Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Abd al-Rahman Rabah al-Kayyali (1916 - 1998) was a Palestinian academic, literary historian, and poet. He was born in the city of Ramla . He studied primary and middle school in Ramla and Jaffa schools, secondary school in Ramla, and then at the Cairo Secondary Institute from 1928 until 1931. He remained in Egypt to continue his higher education and graduated from Dar Al-Ulum at Cairo University in 1936. He then obtained a postgraduate diploma from the University of Algiers in 1970, then a doctorate in Modern Arabic Literature from the same university in 1973. He published his poetry in Arab newspapers such as the Egyptian Al-Ahram, the Lebanese Al-Wadab, and the Palestinian Al-Liwaa, but he did not compile it in its entirety in a collection of poems. He has literary studies in the history of Arabic literature and Palestinian poetry, and critical articles and lectures that he wrote in Jaffa during the years 1935-1936.
His biography
Abd al-Rahman Rabah al-Kayyali was born in the city of Ramla in the Jaffa district of the Ottoman Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem in the year 1916 AD/1334 AH and grew up there. He studied primary school there and middle school in Jaffa in 1928, then studied high school in Ramla and finished it at the Cairo Secondary Institute during the years 1929-1931. He studied at Al-Azhar for four regular years and continued his higher education in Egypt and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Arabic language and Islamic studies from the Faculty of Dar Al-Ulum at Cairo University in 1936. Then he went to Algeria and obtained a higher diploma in literary studies from the University of Algiers in 1970. His doctorate in Modern Arabic Literature from the same university in 1973.
He worked as a teacher in Jerusalem and Hebron in Mandatory Palestine. He was appointed Sharia judge in Jaffa, and worked as Deputy Sharia Judge of Jerusalem from 1947 to 1948, but he did not exercise his job duties due to the Nakba . He continued his teaching career in Baghdad, where he immigrated to Iraq after 1948. Then he returned to his homeland and taught at the Rashidiya School in Jerusalem , then at Birzeit College , then at Al-Hussein Secondary College in Amman, then at the Teachers’ Institute. He became director of the Teachers' Home in Hawwara, Irbid, and then inspector.
He was appointed as a cultural advisor to Jordan in Algeria, and during his stay there he obtained a doctorate in 1973. After his retirement, he worked as a teacher at the then emerging University of Constantine , and remained in Algeria for 15 years until the late 1980s.
Abd al-Rahman Rabah al-Kayyali died in 1998 AD/1418 AH in Amman, Jordan.
His awards and honors
1991: Awarded the Jerusalem Medal for Culture, Arts and Literature.
His works
In literary studies:
“Al-Qarib in Abbasid Literature”, 1950
«Foundation in Literary Criticism», 1960
“Al-Wafi in the History of Arabic Literature,” 1960
“Palestinian Poetry in the Nakba of Palestine,” 1980
He also has:
“The Clear Coast,” a poetry collection, 1993
“Witness of the Age,” a collection of manuscript poetry
“Abu Firas Al-Hamdani: His Life and Poetry,” study, manuscript
“Freedom of Thought in Islam,” a collection of his articles published in the “Islamic University
Source
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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