Al-Tijani Yusuf Bashir

Al-Tijani Yusuf Bashir (1912–1937) was a Sudanese poet who wrote in Arabic. He died from tuberculosis at the age of 25, and his work only became widely known after his death. Al-Tijani's poetry is generally classified as belonging to the Romantic tradition, although he had strong Neoclassical influences.

Biography

Al-Tijani was born into a prominent Sufi family. His father named him after Ahmad al-Tijani, the founder of the Tijaniyyah order. Al-Tijani was initially schooled at a local khalwa (religious school), and then completed his education at Omdurman's al-Mahad al-Ilmi, a college of literature and forerunner of Omdurman Islamic University. He had a wide knowledge of both Classical and Modern Arabic literature, and also read some Arabic translations of Western literature. As a student, al-Tijani declared that Ahmed Shawqi's poetry was comparable to that in the Quran. This was considered tantamount to blasphemy, and led to his expulsion from al-Mahad. Al-Tijani died at the age of 25, having suffered from tuberculosis for several years.^[1] He died in poverty, with a contemporary noting that he wore only cloth shoes, his clothing was generally torn and of poor quality, and that he could only afford a turban, not a skullcap.^[2]

Poetry

Al-Tijani's only published work is Ishrāqa ("Illumination"), a collection of his poetry.^[3] It was first printed in 1946, after his death, and as of 2008 ten editions had been issued.^[2] Al-Tijani's poetry has been described as having a "decidedly Romantic colour",^[4] but not to the point of sentimentality.^[5] One critic, ʻAbd Allah ʻAli Ibrahim, describes him as "exhibit[ing] prodigious loyalties to creativity, youth, and poverty".^[2] His work includes persistent references to the natural world, especially water and light, which he frequently employs as metaphors or symbols.^[6] Salma Jayyusi has suggested that his admiration of nature approaches pantheism, and attributes this and his frequent use of mystical language to his Sufi background.^[7]

Al-Tijani's classical education meant he retained many of the Neoclassical features used by earlier writers, including archaic mannerisms and obsolete vocabulary. Jayyusi has suggested that this represents a "major defect" in his work, and "partly explains his relative obscurity in the Arab world".^[8] Al-Tijani is frequently compared with Aboul-Qacem Echebbi, a Tunisian writer, due to their shared religious backgrounds and periods of ill health.^[3] Additionally, Jayyusi likens his work to that of the Syrian writer Badawi al-Jabal, due to their shared embrace of mystical language and use of Sufi literary forms.^[9]

See also

• Arabic poetry
• List of Sudanese writers

References