Qisas min al-Hayah - Shaykh Ali al-Tantawi

This book “Stories from Life” was written by Sheikh Ali At-Tantawi and published in 1959. It is a collection of twenty-seven short stories, the majority of which were written in the period between the mid-thirties and mid-forties.

These are stories from life, so named by their author because they were written by life. Does life make up stories?

The majority of the stories in this collection are brief. Except for one that exceeds thirty pages, they barely exceed ten pages in length, and many of them are within the limits of five or six pages. This is true in terms of form, but in terms of content, the majority of them deal with social or ethical issues.

They are true-life stories. The writer is the nation’s mirror and its expression tool, revealing what is hidden in its people’s hearts, and every nation has advantages and disadvantages.