until his assass ...

was Jordan's Prime Minister for several tenures during the late 1960s and early 1970s until his assassination in 1971.

Biography

Early life

Mustafa Wahbi Tal was born in

, Syria Vilayet,

on 25 May 1899 to an illiterate father and a mother that was "blasphemously stubborn" according to his friend and biographer Ya'qoub Al-Oudat. He was named Mustafa as namesake of his grandfather and Wahbi was added to his birth name per Ottoman tradition. From a young age, Tal suffered from

Rhotacism Rhotacism ( ) or rhotacization is a sound change that converts one consonant (usually a voiced alveolar consonant: , , , or ) to a rhotic consonant in a certain environment. The most common may be of to . When a dialect or member of a language f ...

, a speech impediment characterized in the inability to pronounce 'r' sounds. His family were

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

s, descended from the Bani Zaydan tribe which migrated from

Najd Najd is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

to the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

around the 18th century; his family was called Tal because a member of the tribe, Yousef Abbas, had settled in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, next the city's

Citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

, which was built on a hill or 'tal' in Arabic. Three decades later they relocated to Irbid and remained there. Tal finished his elementary school education in Irbid in 1911. In 1912, Tal headed to the

Anbur School Maktab Anbar () is a house in the center of Old Damascus, Syria. The house was built as a private residence by a local Jewish notable Mr. Anbar in the mid 19th century and was later confiscated by the Ottoman government after Mr. Anbar's bankruptc ...

. After two or three years of studying there, he participated with his classmates in a strike protesting against the Ottomans' policies in the region. During the strike, the Ottoman governor of Damascus

Ismail Fazıl Pasha Ismail Fazıl Pasha (; 1856 – 18 April 1921), the son of Mustafa Fazl Pasha was an Ottoman general. He was commander of the Ottoman Army, a politician, statesman of the Ottoman Empire and the government of the Grand National Assembly of Turk ...

, the Turkish Education Principal, and State Inspector General Sheikh Abdul Jalil Al-Durrah visited the school. After the Sheikh finished his speech, Tal made his way between the students, stood in the middle of the campus and shouted while pointing at the Sheikh: "This man is a charlatan liar!" According to Al-Oudat, it was this incident and the ones that followed them that made Tal known to the Ottoman authorities of being a student fond of "messing around and creating chaos during lessons, so much that the Turkish teachers called him a field mouse."

Adulthood

Tal returned for a summer vacation in his hometown of Irbid in 1916. The stubbornness he inherited from his mother was beginning to impact his relationship with his father who refused to let him return to continue his studies in Damascus. Instead his father kept him in Irbid to work in the private school which he founded, the Ottoman Salihhya School. On 20 June 1917, Tal and his friend Mohammad Subhi Abu Ghnaimeh headed to the capital of the Empire,

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, for a visit. On the way, they passed by an area in Turkey named

Arapgir Arapgir (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Malatya Province, Turkey. Its area is 987 km2, and its population is 9,964 (2022). It is situated at the confluence of the eastern and western Euphrates, but some miles from ...

where Tal's uncle and his friend's brother lived. Instead of heading to Istanbul, he stayed there and in 1918 he began working for the

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

magazine. He became bored after five months of working at the magazine and resigned in March 1919. He returned to Irbid in April. He spent the summer there and convinced his father to send him back to the Anbur School in Damascus to complete his high school education. In 1919, he published a joke in the Damascene Brotherhood Magazine owned by Jubran Masuh: Both Tal and Masuh were arrested for this joke. Masuh later understood that Tal's joke was mocking

Ali Rikabi Ali Rida al-Rikabi (; 1864 25 May 1943) was the Prime Minister in modern Syria and was also the 3rd Prime Minister of Jordan. Summary During the last phase of Ottoman rule in the Middle East, al-Rikabi occupied prominent positions. After the Ott ...

