Born in Alexandria, Gaweesh was a reformist who believed that a nation's revival is based on education. He therefore wrote extensively on the subject.

The Gaweesh family lived off trade. Gaweesh memorized the Quran but later pursued a formal education. After his father failed to convince him into joining the family business, he traveled to Cairo and in 1892 enrolled in Al-Azhar. 16 at the time, he could not survive the rigors of religious education. He left Al-Azhar to join Dar al-Ollum from where he graduated in 1897.

After graduation, he worked at the School of Agriculture and was chosen for a scholarship in England's Borough Road University where he studied modern methods of education. Back in Egypt in 1901, he worked as a Ministry of Education Inspector. Later he returned to England to work as professor of Arabic Language at Oxford. During his stay there, he was chosen to attend a Conference on Orientalism held in Algeria in 1905. Back from England, he again worked as a Ministry of Education Inspector. In 1908, he became editor-in-chief of al-Lew'a newspaper.

In 1912, he immigrated to Turkey to avoid being harassed by the British Authorities. Once there, he established the newspaper the Ottoman Crescent. Following Turkey's defeat in WWI, Gaweesh traveled to Germany, where he defended Egypt's causes and established an Islamic magazine.

In 1922, with Egypt having acceded to independence, he was prevented by the British Authorities from returning to his home country. In 1923, however, he sneaked his way back in.

To Gaweesh goes the credit for the inception of preparatory education. He called for nursery schools to be established. His reforms extended to cover Al-Azhar education. Improving women's condition was also at the center of his attention. Gaweesh opposed Egyptian marrying non-Egyptian women.