Ulfat Idlibi is a Syrian writer from Damascus. She is one of the most prominent literary figures in Syria and across the Arab world.
Her work, including poetry, stories, and novels, has enriched Syrian history with a distinctive literary repertoire. And some of it has been adapted into series and films. She was a promising young woman who loved literature. She spent a lot of her time engrossed in reading until she became a mature, educated woman. Until she was familiar with the works of Arab and international literature.
She considered literature to be a mirror that reflects reality and a tool for change in society. Some of her work addressed women’s issues and rights in society, and those writings were admired by the Arab public. Ulfat was also recognized by many Syrian writers as an inspiring and influential writer in the Arab world.
Ulfat Umar Pasha al-Idlibi is a Syrian writer, born in 1912 in Damascus – Al-Salihiya neighborhood. She was the only daughter among five male siblings. Her father is Omar Pasha al-Adlibi, whose lineage goes back to an original Damascene family. And her mother, Najiba al-Dagestani, whose origin goes back to a Dagestani family. As for her grandfather, Muhammad al-Halabi, he lived in Dagestan until the Ottoman Sultan Mahmoud II exiled him and forced him to leave his homeland and settle in Syria.¹
At the age of nine, she contracted typhoid fever and suffered greatly from it. This caused her to fall behind a whole year in school. Then she joined Al-Afif School, which was near her house. Ulfat Idlibi’s talent emerged at a young age, as a result of her love for study and her excellence in it.
In 1927 she obtained her primary school certificate. She then moved to the Teachers’ House, a school that had a small number of male and female students in each class. She received her education there at the hands of distinguished teachers such as Sadiq al-Naqshbandi and Mohiuddin al-Safrajlani.
Ulfat loved literature from a young age, so much that one of her teachers predicted that she would become a writer, which turned out to be true. In addition to her excellence in school, she was an avid reader and was familiar with the books in her father’s library. After giving birth to her first child in 1932, she fell ill for a year, and during this period she resorted to reading in order to relieve her pain and illness.
She read books written by international and Arab authors, such as the works of Michael Naima, Gibran Khalil Gibran, Taha Hussein, and others. This contributed to the formation of her unique style of writing of stories and novels, which was distinctive and simple.
Ulfat Idlibi believed in literature as a means through which she could improve society. At a time when Damascus was suffering from the scourge of occupation and was witnessing the early stages of eradication of illiteracy. As love for science and learning about other cultures spread during that period. At that time, many great writers emerged, as did Ulfat Idlibi, with her stories, literary studies, and novels.
Al-Idlibi was affiliated with many charity and cultural societies, such as the Doha Society and the Nadwa Society. She even used to hold monthly seminars in her house, in which she gathered the writers of Damascus, including female writers, and intellectuals, to exchange opinions and ideas.²
She began creating her literary legacy by writing her first story in 1947, entitled “The Last Decision”. Subsequently, literary productions followed. After that, her literary productions continued, and in 1953 she published her second story, “The Harsh Lesson”. In addition, many other books, such as: “The Monoliths in Damascus”, the short story collection “The Devil Laughs”, and the novel “The Tale of My Grandfather”.
Ulfat Idlibi’s work later gained international fame and was published in other languages such as Italian, Spanish, German, and Russian.³ Some of her stories were also taught in many international universities.
In 1947, she won the British Broadcasting Corporation Award for Best Arabic Story for her collection of short stories, “Shamiya Stories.” The Egyptian magazine “Al-Risala” also published her story “The Harsh Lesson”.
Her work has won the approval of senior writers. Who testified to the ingenuity of Ulfat Idlibi. Among them was the Egyptian writer Muhammad al-Mandour, who said about her first collection of stories: “These stories are of a unique style and distinctive features.”
Writer Maroun Abboud also said about her: “I believe in individualism, and on this basis, I built my appreciation for her.”³
Ulfat was one of the first to carry the banner of feminism in Syria. And one of the few women who were able to demonstrate the high status of women in society. In addition to defending their right to education and work at that time. She believed that a woman is not only a mother, but that she can also dedicate herself to work, study, and love for science and literature.
She took great care to depict women’s feelings in a large part of her writings. This happened during the French occupation, such as “Damascus, the Smile of Sadness”, a novel on revolution, women, and society. Where she focused on women and their suffering. The hero of that story was a girl named Sabria, an educated, ambitious girl who suffered prejudice at the hands of her father and two brothers, at a time period that was unforgiving to women.
In 1992, the novel was turned into a series called “Basma Hazan”. In 2008, it was adapted into a movie with the same title, and they were a remarkable success at the time.⁴
Ulfat Idlibi said of women: “Aren’t women the true source of inspiration, the magic of passion, and the bliss of times?”
Ulfat Idlibi was one of the most distinguished women of the 1950s, and many great writers in Syria and Egypt have attested to her genius. She defended the rights of women in Syria and stressed the necessity of their participation in both education and the workforce.
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