, the Military Governor of

, which was established in the Levant following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire toward the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In another episode of Tal's rebellious and stubborn temperament, he and the students at Anbur demanded the school principal provide them with military training to

fight Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

the French authorities in Syria. The principal told them that those who wanted the military should go volunteer and those who wanted science should stay in the school. Tal told him that he wanted to make the school a military training camp to which his principal replied: "You want it a military training camp with a cigarette in your mouth?" Tal then threw the cigarette so forcefully that it burnt the tip of the principal's pants. Arar

Before graduating, Tal participated in another strike that ended up with his expulsion to

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

with his friend Abu Ghnaimeh. During Tal's time in Aleppo he mastered

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

and learnt some

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. Al-Oudat stated that it was during his stay in Aleppo that Tal read the Rubaiyat of Persian poet

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...

and translated ''Apre La Bataille'' from French. Tal gained his high school degree from the Aleppo Preparation School. The Arab Syrian Kingdom was toppled by the French in 1920 and an Emirate over Transjordan was then established in early 1921 by the Hashemite

Emir Abdullah Abdullah I (Abdullah bin Hussein; 2 February 188220 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan and its predecessor state Transjordan from 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emir of Transjordan, a British protectorate, until 1946, when he ...

of the

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

as a

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

. Tal returned to Transjordan and worked as an

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is ''Adab (Islam), Adab'', which comes from a meaning of etiquett ...

teacher in the city of Karak where he met Al-Oudat for the first time. Al-Oudat wrote in Tal's biography:

Political activism in Transjordan and Palestine

In the 1920s, Tal became politically active in Transjordan and Palestine. He began writing articles in the

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

-based ''

Al-Karmil al-Karmil () is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers south of Hebron. The village is in the Hebron Governorate Southern West Bank, within Area A under total Palestinian control.Gideon Levy and Alex Levac'Bitter waters: Settlers inv ...

'' newspaper owned by

Palestinian Christian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

journalist Nagib Nassar. He wrote political essays, literature, translated stories and news about Transjordan. In 1922, Tal and Nassar began advocating

Arab nationalism Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

as they visited

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

in 1922, warning there of the dangers of exploiting religion. They also visited Karak to promote pan-Arab unity. He wrote a poem warning about the 1917

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

by the British government promising the Jews a homeland in Palestine

Participation in Adwan Rebellion

In May 1923, Tal was appointed as Administrative Governor of the

area west of Transjordan's capital Amman. He remained in his job until being fired on 8 July 1923, the day in which he was arrested with Auda Qoussous, Shamsudeen Sami, Saleh Najdawi, Ali Sharkasi and other Transjordanian intellectuals who sided with the Adwan tribe during the

Adwan Rebellion The Adwan Rebellion or the Balqa Revolt was the largest uprising against the newly established Transjordanian government, headed by Mezhar Ruslan, during its first years. The rebellion started due to a feud between the Adwan and the Bani Sakh ...

. The rebellion was started by Sultan Adwan, chief of the tribes of the Balqa (central Transjordan), who was enraged with Emir Abdullah's close alliance with the

Bani Sakher The Beni Sakhar confederacy is one of the largest and most influential tribal confederacies in The Kingdoms of Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Its founder, Sakher bin Tha'labah al Tayy, a great-grandson of Jalhamah, likely lived in the 3rd century AD, m ...

tribe, the Adwan tribes' rivals. Adwan was equally angry with the staffing of the Emir's government with Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians which gained him the sympathy of Transjordanian intellectuals. This led Tal to coin the slogan "Jordan for Jordanians," and calls for democratization in the country. Those arrested were charged with "organizing a secret organization intending to overthrow the regime." Tal was first exiled to

Ma'an Ma'an () is a city in southern Jordan, southwest of the capital Amman. It serves as the capital of the Ma'an Governorate. Its population was approximately 41,055 in 2015. Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existed at least since the Nab ...

for 9 months, then

Aqaba Aqaba ( , ; , ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative center of the Aqaba Governorate. The city had a population of 148, ...

, and then

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

which was then part of the Hashemite

Kingdom of Hejaz The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz (, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region of Western Asia that included the western portion of the Arabian Peninsula that was ruled by the Hashemite dynasty. It was self ...

. After his release, he was appointed as Administrative Governor of

. Tal later wrote about his exile: Following riots in

Wadi Musa Wadi Musa (, literally "Valley of Musa (AS)) is a town located in the Ma'an Governorate in southern Jordan. It is the administrative center of the Petra Department and the nearest town to the archaeological site of Petra, being only 3.5 km (2.2 ...

village near Shoubak, he was removed from his position. He refused to interrogate the rioters and was accused by the British Representative in Transjordan of being unable to restore order. Two years later he was acquitted from these charges. Tal was appointed as a teacher in 1926 for two months. He was arrested again on the charges of displaying the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

, becoming inebriated in a public bar, and publicly reciting a poem that insulted the

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

, the Prime Minister, and the law.

