Between The Harvest of Years Zaki Najib Mahmoudand The Dust of Years Omar Faruuq: A Critical Approach
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29-1Abstract
This research seeks, through a critical approach and a careful reading, to explore and investigate the similarities and differences between two distinguished creative texts. The first is The Harvest of Years, the autobiography of the eminent thinker Dr. Zaki Najib Mahmoud, one of the most prominent Arab scholars and philosophers of the modern era. He devoted his efforts, knowledge, and thought to serving Arab culture and renewing its intellectual foundations in accordance with the needs of the modern age. He had a clear and comprehensive vision regarding multiple themes and diverse issues in our contemporary cultural scene. He was a unique and distinctive voice, shaped by a culture that blended both Western and Eastern knowledge. He stood at the forefront of intellectuals with a scientific orientation and an enlightened rationalist mindset. With his modern scientific methodology and unique analytical ability, he was able to develop cultural conditions and present philosophical ideas in a clear and simplified language that combined refined literary style with concise journalistic writing. His philosophical expression was marked by clarity and elegance, in addition to its richness, benefit, and precision. He blended philosophy with literature, seeking to present the essence of his philosophical knowledge to people in a way that made philosophy accessible to their understanding, taste, and daily life, armed throughout with science and knowledge.As for the second text, The Dust of Years, it is the autobiography of Dr. Omar Faruuq, regarded as one of the prominent literary figures and thinkers of the modern era. He was a discerning writer and critic, deeply perceptive of Arab creativity in various fields of literature, especially poetry, thought, and history. He was also a rigorous academic, a historian well-versed in the foundations of scientific research, and a widely read translator. He possessed a distinctive methodology with clearly defined steps, procedures, regulations, and a comprehensive, lucid vision in dealing with both historical texts and creative literary works, whether ancient or modern. A writer of vast and diverse interests, his works covered multiple subjects: literature and its history, poetry, language, history, philosophy, Islamic studies, and the critique of Orientalists.The research plan and methodology required dividing the study into an introduction, a prelude, and a conclusion, where we presented the most significant findings. In the introduction, we traced the concept of autobiography and the texts excluded from it, while in the prelude, we discussed the writer and the text (the autobiography). Each aspect of the two texts was examined under specific subheadings that explored and revealed their dimensions, namely: title, language, style, time, place, and characters. The study employed a varied methodology that combined inductive, analytical, and descriptive approaches.
31/8/2025
Received :
21/9/2025
Revised
8/10/2025
Accepted :
1/3/2026
Published
Keywords:
The Harvest of Years, The Dust of Years, autobiography, language.
Correspondence:
Essam Mohammed
Keywords:
References
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