"Between the Oqayan's Literary Creativity and Historical Genius"... A Historical Literary Tour

Poet Ali Al-Azemi, known as “Al-Ajhar,” published a 115-page book titled “Khalifa Al-Waqian: Between Literary Creativity and Historical Genius.” The first chapter presents Al-Waqian’s biography, the second explores intellectual enrichment and the spectrum of memories, the third highlights his scholarly output, and the fourth is titled “Between Literary Creativity and Historical Genius: On the Bridge of Endurance.”

In his foreword, Dr. Al-Waqian said: “My dear brother, the esteemed Sheikh Ali Al-Ajhar, shared with me a study he had prepared about me. Upon reading it, I was overwhelmed by emotions I find hard to articulate: boundless gratitude, as he enveloped me in an outpouring of love and appreciation, and great admiration for his eloquence and the beauty of his language, on the one hand, and his perseverance in gathering the material for his research, on the other. Although we live in an age where the magic of eloquence seems to have faded, Sheikh Ali has proven that the world is still good, and that our great language still has guardians and lovers, and scholars upon whose lips high classical Arabic flows naturally, and whose pens wield it with such mastery as to bring peace to the soul. The language of the poet Sheikh Ali Al-Ajhar is precise and measured, reminding us of the eloquent Arabs of the eras when Islamic civilization flourished. His sentences are concise and meaningful, devoid of verbosity, redundancy, or awkwardness, as we often see among many writers of our time.”

Al-Waqian continued: “I will place before the reader’s eyes a brief sentence from his writing style, for contemplation, which states: ‘Talent is nurtured through imitation, refined through mastery, lies in creativity, and is completed by genius. Talent, creativity, and genius are bound by a delicate thread. What the eye does not see does not escape the insight of the heart, and whoever recognizes virtues will not miss excellence.’ He also says: ‘The soul that loves beauty, cherishes light, aspires to tolerance, seeks truth, glorifies reason, respects the sanctity of religion, and upholds loyalty, can only be a luminous soul. Its light is seen by a heart whose vision is not obscured by desires, a spirit that soars in the realm of the divine, and a mind whose understanding is not clouded by doubts.’”

He added: “I have known Sheikh Ali for several years, and our long, rich dialogues have allowed me to know in him the forbearance of a jurist, the humility of a scholar, the sensitivity of a poet, the gentleness of a man, and his strength in upholding the truth.”

For his part, poet Al-Azemi said: “This is a historical literary journey and an educational cultural voyage in the sanctuary of the noble biography of a distinguished Kuwaiti writer and thinker, our esteemed professor Dr. Khalifa Al-Waqian. It was written with the pen of appreciation, from the ink of love, on the pages of loyalty. This is the least we can do for our scholars and writers who have devoted their lives and exhausted their efforts in serving the Arabic language, across its diverse arts and branches.”