Relationship with the Dom/Nawar community in Transjordan

Before leaving Shoubak, he began his long-lasting relationship with the nomadic Dom (gypsy) community in Transjordan, which are called Nawar in Arabic. This friendship deepened as spent his nights at their quarters between the areas of

Madaba Madaba (; Biblical Hebrew: ''Mēḏəḇāʾ''; ) is the capital city of Madaba Governorate in central Jordan, with a population of about 60,000. It is best known for its Byzantine art, Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byz ...

and

Ajloun Ajloun (, ''‘Ajlūn''), also spelled Ajlun, is the capital town of the Ajloun Governorate, a hilly town in the north of Jordan, located 76 kilometers (around 47 miles) north west of Amman. It is noted for its impressive ruins of the 12th-centur ...

's Wadi Al-Yabis valley with the Nawar's donkeys,

Rebab ''Rebab'' (, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via Islamic trading rout ...

s, dancers and singers. He was so deeply affected by the time he spent with them that he named his only ''diwan'' (poetry collection), ''Ashiyyat Wadi Al-Yabis'', which he gifted to a Nawari woman. Tal viewed the Kharabeesh, the tent-like structures where the Nawar people lived, to be places of safety and security where he found the justice and equality that he believed was lacking in Transjordan's cities. He found the Nawar to be marginalized, simple and generous, with no classism. He reflected these views in many of his poems, such as in the following verses: In another instance, he wrote a long poem titled ''Al-Oubodyeh Al-Kobra'' (The Great Slavery) chastising the Irbid Attorney General after he expelled the Nawari community leader Mohammad Al-Fahel (nicknamed Al-Haber) from the courthouse because of his torn and dirty clothes:

Opposition to the first Anglo-Transjordanian treaty

In 1927, he was appointed principal of

Al Husn Al-Husn (, also Romanized as Al Husn, Hisn and Husn) is a town in northern Jordan, located north of Amman, and about south of Irbid. It has a population of 35,085. The region has fertile soil which along with the moderate climate allows the gro ...

School for seven months before resigning due to his active opposition to the Anglo-Transjordanian treaty of 1928, which gave Britain sweeping powers over the Transjordanian state. The government of Transjordan accused Tal of inciting opposition to the treaty among the inhabitants of Ajloun. The Governor of Ajloun then sentenced him to house arrest in Amman for a few months. After he was released, Tal made a speech at the Third National Conference highlighting the Transjordan's political and economic status and warned attendees of British policies in support of

in Palestine which, according to him, aimed to turn it into a Jewish homeland that neglected the rights of the Arab natives. The conference concluded with demanding an elected legislature that holds the Emir's government accountable.

As civil servant

In 1928, Tal was preparing to publish his own newspaper under the name of ''Al-Anba (The News). He wrote most of its articles before he was banned from publishing them. Later he was appointed as Administrative Governor of Shoubak for the second time. In 1931, Tal was exiled to Aqaba for four months because of an article he published in ''Al-Karmil''. He befriended an Afghan sheikh there, where Tal would often drink alcohol and the sheikh tea together. Tal was released after he wrote a poem apologizing to Prime Minister

Abd Allah Siraj Abdullah ibn Abdur-Rahman Siraj (; 1876 – May 1949) was a Jordanian politician and Islamic scholar who held various posts in the Kingdom of Hejaz and later the Emirate of Transjordan, including the office of Prime Minister of both countries ( ...

. In 1931, Tal worked as a teacher in his hometown of Irbid. During this time, Tal enjoyed a good relationship with Emir Abdullah despite their previous altercations. He accompanied him on several visits to the Badia (desert). Tal turned from working in the Ministry of Education to the judiciary after having succeeded in a legal examination at the end of 1929. He worked as the Chief Clerk of the Irbid Court of First Instance, then the Commander of the Amman Procedure Court, Chief Clerk of the Court of Appeal (1935) and finally as the Public Prosecutor of

Al-Salt Al-Salt ( ''Al-Salt''), also known as Salt, is an ancient trading city and administrative centre in west-central Jordan. It is on the old main highway leading from Amman to Jerusalem. Situated in the Balqa highland, about 790–1,100 metr ...

and its Deputy Attorney General. During the latter position, he filed a case against Transjordan's Prime Minister

Ibrahim Hashem Ibrahim Hashem (; 1886 – 14 July 1958) was a Jordanian politician and judge, known primarily for serving five terms as Prime Minister of Jordan. Part of a Jordanian delegation that visited Iraq when both countries were part of the Arab Fed ...

who had exiled him to Jeddah in 1923. The Court found that there was no reason to expel Tal from his job and that the charge pressed did not amount worthy of exile. Tal then became Inspector General in the Ministry of Education and then Chief of Protocol at the Emir's Court. He remained as Chief of Protocol for five months before being laid off in 1942 and jailed at the Mahatta Prison for 70 days because of an altercation with then Prime Minister Tawfik Abu Al-Huda.

