- He was born in 1944 in Al Bihera, Egypt.
- He embarked on his writing career in the 1960s.
- There are key experiences in his life that are reflected in his writings, including: the village, teaching, military life, the armed forces and journalism.
- He is committed to shedding light on the lives of poor people inhabiting the Nile Delta in Upper Egypt, writing about them in his realistic literary works that are not devoid of dreams.
- He authored around 30 novels and short story collections.
- Some of his literary works have been translated into a number of languages including: Russian, English, French, Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.
- His works have been the subject of many master’s and doctoral theses in Arab Universities.
- A number of his literary works were adapted into notable films and TV series.
Important Works:
Novels
- “Al Bayat Al Shetwi” (Hibernation)
- “Yahdoth fee Misr Al Aan” (Taking Place in Egypt Now)
- “Al Harb fee Bar Misr” (War in the Egyptian Desert)
- “Al Quloob Al Bayda'” (White Hearts)
- “Waja’ Al Bi’aad” (The Pain of Being Away)
- “Balad Al Mahboob” (The Beloved’s Homeland)
- “Laban Al Asfoor” (The Impossible)
- “Atlal Al Nahar” ( The Ruins of the Day)
- “Al Hedad” (The Mourning)
- “Arbar wa Ishrun Sa’a Faqat” (Twenty Four Hours Only)
- “Qitar Al Sa’eed” (The Upper Egypt Train)
- “Qismat Al Ghurama'” (The Fate of Rivals)
- “Akhbar Izbat Al Meneisi” (News of Meneisi Farm)
- “Shakawi Al Masri Al Faseeh” (Complaints of the Eloquent Egyptian)
- “Ayyam Qaseera” (Short Days)
- “Ayam Al Jafaf” (Days of Drought)
- “Antar wa Abla” (Antar and Abla)
- “Fil Usboo’ Sab’at Ayyam” (Seven Days in a Week)
- “Man Yakhaf Camp David” (Who’s Afraid of Camp David)
- “Muraf’at Al Bulbul fil Qafas” (The Songbird’s Defense from the Cage)
Short Stories
- “Al Bukaa’ Al Mustaheel” (Impossible Crying)
- “Al Falahoon Yas’adoon Ela Al Sama'” (The Peasants Ascend to Heaven)
- “Man Yathkur Misr Al Ukhra” (Who Remembers the Other Egypt)
- “Tarh Al Bahr” (What the Sea Brings)
- “Hikayat Al Zaman Al Jareeh” (Tales of the Wounded Time)
- “Tajfeef Al Dumoo'” (Drying the Tears)
- “Al Dihk lam ya’od mumkinan” (Laughing Is No Longer Possible)
- “Qisas min Bilad Al Fuqara'” (Stories from the Land of the Poor)