Jibra'il Dallal


Jibra'il bin 'Abd Allah bin Nasr Allah al-Dallal, also known as Gabriel Dallal, was a Syrian journalist and poet. Born in Aleppo, he was fluent in not only Arabic, but also in the French and Italian languages.

Life

Jibra'il Dallal was born in Aleppo. He was mainly brought up by his older sister as his father had died when he was still young. Dallal studied in Aleppo and would later travel to Europe to master the French and Italian languages. He also worked in administrative roles for the French government and the Ottoman Empire. Dallal later became a teacher at the University of Vienna, teaching classes on Arabic for two years. Aside from his scholarly career in Arabic literature, Dallal was also a Hafiz, who memorized a portion of the Qur'an.

Imprisonment and death

Dallal returned to his homeland in 1884, where he resumed his job as a teacher until the Ottoman government accused him of inciting rebellion due to the publication of his controversial poem on freedom, Al-ʻArsh wa-al-Haykal, afterwards he was stripped off all his governmental positions and jobs. In 1890, an order was given to arrest him and he faced imprisonment in Aleppo until his death. He died on 24 December 1892.

Works

Dallal's works include:
  • Al-Siḥr al-Ḥalāl fī Shiʻr al-Dallāl; a collection of Dallal's poetry. It was first published in 1903 by his nephew, Qustaki al-Himsi.
  • Al-ʻArsh wa-al-Haykal; a poem he composed, which landed him in prison. This poem was published in Atta Pasha al-Husayni's book, Al-Khawatir fi al-Islam.