Mostafa Lotfi al-Manfalouti was born on December 30, 1872, in the city of Manfalout in Upper Egypt. Brought up in a family of Ulamas, he was motivated to finish his education at Al Azhar in Cairo. The first time he went to Cairo, he met Imam Muhammad Abdou and became his student.During that period, his literary talent became ripe. He began to write poetry at the age of 16, which made him the centre of attention. He was imprisoned, while still a student at Al Azhar, because he wrote a poem slandering Khedive Abbas II the then ruler of Egypt.

While spreading his ideas, Manfalouti relied heavily on essay-writing which he developed into a full art. Manfalouti gained more fame from his essays than from his novels.Moreover, he was a pioneer of the short story and novel writing in general. Manfalouti distinguished himself with:

First: Tenderness of feeling, which enabled him to visualize the miseries of society. He was known to be always seeking comfort for the miserable, the deprived and the bereaved.

Second: His ideal, moral inclination that was manifested in his call for righteousness, goodness and virtue.

Manfalouti's most important reformatory principles were:

1. Education.

2. Social justice

3. Authenticity and modernity.

4. A special view of art.

5. Women's rights.

6. Religious reform.