Cairo
Taha Husayn lost his sight as a small child in a village in Upper Egypt, studied at al-Azhar and in France, and became the most influential Arab writer of his…
Taha Husayn lost his sight as a small child in a village in Upper Egypt, studied at al-Azhar and in France, and became the most influential Arab writer of his time, known as the Dean of Arabic Literature. His autobiography al-Ayyam is still widely read, and as Minister of Education he championed free schooling. He passed away in 1973. His tomb is in the cemetery at the foot of al-Muqattam, a short walk from the Wafa'iyya and the mosque of Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari.