Muhammad Naguib — Yusuf al-Siba'i — Muhammad Taymur — Mustafa Amin

1 — Muhammad Naguib:

Muhammad Naguib did not appeal to me merely because he is the man of the hour, and because his name has lately been on every lip and tongue, and because he is the liberator of the Egyptian nation and its savior from an era of tyranny and despotism... Nor did Muhammad Naguib appeal to me because he is a seasoned statesman, an upright patriot devoted to his nation and his country, whom the Egyptian people entrusted with defending their rights and safeguarding their dignity and sovereignty, and who performed that duty in the best possible way...

I say Muhammad Naguib did not appeal to me only because he is this or that; rather, I loved Muhammad Naguib as a man — strong of personality without domineering or harshness, impos-ing of presence without stiffness or severity, spreading around him an air of gaiety, warmth, and affection... I felt a fearful awe before entering his presence, but no sooner had the sitting room gathered us in than my timidity and shyness fell away, that formality I had draped over myself left me, and I set off talking and talking — about Egypt, and the noble Egyptian people, and Egypt's precious,

priceless monuments, and the Lebanese people's love for Egypt and the Egyptians...

And he in turn spoke to me at length; the words flowed from between his lips free and unconstrained, sweet and grace-ful, and his face never ceased breaking into those broad smiles that radiated across it, lending his features an endearing color, close to the heart...

2 — Yusuf al-Siba'i:

On a lofty, towering hill over-looking broad, outspread Cairo, where the Egyptian Military Museum sits, I met Yusuf al-Siba'i... And I do not suppose any of us need ask who Yusuf al-Siba'i is... that storyteller of the atomic age, the storyteller of the twentieth century, who, though he has not yet passed his thirty-fifth year, has given the world twenty-six books, all of them successful works of fiction — among them the short story, keen in analysis, deep in meaning, splendid in imagery, and among them the full-length novel... Yusuf al-Siba'i is counted among the pioneers of the long Arabic novel, and the first who attempted to write it — and excelled... Two books, "I Am Departing" and "Among the Ruins," are counted among the most famous novels, able to stand side by side with the most famous novels of the world...

And Yusuf al-Siba'i writes only what he feels and senses; his story rests entirely upon an expe-rience that he himself, or someone else, has lived... Imagination has an ample share in his stories, yet it is a realistic, constructive imagination, one that makes you live the story you are reading and feel it in your own world and your own reality — not a story that carries you off into the seventh heaven till you forget the earth and everyone upon it...

And Yusuf al-Siba'i invites you to take lunch at his table and presses the invitation, so you

yield to his wish while nothing could please you more than to accept, eager as you are for more of his graceful conversation and his hospitable company.

At the table I met Bissa and Ismail and their mother... And only then did I feel that there is true happiness in this world of ours... Cheer, gaiety, and contentment looked out at you from every eye and every lip and tongue... Yusuf al-Siba'i talks to you beaming and joyful; his wife draws you into conversation and asks you about beautiful Lebanon, the smile radiating in the folds of her face and shining out of her eyes; and Bissa and Ismail... those two gentle lambs, sat beaming and happy, answering the visitors' questions with all the innocence, quickness, and ready wit their childhood holds...

And now, what shall I say of this ideal family... The mistress of the house is the most beautiful Egyptian lady I met there... and Bissa the most beautiful Egyptian girl