Death

After his release from prison he worked as a lawyer. His alcoholism worsened and he began feeling overwhelmingly bitter and desperate. "Disease, desperation and alcohol were all destroying him and shortening his life", according to Al-Oudat. On 25 May 1949, a day before his 50th birthday, Al-Oudate wrote that "in the Amman Public Hospital, the hand of death was hard on Arar and it stabbed his beating heart. Before he grasped his last breath, he said in an innocent Irbidi accent 'ugh if I can get better and say what is in my heart... Ugh ugh if I can say an ugh that is satisfactory.'"

Works

Ashiyyat Wadi Al-Yabis''

Tal died in 1949 without publishing any collections of his poems, which he used to sign using the pseudonym ''Arar'', a reference to the son of Amro bin Sha, a figure in Arab and Islamic history. Tal gathered his poems in 1933 and named his ''Diwan'', poem collection, ''Ashiyyat Wadi Al-Yabis'' (The Nights of Al-Yabis Valley). The title of his poem collection was reminiscent of the times he spent with the Dom community. But Tal's friends disagree with this interpretation and insist that ''Ashiyyat'' was the name of a gypsy woman he loved rather than referring to "nights". Tal's friend Mahmoud Motlaq published ''Ashiyyat Wadi Al-Yabis'' in 1954, which included 66 poems that Tal's son Maryoud collected from newspapers and drafts. Moutlaq excluded 20 verses from publishing because he considered them to be "bad". When Tal's other friend Yacoub Al-Oudat published his biography titled ''Arar: Jordan's poet'' in 1958, it included more than 500 verses which were not present in Moutlaq's first edition of ''Ashiyyat Wadi Al-Yabis''. But Al-Oudat admitted that he left out a couple of verses that included profanity because he said that poets shouldn't be remembered for a couple of inappropriate verses that they wrote in a fist of fury. In 1973, professor Mahmoud Al-Samra published the second edition of ''Ashiyyat Wadi Al-Yabis'' in which he included 33 verses that weren't published in the first edition. In 1982, academic Ziad Zou'bi found tens of verses in both editions of ''Ashiyyat Wadi Al-Yabis'' and ''Arar: Jordan's poet'' that were not written by Tal but by other poets. In his edition, he removed them from the main part, attributed them to the original writer and added them in an annex. Zou'bi published three more editions in 1988, 2007 and 2017. Many of Tal's poem venerate Jordan. He was the first Jordanian poet to include geographical references in his poetry. In this poem, he was talking with a preacher named Sheikh Aboud: Tal also wrote poems criticizing the British colonial officials in Jordan including

Frederick Peake Major General Frederick Gerard Peake, (12 June 1886 – 30 March 1970), known as Peake Pasha, was a British Army and police officer and creator of the Arab Legion. Military career The son of Lieutenant Colonel Walter Peake, of Melton Mowbray ...

and

Glubb Pasha Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC, KStJ, KPM (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), known as Glubb Pasha (; and known as Abu Hunaik by the Jordanians), was a British military officer who led and trained Transj ...

, Transjordan's

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...

commanders, and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Cox, the British Representative. In addition to Tal, Emir Abdullah was also a poet and the two men were one of the leading poets of their day, responsible for formulating alternate visions of the country through their poetry. Many of Tal's poems were about women and alcohol:

''Talal''

Tal wrote a manuscript titled ''Talal'' and gifted it to Emir Abdullah's son, Crown Prince Talal. Tal was also Talal's secretary for a short period during the mid-1930s and the two are thought to have enjoyed a close relationship.

Translation of ''Rubayat'' of Omar Khayyam

He returned to Khayyam's writings in 1926 but then as a critic and translator. Tal disagreed with Lebanese writer Amine Nakhlé's translations of the Khayyam, using his knowledge of Persian and

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

. Nakhleh discontinued translating it and Tal replaced him publishing it in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

-based ''Minerva'' magazine.

