Shawqi Daif

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

Daif was born in the village of Um Hamam in northern Egypt in 1910. He earned his BA and PhD from Fuad al-Awal University, which would later be known as Cairo University. He was later a professor of Arabic literature at his alma mater for several decades. 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.