The death of Mauritanian scholar, writer and minister Muhammad al-Mukhtar Ould Abbah

Mauritanian scholar and writer, Muhammad al-Mukhtar Ould Abbah, died today (Sunday) at the National Center for Heart Diseases in Nouakchott, after an emergency health crisis, at the age of 98.
Mokhtar Ould Dahi, the late Mauritanian health minister, wept. And he wrote on his Facebook account: “I testify that he died with a smile and a bright face present in my mind. I visited him accompanied by the Director of the Tribunal of the President of the Republic, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and the Director of the National for Heart Diseases, appointed by His Excellency the President of the Republic to verify his health conditions and to consult doctors and family when necessary, welcomed us with a radiant face, and the President’s greeting was better than so, and reassured us of his health condition, while Professor Ahmed Weld’s father preached the lightness of malaise.A few hours after that meeting, the mourner mourned the deceased Muhammad al-Mukhtar, his father’s son, may God accept him with the devotees and bless his heels till Judgment Day.
His father’s son was born in 1924, in ‘Botmlett’ to the family of Alam and Jah. He memorized the Noble Quran and completed the study of texts and prescribed texts in the ancient Shanqeeti schools known as al-Mahadhir, before joining the teaching staff in 1948. He was also active in political work under the party “Ennahda ” opposed to French colonialism in Mauritania, and was appointed in 1957 Minister of Health, in the first Mauritanian government, then Minister of Education, before the dispute broke out between his political wing and that of the late Mauritanian president, Mukhtar Ould Daddah, as far as regarding relations with the French authorities, it led him to leave the country for Morocco, where he held important positions, including that of first director of Moroccan radio.
The deceased left a series of writings that summarize an important aspect of his journey and his experience, including “the translation of the meanings of the Holy Koran into French”, “On the procession of the biography of the Prophet”, “History of the readings in the East and the West”, and “The History of Arabic Grammar in the East and West.” and “Poetry and Poets in Mauritania”, “Introduction to the Fundamentals of Maliki Jurisprudence”, “Introduction to the Fundamentals of Religion”, Islamic Legislation in Mauritania”, “Introduction to Mauritanian literature” and “Examples of readings from the people of Medina”. Al-Munawwarah, On the Path of Islam: French Language Poems, Poems and Poets from France: Translations and Interpretations, Evidence Summary: Evidence Compendium for Al-Muwatta’s Book, The Book of Abstraction in Ahkam Al-Tamheed and Islamic education between ancient and modern” and “A journey with Arabic poetry”. He also published, before his death, his memoirs, entitled “A journey with life”, which included pages of his personal memoir on several levels, social, psychological, academic and political; In it he wanted to raise many influential reflections on the political and cultural geography in which he lived moving between its suburbs, not failing to underline his position on some thorny issues of Mauritania and its neighborhood, such as the question of the Sahara, of which he continued to defend the Moroccan, his relations with Arab and Islamic institutions, and his special relationship with Morocco, where he has many points of convergence t between what is spiritual and what is political, historical and cultural.
In his memoirs, his father’s son summarized his memory in two dimensions, the first dimension imprinting the course of life and the vicissitudes of life, while the other reveals crucial moments that formed turning points in the life of the deceased and they determined the direction of his private and public conscience.
His father’s son’s entry into the arena of life coincided with the intensifying impact of World War II on his country, then a French colony.
His father’s son spoke about the stage of being employed and entering politics and institutional work inside and outside his country, from a simple teacher in the far east of Mauritania to working as an observer in “Botlmit”, then working in “Tijkja”, followed by his journey to Hajj through a long sea voyage, which he concluded with a poem A meme that sings of true prophetic yearning and effervescence.
The trips then continued, including the one to Paris on his return from the pilgrimage, at the invitation of the government representative and for the purpose of meeting the French Minister of the Colonies, where his feeling was then confused between the joy of seeing the “city of lights” and grief over the departure of his traveling companions, and at having lost the opportunity to visit the city of Fez, at the same time he was concerned about the position of French officials at that time, which coincided with the exile of the Moroccan sultan Muhammad V in Madagascar. The first pages of the close connection of his father’s personal and official life with Morocco, the country, the people and the state begin.
In his memoirs, the late king also mentioned the story of his appointment as first director of Moroccan radio by the late king Hassan II, who spoke about it at the time in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde. Hassan II said he appointed his father’s son to this delicate position because he is a person outside political tensions.
Regarding his struggle for Mauritania, the writer summarized the experience of the struggle he led against colonialism in three phases: thinking about national belonging, feeling the presence of foreign occupation on earth, and then confronting the methods of colonial rule.
Speaking of his political experiences inside and outside Mauritania, Ould Abbah shed light on the moment of participation in the first emerging Mauritanian government, before speaking of his special relationship with Morocco, where he described the many years spent in the capital Rabat, which began with a reception received by the late King Mohammed V. He also touched on his special relationship with Fal Ould Omair, a prominent Mauritanian figure known for championing the idea of ​​sovereign unity with Morocco.
In the memoirs of his father’s son there are the personal events that affected the life of the deceased, including the departure of his mother and brother, and the great sense of mourning and loss caused by death.
In terms of positions, his father’s son wanted to be frank in his testimony on the war in the desert and on the question of national unity, emphasizing that the question was linked to a war in which “fighting took place between members of the same family . “
Ould Abbah, in his memoirs, accused the Spaniards of denying the contents of the Madrid Agreement with Morocco and Mauritania, and of having played them on the card of determining the destiny for the population of the region, although the feeling of freedom “is not necessarily depends on the establishment of a new state”. He also recounted the chapters of this war in Mauritania, and how this led to the overthrow of President Ould Daddah in a dramatic military coup, and how the situation then became more complicated in Mauritania and in the region.
His father’s son was known as an outstanding poet, he was also a member of ‘Arabic Language Academy’ in Cairo, ‘Arabic Language Academy’ in Khartoum, ‘Aal al-Bayt Foundation’ in Jordan, ‘Scientific Language Academy’ Committee for the Mohammed VI Prize for Islamic Thought and Studies” and “The Supreme Council of the Mohammed VI Foundation by African Oulema. He has also received numerous honors and honors from Egypt, Senegal and Jordan.