Rachid Nakhle (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: رشيد نخلة ;February 1873-1939) was a Lebanese poet, writer and journalist born in the village of

Barouk Barouk () is a village in the Chouf District of Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. Barouk is located 52 kilometers southeast of Beirut. Its average elevation is 1000 to 1200 meters above sea level and its total land area consists of 2,762 hecta ...

in the district of

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

. He studied in the school of

Ain Zhalta Ain Zhalta (Arabic: عين زحلتا) is a village in the Chouf District of Mount Lebanon Governorate in southwestern Lebanon. The majority of its inhabitants are Druze. The Battle of Ain Zhalta was held here in June 1982 with Syria. Masser A ...

, and later, at the American school of

Souk El Gharb Souk El Gharb (), (also spelled Suk, Sug al, ul, Suq), is a town located in the Aley District, Mount Lebanon Governorate, in Lebanon and its name translates to "Western Market". Before the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), this mountain town sur ...

. He is notably remembered for authoring the lyrics of the

Lebanese national anthem Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lebanon * Lebanese people, people from Lebanon or of Lebanese descent * Lebanese Arabic, the variety of Levantine Arabic spoken in Lebanon * Lebanese culture * Lebanese cuisine See also ...

Early life and career

Nakhle was born in Barouk on 6 February 1873, he was first schooled at the school of Ain Zhalta and he completed his studies in the American school of

. He was appointed as the

kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by #Names, many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been reta ...

Jezzine Jezzine ( ''Jizzīn'') is a municipality in Lebanon, located from Sidon and south of Beirut. It is the capital of Jezzine District. Surrounded by mountain peaks, pine forests (like the Bkassine Pine Forest), and at an average altitude of 95 ...

in 1911 succeeding his father and then the directorate of Deir el Qamar in 1914, in 1915 he got

exiled Exile is either an entity who is, or the state of being, away from one's home while being explicitly refused permission to return. Exile, exiled, exiles, The Exile, or The Exiles may also refer to: Exiles * Babylonian captivity, or Babylonia ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Djemal Pasha Ahmed Djemal (; ; 6 May 1872 – 21 July 1922), also known as Djemal Pasha or Cemâl Pasha, was an Ottoman military leader and one of the Three Pashas that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I. As an officer of the II Corps, he was ...

, after the end of the ottoman rule in 1918 he was appointed head of the Arab pen and Lebanon's knowledge director, and in 1920, as inspector of public security. In 1925 he became the governor of the city of

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

until his resignation in 1930.

Involvement with journalism

Nakhle began his journalistic career by founding the newspaper Al-Sha'ab in Ain Zhalta on September 28, 1912, while residing in Nabaa al-Safa. The newspaper was distributed for free, driven by a commitment to freedom and literature. Amin Nakhle recalls: "In the early days, Al-Sha'ab was printed at the 'Deir El-Qamar Press' in Deir El-Qamar, and its header stated: 'A newspaper created to serve the people, distributed for free.' On November 8, 1922, I started 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 ...

. At that time, Al-Sha'ab was a weekly, but the government banned it three times. It then became a daily, but was banned four times. Afterward, it went back to being a weekly, and was banned twice more. When it resumed as a daily, it was banned several times again. I can’t remember the exact number of times. Since then, its publication ceased." In this way, the author of these lines (Amin Nakhle) "fulfilled the vow of loyalty" on more than one occasion.

Selected works

Rachid Nakhle composed poetry for fifty years, in eloquent,

Zajal ''Zajal'' () is a traditional form of oral Strophic form, strophic poetry declaimed in a colloquial dialect. The earliest recorded zajal poet was Ibn Quzman of al-Andalus who lived from 1078 to 1160. Most scholars see the Andalusi Arabic ''zajal' ...

Ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

, love, Rithā and social poetry. He authored a collection of works spanning

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, verse,

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

, history, criticism, literature, sociology, letters, and politics. His writings include both

Classical Arabic Classical Arabic or Quranic Arabic () is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notably in Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid literary texts such as poetry, e ...

and colloquial styles, along with

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

. The following is a list of his publications: In literature and society: "The book of the past", "Memoirs of Rachid Nakhleh", "Letters of Rachid Nakhleh", “A Stranger at Home” that was printed in

Baabda Baabda () is the capital city of Baabda District and Mount Lebanon Governorate, western Lebanon. Baabda was also the capital city of the autonomous Ottoman Mount Lebanon that existed from 1861 to 1918. Baabda is home to the Italian, Japanese, ...

in 1898, "Lebanese Passions", printed in Beirut in 1910. In poetry: "The Divan of the Heavenly Poet," which is his poetry collection. This name was chosen based on what Wali al-Din Yakan said about Rashid Nakhle in his book 'Afw al-Khater (p. 97, 1955 edition), where he referred to him as a celestial poet. In Zajal poetry: "Muhsin al-Hazzan" (a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

), first published in Beirut in 1936, then printed in

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in 1940, and later in

with an undated edition, and 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 ...

under the name "Hind bint Jafeel." This edition is also undated. "The Meaning of Rashid Nakhle" (a collection of his Zajal poems) was published in Beirut in 1945. Other works include "Antar" (a novel), "The Continuation of the Meaning of Rashid Nakhle" (which includes Zajal poems he discovered after his Zajal collection was printed), and "The Lebanese Divan" (a compilation of his works in various Lebanese Zajal styles).

References

1873 births 1939 deaths {{Improve categories, date=May 2025 20th-century Lebanese poets 19th-century Lebanese poets 20th-century Lebanese writers 20th-century Lebanese journalists