Al-Sha’rawi

About Scholar

Muhammad Metwalli al-Sha’rawi was born on April 15, 1911, in the village of Daqadus, Mit Ghamr, Ad Daqahliyah, Egypt. In 1916, at five years old, he joined a Zagazig elementary institution. By the age of 11, he had completely memorised the Quran. In 1923, he earned his elementary certificate, joining the secondary institution afterward. During this time, his interest in poetry and literature had grown and he went on to be elected leader of the Student Union at the institution.

A turning point in his life, when his father sent him, paying for his living expenses, to further his education in Al-Azhar, Cairo. Al-Sha’rawi wanted to stay with his brothers to cultivate land. Trying to avoid going to Cairo he placed what seemed an impossible condition. The condition was for his father to buy him a number of books related to heritage, language and Quran science. But his father caught on to that trick, and bought him all requested material, saying “I know my son that all of these books are not prescribed to you, but I preferred to buy in order to provide you the draws of the science.”^[2][3]

In 1937, he joined the College of Arabic Language and became active in the nationalist movement and Al-Azhar movement, participating in the anti-colonial rallies and related gatherings. He graduated from Faculty of Arabic language, Al-Azhar University in 1941.^[4]

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