Fonds MT - Muhammed b. Tâvît et-Tanjî Records

Born in Wadras, Muhammad al-Tanji was a scholar of Islamic philosophy, Arabic language and literature, jurisprudence, theology, mathematics, astronomy, and other Islamic sciences who was well versed in Arabic and an expert in textual analysis. He began his education in Morocco, studying under scholars such as Sayyid 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn al-Hayyāt, Ta'iy' b. Hāj, Sayyid al-Jawād al-Sakalī, and Sayyid Muhammad al-Ilmī (al-'Alamī). He learned mathematics and astronomy from Muhammad al-Ilmî.
After graduating from the Department of Arabic Language at Cairo University (Jāmiat al-Fuādi al-Awwal), he completed the scholarly edition of Ibn Khaldūn's Muḳaddimah as part of his graduate studies. From that time on, the critical analysis and publication of ancient works constituted the most important field of his scholarly work.
In 1953, Muhammad al-Tanjī was invited to Turkey and appointed professor of Islamic philosophy at the Faculty of Theology at Ankara University. In 1962, he returned to Morocco and taught Arabic language and literature at the Faculty of Literature of Rabat University and Islamic philosophy and history of Islamic sects at Karaviyyîn University. At the same time, he served as the General Director of Copyright, Translation and Publication Affairs.
He returned to Turkey in 1965 and taught theology, tawhid, history of Islamic sects and eloquence of the Qur'an at the Istanbul Higher Islamic Institute. He also taught Arabic language and literature at Istanbul University Faculty of Literature. In the 1970-1971 academic year, he was appointed professor of the History of Islamic Religion and Sects at the Faculty of Theology at Ankara University and was naturalized as a citizen of the Republic of Turkey in 1973.
At the beginning of the 1974-1975 academic year, he started to teach Arabic language and literature courses at the Faculty of Language and History-Geography. However, he died of a heart attack on December 29, 1974 in Istanbul and was buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
Muhammad al-Tanjî married Necla Sayın who was a student of Mükrimin Halil Yinanç. His first daughter, Prof. Dr. Emel Kefeli, continued her academic career at Marmara University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Turkish Language and Literature for many years. His library, which had a rich collection of approximately 3,000 volumes, consisting of many manuscripts and rare printed works, was transferred to the Turkish Historical Society after his death.