A century later, it was collected and published in book form before being translated into English.
Khitbat Al-Shaikh (The Sheikh’s Engagement) by Dr Taha Hussein, Ishraqat Publishing, Cairo, 2024, pp. 87.
Taha Hussein (1889–1973) was an Egyptian academic, novelist, writer, and minister whose influence on intellectual circles in Egypt and the wider Arab world continues to this day.
The novelette belongs to the epistolary genre, a form of literature that is primarily, and sometimes entirely, based on letters exchanged between characters. The genre emerged in Europe in the 17th century and became especially fashionable in the 18th century, particularly in France, England, and Germany.
Set between 1913 and 1914, the novel comprises fifteen letters and features five characters: Ihsan, the protagonist; Asmaa, her close friend; Sheikh Allam Al-Gizawy, her fiancé; Sheikh Zahran Fatih Al-Bab, Allam’s friend; and Sayed Bek Rahmy, Ihsan’s father.
In the opening letter, Ihsan, a teacher, appears hesitant about accepting her engagement to an Azharite sheikh and asks her friend Asmaa, also a teacher at the same school, for advice. In another letter, she seeks her father’s permission to correspond with her fiancé, Sheikh Allam, who replies with an ornate letter written in rhymed prose, extolling her virtues.
Allam later reveals in a letter to Sheikh Zahran that he views Ihsan as an opportunity for wealth, upward social mobility, and learning English, which he had been unable to master. He alludes to their poor living conditions while studying at Al-Azhar in Cairo.
He also tells Zahran that he intends to convince Ihsan’s father, who owns vast agricultural lands, to turn his estate into a waqf endowment so that the inheritance would be divided equally between Ihsan and her two brothers, whom he describes as corrupt. He further confides that he finds Ihsan’s father boring and old-fashioned and is waiting for his imminent death, given that he is already 70 years old.
Asmaa sends Ihsan a lengthy letter discussing marriage and how, in an oriental society, men possess the supreme right to marry and divorce at will, while women are denied genuine choice. She advises Ihsan to take sufficient time to know her fiancé, arguing that it is impossible to understand someone fully through letters alone. Asmaa also hopes Ihsan will continue working as a teacher, noting that married female teachers at the time were dismissed from their jobs.
She then criticizes the fiancé for being Azharite, arguing that his views are likely antiquated because his education was limited to religious sciences, while Ihsan received a European-style education.
Consequently, she predicts inevitable clashes, as he would expect complete obedience from his wife. Asmaa concludes that Ihsan would benefit society more by remaining a teacher than by devoting herself solely to marriage.
Ihsan later writes to her fiancé, asking him to explain his understanding of marriage and his expectations of it. She also writes to Asmaa, affirming her acceptance of marriage and family life.
However, she considers testing Allam by telling him she intends to relinquish her inheritance and live modestly with him. If he agrees, she reasons, it would prove he genuinely loves her; if he refuses, it would expose his interest in her wealth from the outset.
Ihsan’s father sends her a letter assuring her that he will not force her to marry the sheikh and informing her that her fiancé’s mother had visited and wished to meet her.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Zahran advises Allam against trying to manipulate Ihsan’s father into turning his estate into a waqf, arguing that such behaviour is reprehensible under Sharia law. He also expresses concern that Ihsan’s foreign education has influenced her thinking and that she may treat her husband as an equal. In his view, marrying an illiterate but obedient woman shaped by religious beliefs would be preferable to marrying a westernised woman indifferent to religion.
Allam replies that he was fortunate enough to study modern ethics, unlike Zahran, whose education was confined to Al-Azhar. According to Allam, modern ethics are based primarily on personal interest, a principle he fully embraces. He claims he would prefer marrying a modern woman to a religious one because guiding her back towards religion would constitute a form of jihad for the sake of God.
At this critical point, the novelette ends abruptly, creating the impression that it is incomplete. However, it can also be argued that the seemingly open ending relies on the reader’s anticipation of what follows. A shock and Allam’s eventual rejection appear inevitable.
Through the work, Taha Hussein presents an almost panoramic view of Egyptian society’s attitudes towards marriage, as well as the tension between Western and Islamic education.
Some critics argued that Hussein failed to distinguish clearly between the voices of his characters, making it seem as though the author himself was speaking through each of them.
The reasons behind Hussein’s reluctance to publish this literary debut remain open to speculation.
Short link: