Ahmad Reda
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Sheikh Ahmad Reda (1872-1953) (Arabic: الشيخ أحمد رضا) was one of the foremost scholars of Arab literature and linguistics.
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[edit] Early life
Born in Nabatiyeh, he was a main supporter of King Faisal's Greater Syrian rule , following the Arab Revolt in the First World War. As a writer, a poet and a linguist, he was a member of the Arab Academy of Sciences in Damascus, and considered to be one of the greatest intellectuals to have emerged from Greater Syria, in the twentieth century.
[edit] Reform
He was one of the three reformers to have started a scientific and social renaissance movement in Jabal Amel, the other two being historian Mohammad Jaber al-Safa and sheikh Suleiman Daher. They had formed a prominent intellectual gathering, known as “the Ameli Three”, helping establish foundations and associations aiming at eradicating illiteracy in the region. This movement was part of what is known as Al-Nahda. He and his companions spent two months in Aley's military prison, because of the group's violent stands against the Ottoman rule.
[edit] Legacy
Sheikh Ahmad Reda wrote “Matn al-lugha”, the first dictionary of Arab language since “Lisan al-Arab”, written in the 13th century. He was described by Egyptian scholar Ahmad Amine as the “greatest writer in the Levant, and the greatest linguist in the Arab world”. He is the uncle of prominent scientist Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah.
