Aisha Abd al-Rahman

Aisha Abd al-Rahman (1913-1 December 1998) was an Egyptian author and professor of literature who published under the pen name Bint al-Shati ("Daughter of the Riverbank").

Life and career

Born in Damietta in the governate of Domyat, her father taught at the Domyat Religious Institute. When she was ten, her mother, though illiterate, enrolled her in school while her father was traveling. Though her father objected, her mother later sent al-Rahman to El Mansurah for further education. Later, al-Rahman studied Arabic at Cairo University earning her undergraduate degree in 1939, and an M.A. degree in 1941.

In 1942, al-Rahman began work as an Inspector for teaching of Arabic literature for the Egyptian Ministry of Education. She earned her Ph.D. with distinction in 1950 and was appointed Professor of Arabic Literature at the University College for Women of the Ain Shams University.Larousse Dictionary of Women, edited by Melanie Parry, Larousse, 1996]

She wrote fiction and biographies of early Muslim women, including the mother, wives, and daughters of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as literary criticism.Arab Women Novelists: The Formative Years and Beyond by Joseph T. Zeidan, State University of New York Press, 1995]

She was married to Sheik Amin el-Khouli, her teacher at Cairo University during her undergraduate years. She died of a heart attack following a stroke in Cairo.Associated Press (December 2, 1998) Prominent Egyptian Islamic writer, Abdul-Rahman dies at 85.]

She donated all her liberary to research purpuses.

elected bibliography

*"The Egyptian Countryside" (1936)
*"The Problem of the Peasant" (1938)
*"Secret of the Beach and Master of the Estate: The Story of a Sinful Woman" (1942)
*"New Values in Arabic Literature" (1961)
*"Contemporary Arab Women Poets" (1963)

References