Abbas Mahmoud Al-Aqqad is one of the giants and the pillars of intellect of the 20th century renaissance. He fought many battles in defense of freedom of thought and the liberation of the homeland. He lived for more than 80 years enriching cultural, social, and political life in Egypt. He is considered as a unique encyclopedic figure and an educated individual. He was an avid reader, he used to read in different fields of knowledge, and he wrote in various spheres, distinguishing himself as a writer, thinker, poet, historian, journalist, translator and philosopher.

The Egyptian writer enriched the Arab Library with 102 books on different topics including history, philosophy, poetry, literature, political, geniuses, biographies and memoirs (autobiographies)-besides translated books from the English language.

Al-Aqqad was born on Friday, June 28 1889 to a father, an archivist, in the city of Aswan, Upper Egypt. In 1896 and at the age of six he started his first educational lessons in the kuttab (or the pre-elementary education) which prevailed in Egypt and the orient during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, teaching children the Holy Quran and the Arabic language. By 1899 Al-Aqqad joined the elementary school for 4 years. He then decided to teach himself by widely reading and exploring all sorts and branches of knowledge, realizing great accomplishments as a tactful interlocutor, a cogent and eloquent person to finally become an example and idol for Arab intellectuals

In his early years, he assumed different governmental employments in different cities, but he used to frequently travel to Cairo to keep himself updated with the advancements in literature and obtain all modern books. In 1906, he settled in Cairo, resigning from his governmental posts, to devote himself to journalism and writing.

Aqqad: An innovator a man of letters
As he had fought political battles, Al Aqqad had literary battles to fight during the early years of the twentieth century when there were attempts to complete the various aspects of the Egyptian renaissance. His literary troubles started in 1944, and they were mostly concerned with poetry. The main conflict was between imitation and innovation. Thus, more than any other thinker or contemporary writer, his name was linked to battle after battle , whether in politics or in literature. Aqqad wrote in different aspects of literature, he composed 11 Diwans (collections of poems), the first entitled "Yaqazat al-Sabah" or "morning awakening" "Bits and Pieces" and "Shazarat", he is considered as a pioneer innovator in Arabic poetry.

According to Aqqad, poetry is a rational feeling which comprehensively interprets emotions, he believed that the poet who can not be identified through his poetry is not worthy of being known, he always stressed the value of the poets individuality. He had interest in stories but not as much as poetry, he wrote but one story called "Sarah", in 1938.It relates a personal experience in his life with the only woman he loved. His views of women were those of respect and appreciation, and were included in three books in which he demanded the full participation of women in building the society.

Critics illustrated that the style of Aqqad is a top-level and scientific one, and some considered the issues raised thereby as symbolizing the Egyptian conscience - his emotions, morals and knighthood.

Aqqad was specially concerned about literary studies, and if we only mention his book on "Ibn Alroumy" the Arab poet in which he exposed the innermost of the poet, his life and his proficiency, one can only perceive in these studies genuine opinion, compact evaluation and skillful analysis. Aqqad believed in the liberty of criticism and consequently the liberty of mind as towards the evaluation of literature - hence the singularity of Aqqad's literary criticism through which he influenced fine arts; he even had impact on the literary trends which were to crystallize and appear later on. The vigorous, frank and knowledgeable critiques of Aqqad invited for the breaking out of literary contentions of great interest to his readers.


Aqqad's Literary Contentions:
The early 20th century was characterized by incessant attempts to integrate the different aspects of the Egyptian renaissance by shaping the national consciousness and thought a process which led to several literary and intellectual contentions, with Aqqad playing therein greater role, giving his individuality and his rejection of all constraints. Aqqad's critical contentions started in 1914, often focusing on poetry; they were engaged with Al-Rafie and Shawki. The core of these contentions focused on the choice between the old and the modern or tradition and renovation. Therefore, Aqqad's name was identified in his readers' minds with a knight who comes out of a fight only to launch another.

He is almost the sole writer in contemporary Arabic thought who engaged violent contentions characterized by the almost vigor and challenge as a result of the then political conflicts. If Aqqad was famous for stern logic, shrewd thought and rough ways in his life and writings, yet his rich, emotional, sensible, and universe-human contemplating literature will always stand as a symbol for tenderness and kindness towards inherent human weakness.

Aqqad: The Philosopher
Aqqad, the giant of literature was an equally giant thinker and philosopher, a liberal thinker in the true political and human sense of liberty whose treatments and handlings were marked by the desire to upgrade human liberty. Aqqad did not confine himself to the philosophic method in order to search for the truth, and, despite the fact that he had studied the philosophic doctrines, he strived not to be dominated by any specific one, because he had his own philosophy which depended on the reasoning, the senses and spiritual consciousness, all in an integrated pattern which he called the "Universal Consciousness". In 1916, he wrote a book "A compound of the living" which deals with both good and evil.


Aqqad's works:
* In Poetry:
11 books, the first was
"The morning awakening" in 1916.

* In Literature, history and society :
19 books including;
Eblees or the Devil in 1958
Sarrah in 1938

* In Criticism:
11 books including
Introduction to Shakespeare 1958
Poetic language 1958

* In Translation:
2 books , one of them,
"Types of American short stories"

* In Memories:
"The Diary Resume" 1921
"The Diaries"1963

* In Philosophy:
The most prominent:
Allah or "God" 1947

* In Politics:
9 books including:
"Nazism and Religions"
"Hitler in the Balance"

* The Geniuses:
14 books including:
"The Genius of the Prophet Mohammed"
"The Genius of the Jesus Christ"

* In Islamics :
"The Arab Impact on European Civilization 1942"
"Thought on Islamic Duty"

* Biographies :
15 books including;
Saad Zaghloul 1936
Al Faraby 1944
Francis Beckon 1945
Benjamin Franklin 1959.