Gebrail Dallal Explained

Gebrail Dallal
Native Name:	جبرائيل الدلال
Birth Name:	Jibrāʾīl b. ʻAbd Allāh b. Naṣrallāh ad-Dallāl^[1]
Birth Date:	2 April 1836
Birth Place:	Aleppo Eyalet, Ottoman Syria
Death Date:	24 December 1892 (56 years old)
Death Place:	Aleppo Eyalet, Ottoman Syria
Criminal Charges:	Accused of rebelling against the government
Criminal Penalty:	Imprisonment
Relatives:	Qustaki al-Himsi (nephew)

Gebrail Dallal (1836–1899), real name Jibrāʾīl ad-Dallāl (Arabic: جبرائيل الدلال) was a Syrian journalist and poet. Born in Aleppo, he was fluent in not only Arabic, but also in the French and Italian languages.

Biography

Gebrail Dallal was born in Aleppo on 2 April 1836. He was mainly brought up by his older sister as his father had died when he was still young.^{[2] [3] [4]} Gebrail 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. Gebrail later became a teacher at the University of Vienna, teaching classes on Arabic for two years. Aside from his scholarly career in Arabic literature, Gebrail was also a Hafiz, who memorized a portion of the Qur'an.

Imprisonment and death

Gebrail 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-'Arsh 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.^[5] He died on 24 December in 1892.^[6]

Works

Amongst the works of Gebrail Dallal include:

• al-Siḥr al-ḥalāl fī shi‘r al-Dallāl; a collection of Gebrail Dallal's poetry. It was first published in 1903 by his nephew, Qustaki al-Himsi.
• al-'Arsh 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.^[7]

See also

• List of Arabic-language poets
• List of people from Aleppo

Notes and References

1. See the book al-A'lam by al-Zirikli, and Tarikh al-Sihafah al-'Arabiyah by Philippe de Tarrazi. Also see his biography on Poets' Gate
2. Web site: Al Jundi . Adham . 2015 . Gabriel al-Dallal (1836–1892 AD) . Al Moqtabas.
3. Web site: 2005 . Gabriel al-Dallal (28 poems) . Poets' Gate.
4. al-Zirikli (2002). al-A'lam (in Arabic) (7th ed.). Beirut, Lebanon: Dar El Ilm Lilmalayin.
5. Book: Brockelmann, Carl . History of the Arabic Written Tradition . 2017 . 2 . 785–786.
6. Book: de Tarrazi, Phillippe . Tarikh al-Sihafah al-'Arabiyah . al-Maṭbaʻah al-Amīrkānīyah . 1933 . Beirut, Lebanon . History of the Arab Press.
7. Book: Sarkis, J.E. . Dictionnaire encyclopédique de Bibliographie arabe. . Librarie J.E. Sarkis est Fils . 1928 . 53 Rue Faggalah, Cairo, Egypt . French . Encyclopedic Dictionary of Arabic Bibliography.