Shawqi Daif

Ahmad Shawqi Daif (Arabic: أحمد شوقي ضيف; January 13, 1910 – March 10, 2005) was an Arabic literary critic and historian. He is considered one of the most influential Arab intellectuals in the 20th century.^[1]

Daif was born in the village of Um Hamam in northern Egypt in 1910.^[1] He earned his BA and PhD from Fuad al-Awal University,^[1] which would later be known as Cairo University. He was later a professor of Arabic literature at his alma mater for several decades.^[1] He was a member of the Egyptian Academy of Sciences and was president of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo for a few years.^[1]