Muḥammad al-Mahdī Majdhūb

Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Majdhub ( ; 1919 – 3 March 1982), also spelled al-Maghut or al-Majzoub, was a renowned Sudanese poet. He is widely recognised as one of the pioneers in Sudanese poetry and is credited with being one of the first poets of Sudanese Arabic poetry and "". His contributions to Sudanese literature have left a lasting impact on the poetic landscape of the country.

Early life and education Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Majdhub was born in 1919 in al-Damar, the capital of the River Nile state in North Sudan. His father is the Sufi sheikh, known in Sudan as Muhammad al-Majdhub, who belongs to the Ja’aliyin tribe of the north-central Sudanese tribes. He was khalwa educated, where he learned reading, writing and the Quran. Al-Majdhub worked as an accountant in the government of Sudan and moved between the north, south, east and west, which benefited him in creating an imaginary repertoire that, along with his innate readiness, paved the way for the development of his poetic craft.

According to historian Huda Fakhreddine, the members of the Fajr group possessed an understanding of Sudan's hybrid cultural heritage and the historical currents that contributed to its distinctiveness. They aimed to shape the linguistic symbols that would define a national identity.

The critic Osama Taj Al-Sirr believes that "" (or Sudanisation) was clear in al-Majdhub's poetry, which appeared in his imagination, images and language, which his late son, the journalist Awad al-Karim al-Majdhub, who says about his father, "Perhaps what distinguishes the language of al-Majdhub is its mixing - sometimes - between classical and dialectal Arabic to the point of using the language of ordinary speech and planting it in the fabric of his poem. Osama Taj Al-Sirr, Professor of literature at the University of Khartoum told Al-Jazeera Net that "al-Majdhub conveyed the Sudanese life to poetry, and he is one of the first to mix between the eloquent and the common, the Sudanese project represents for him a stylistic technique". He also wrote in magazines such as The Nile, Hana Omdurman, Youth and Sports, and other Sudanese publications. In Arabic, Dar Al-Hilal, Al-Doha, and the Beirut magazine Al-Adab were publishing his work. He has several radio interviews, the most prominent of which are his interviews with Sudanese radio and television, Voice of the Arabs, Voice of America, German, Egyptian and Tunisian radio.quote box Noah’s Ark is a womb of a virgin That rested on Mount Judi, bestowing life Moses coffin is a womb Jesus’ cross is a womb And Ghar Hiraa is a womb And this Deluge abated with no ark, No coffin, no cross and no Hiraa Where is the refuge? To the moon! Does the earth escape from itself? Searching for its kin? — The Deluge Diwan Honor and Immigration , 1973 Lengthy Good News, Crows, Exodus , 1975 Diwan Manabir , 1982 Diwan Of Those Things , 1982 A Beggar in Khartoum , 1984 (poetry play) Diwan Cruelty in Milk , 2005 Diwan Sounds and Smoke , 2005 Diwan Raid and Sunset , 2013

Political life Al-Majdhub founded with Mahmoud Muhammad Taha the Republican Brotherhood in Sudan in 1945. The Republican Brotherhood was involved in the fight for independence against British-Egyptian colonialism. Al-Majdhub has poems praising the positions of the Republican Party and Mahmoud Muhammad Taha.

Al-Majdhub died on 3 March 1982 in Omdurman.

Legacy Al-Majdhub has gained recognition in the history of Sudanese literature as a trailblazer in the modernisation of Sudanese poetry. He is credited with founding a significant poetic movement, along with his relative Abdullah El Tayib, which introduced a fresh approach to poetic creation, breaking away from traditional and rigid poetic forms and doctrines. This new school of poetry embraced a more unrestrained and liberated style, in line with the practices of contemporary poets.