Historical Figure
Naguib Mahfouz
1911–2006
Egyptian writer (1911–2006)
Talk to Naguib Mahfouz
Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI
Biography
Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described him as a writer "who, through works rich in nuance – now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous – has formed an Egyptian narrative art that applies to all mankind".
In Their Own Words (5)
God did not intend religion to be an exercise club.
Attributed to Naguib Mahfouz in: Thorntize (2009) The Handbook of Wisdom and Delight. p. 121 , 2009
What hopeless wretches we are. Our country is pitiful and so are the people. Why is it that the only time we find a little happiness is when the world is involved in a bloody war? Surely it's only the devil who has pity on us in this world.
Page 247 , 1947
Satan finds the doors of youth an easy entrance and he slips in both secretly and openly to spread his havoc. We should do all we can do to prevent the doors of youth opening to him and keep them tightly closed. Just think of elderly men to whom age has given the keys of respectability. What would be the situation if we were to see them deliberately opening these doors and calling out in invitation to the devil?
Page 94 , 1947
He was, in fact, a veritable crouching tiger, willing to cringe and fawn until he mastered his adversary, and woe to anyone he did master! Experience had taught him that this gentleman and others like him were enemies with whom must be friendly. They were, as he put it, useful devils.
Page 66 , 1947
Kirsha thought of Hitler as the world's greatest bully; indeed his admiration for him stemmed from what he heard of his cruelty and barbarity. He wished him success, viewing him like those mythical bravados of literature Antar and Abu Zaid.
Page 152 , 1947
Timeline
The story of Naguib Mahfouz, told in moments.
Completes the Cairo Trilogy. Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street. Three generations of a Cairo family across three decades of Egyptian history. It takes him seven years. When it's done, the Arabic novel has a new standard.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The first Arabic-language writer to receive it. He's 76, still publishing, still sitting in the same Cairo cafe every week. He gives his acceptance speech by video because he doesn't travel.
Stabbed in the neck by an Islamist militant outside his home. He'd supported the Camp David Accords and written allegorical novels that offended fundamentalists. He survives but loses the use of his right hand. He dictates his remaining works.
Dies in Cairo at 94. He'd published 34 novels, over 350 short stories, and dozens of screenplays. He never moved from Cairo. The city returned the favor. Every alley he described is still there.
More from the Modern
Explore what happened on the days that shaped Naguib Mahfouz's life. Today In History connects historical figures with the events, births, and deaths that defined their era. Browse all historical figures or explore today's events.