Awarded the title "Poet of His Majesty King Abdulaziz"—Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazawi: A life rich in poetry, media, journalism, and administration.
Ahwal Al-Ma’rifa – Special
Across six large volumes, his poetry appears, having been collected in its entirety only after his death on April 27, 1981. He was a pioneer in journalism and charitable work, was appointed to the Shura Council, became Deputy Chairman of the Shura Council in 1953, and was granted the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary by King Abdulaziz.
He was the Saudi poet Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazzawi, whom King Abdulaziz Al Saud—may Allah have mercy on him—bestowed with the title “The Poet of His Majesty the King” in 1932. He wrote numerous poems in praise of King Abdulaziz.
Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazzawi was born in Makkah in 1318 AH / 1900. He spent his childhood there and was the only son of his parents, who had seven daughters. His mother died before he reached the age of ten. He received his early education in Quranic schools and study circles at the Grand Mosque, then studied at the Sawlatiyah School in 1912, before completing his education at Al-Falah School. He subsequently held a number of positions until he was appointed a member of the Saudi Shura Council.
As part of his work in media and journalism, he managed and served as editor-in-chief of several Saudi newspapers and magazines, including Umm Al-Qura, Al-Islah, and Sawt Al-Hijaz. Al-Ghazzawi was also the first person to head the Saudi Radio Service at the beginning of its establishment in 1948. Alongside these responsibilities, he remained devoted to his poetry. He was an advocate of traditional and elevated classical poetry, particularly poetry recited on royal occasions. He became renowned for his skill in writing praise poetry characterized by lofty, majestic language and poetic techniques that highlighted the virtues and noble deeds of those being praised. His poetry also sought to draw upon the aesthetics of inherited Arabic poetry in language, imagery, and style, while elevating the values embodied in the tradition of Arabic praise poetry. This is evident in the poetry collected by the Ithnainiya Foundation 19 years after his death in six volumes.
A Life Full of Achievement:
The life of the writer and poet Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazzawi was filled with work across numerous fields, from media and the judiciary to journalism, radio, and the Shura Council. He traveled throughout the cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and also visited Sudan, India, and Yemen. He chaired the Supreme Hajj Committee for two years and the Municipal Council of Makkah. He was also one of the founders of the Makkah Charitable Ambulance Association and a member of the Compensation, Coordination, and Retirement Committee at the Saudi Ministry of Finance, among many other positions.
In addition to the title “His Majesty the King’s Hassan and Poet,” bestowed upon him by King Abdulaziz, he received several medals from King Farouk and the High-Class Order from Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan. King Abdulaziz also presented him with a gold sword bearing an inscription in gold leaf on its hilt. King Faisal presented him with a gold watch and a gold pen engraved with a dedication, while King Hussein bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan presented him with a royal watch.
Poetic Aesthetics:
Classical metered poetry formed the artistic and expressive framework of the poet Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazzawi. Accordingly, his poems were grounded in the inherited values of Arabic rhetoric, as was customary among poets who wrote in the classical tradition. He produced exquisite poems that reflected the grandeur and eloquence of his poetry, particularly his national poems. He wrote a number of poems about King Abdulaziz that were recited on national occasions, including:
Hail (Abdulaziz) in his royal court
And adorn his crown and his scepter
A king whom God has endowed with what
He has not bestowed upon most people of His favor
For I have known, as have all people,
That the secret of success lies in his faith
Among his national poems:
O my homeland, my nation and my happiness My consolation, my direction, and my faith
My bliss and my misery, my eyes My sorrows, my present and my heritage
Look at how people once wandered in confusion When you were the fountain to which travelers came
Reassure me about the arts, for I See art as a source of guidance
Abandon idle talk if you seek elevation And spread knowledge to the farthest reaches of the land
Build morality as an impregnable fortress For it is the treasure of ancestors and descendants
In addition, he wrote a small number of poems in other areas, including elegy, contemplation, gentle love poetry, and wisdom. His poetry reflected the nature of the Saudi environment and combined Islamic sensibilities with national and social issues. His literary output thus became a truthful mirror of his sincere expression of his identity, belonging, and patriotism.
Al-Ghazzawi left behind a vast library containing more than ten thousand books, which were donated to Umm Al-Qura University. Studies of his poetry and prose have focused on examining the characteristics and traditional tendencies of his poetry and its reflection of the Kingdom’s renaissance. His poetry served as a record of the various aspects of the Kingdom’s development, while his literary prose was rich in educational and social themes and bore witness to the literary scene throughout more than half a century that he spent between professional and media work and the creation of poetry and artistic prose.
References:
https://darahjournal.org.sa/Details.php?mag_no=83&article_no=6
