Naguib Mahfouz

Egyptian writer (1901_2006)

Fame83.0
Momentum15.2
Egypt rank#1

Source-basedRising

Fame83.0
Momentum15.2
Egypt rank#1
Writers rank#45
Wikipedia25.1K

Lived 1911–2006, aged 95Egypt

Egypt WritersWriter / Author

Wikipedia
148 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Egypt
#1
Writers
Era
1911–2006
Aged 95
Known for
Midaq Alley
1995

Summary

Updated 2026-09-01

He put Egyptian fiction on the world map and became the only Egyptian Nobel laureate in literature — a 70-year output of 35 novels, over 350 stories, and screenplays that made him one of the most adapted authors in Egypt's history.

Biography

About

Born in Cairo in December 1911, Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha began publishing in the 1930s and spent seven decades writing novels, short stories, screenplays, plays, and op-ed columns. Alongside Taha Hussein, he was among the first Egyptian writers to wrestle with existentialism, threading those themes through realist narratives always set in Egypt and often centered on "the lane" as a microcosm of the wider world. The Cairo Trilogy and Children of Gebelawi became his signature works, and many found second lives as films. In 1988 the Swedish Academy awarded him the Nobel Pri…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Naguib Mahfouz

Naguib Mahfouz

said1996

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

— Cited in: Michael J. Gelb (1996) Thinking for a change: discovering the power to create, communicate and lead. p. 96

Naguib Mahfouz

said1957

It was amazing that in this country where people allowed emotion to guide their politics they approached love with the precision of accountants.

— Mahfouz (1957) Sugar Street

Naguib Mahfouz

said1939

Sire, after you, no one from your seed shall sit upon the throne of Egypt.

— The seer's message to the king

Naguib Mahfouz

said1939

Monra recited this prayer with an unsteady voice. His eyes flowed with hot tears that trickled down his thin and drawn cheeks.

— Khufu's Wisdom (1939)

Naguib Mahfouz

said1939

My lord, our immortal philosopher Kagemni, vizier to King Huni, says that patience is man's refuge in times of despair, and his armor against misfortunes.

— Khufu's Wisdom (1939)

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Gallery