Ṭayyib, ʻAbd Allāh, 1921-2003

Abdullah El Tayib, also referred to as 'Abd Allāh al-Tayyib al-Majdhūb (2 June 1921 – 19 June 2003), was a prominent Sudanese writer and scholar of Sudanese literature and the Arabic language. He was born in Tamirab, a village near Ad-Dāmar in Sudan, during the Anglo-Egyptian condominium and received his primary education in Kassala, Ad-Damar and Berber. After graduating from Gordon Memorial College (now University of Khartoum), he continued his studies until his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in 1950. El Tayib occupied leading academic and administrative positions at universities in Khartoum, Juba and Kano, Nigeria. He was also president of the Arab Language League of Sudan and a member of the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo, Egypt. His scholarly work was dedicated to the history and development of Arabic poetry from pre-Islamic to modern times, as well as to editions of folk tales of Sudan.