Political papers and letters

Mohammad Ka'oush published ''Awraq Arar al-Syasya: Wathaeq Mustafa Wahbi Tal'' (Arar's Political Papers: Documents of Mustafa Wahbi Tal) in 1980, a collection of 33 articles written by Tal in ''Al-Karmil'', which he used to sign his with the pseudonym "Monaser" and at other times "Ibn Jala". Tal wrote essays about the political scene in Transjordan and Palestine. He corresponded with several influential figures including:

Sharif Hussein bin Ali Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi ( ; 1 May 18544 June 1931) was an Arab leader from the Banu Qatadah branch of the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after proclaiming the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empir ...

, Emir Abdullah, Jordanian activist

Suleiman Nabulsi Suleiman Nabulsi (; 1908 – 14 October 1976) was a leftist Jordanian political figure who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Jordan in 1956–57. In October 1956 during the 1956 elections, the National Socialist Party headed by Nabulsi won ...

, Palestinian leader

Haj Amin Al-Husseini Mohammed Amin al-Husseini (; 4 July 1974) was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in Mandatory Palestine. was the scion of the family of Jerusalemite Arab nobles, who trace their origins to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Hussein ...

, Egyptian Prime Minister

Mostafa El-Nahas Mostafa el-Nahas Pasha or Mostafa Nahas (; June 15, 1879 – August 23, 1965) was an Egyptians, Egyptian politician who served as the Prime Minister for five terms. Early life, education and exile He was born in Samanud (Gharbia Governorat ...

, American British historian

Bernard Lewis Bernard Lewis, (31 May 1916 – 19 May 2018) was a British-American historian specialized in Oriental studies. He was also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near ...

and to several newspaper editors in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. Tal's other writings were published in three book by Zeyad Zou'bi: ''Ala Hamesh Ashiyyat'' (On the sidelines of Ashiyyat, 2001), ''Maqalat Wa Nosous Thaqafieh'' (Articles and Cultural Writings, 2002), and ''Arar Wa Khayyam'' (Arar and Khayyam, 2003).

Legacy

Mustafa Wahbi Tal is considered to be one of Jordan's most prominent poets and one of the most well-known Jordanian poets among Arab readers. The

Yarmouk University Yarmouk University (), also abbreviated YU, is a comprehensive public and state supported university located near the city centre of Irbid in northern Jordan. Since its establishment in 1976, it has been at the forefront of Jordanian and Middle E ...

in his hometown of Irbid named Jordan's most prestigious literary award after him, the ''Arar Prize for Literary Creativity''. Irbid holds an annual poetry festival named after him. The Arar Literary Forum holds cultural events in Tal's house in Irbid, which was turned into a museum that welcomes hundreds of visitors annually.

Personal life

Tal was married four times and had ten children. His first marriage was to Munifa Baban, a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

woman he met during his time in Arapgir, Turkey. They were married on 25 November 1918. When Tal left his job in Arapgir and returned to his hometown of Irbid, he left his wife at his uncle's house. His first son Wasfi was born there. Wasfi later relocated with his mother to live at his father's house in Irbid when he was four years old. The couple would later have five more children: Mou'een, Maryoud, Sa'eed, Shaker and Abdallah. Mustafa Wahbi Tal and his son Wasfi Tal

Tal also married Shoma Harb Al-Dahiyat in 1925. The day after their marriage he left to a faraway village to arbitrate a tribal dispute and sent her divorce papers from there. He was married again to Oufa' Al-Jabr, a

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

woman, in 1933 and the couple had four children: Safieh, Sayel, Alieh and Taha. He married Adwieh 'Araj, a Circassian woman, in 1943 and was divorced shortly after. When Tal was jailed and expelled from his job as Chief of Protocol in the Emir's Court in 1942 because of an altercation with then Prime Minister Tawfik Abu Al-Huda, his eldest son Wasfi was outraged and sought an interview with the Prime Minister who refused to see him. Wasfi lost his temper in the corridor outside the Prime Minister's office and launched into a tirade of abuse and curses which were overheard by Abu Al-Huda. He was jailed with his father for three months and lost his job as a chemistry teacher. Wasfi later became Jordan's

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

for several tenures during the late 1960s and early 1970s until his assassination in 1971. Mustafa's other son Sa'eed would later become Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan during the 1990s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tal, Mustafa Wahbi 1899 births 1949 deaths 20th-century Jordanian poets People from Irbid Jordanian nationalists Tal