The celebrated Egyptian and encyclopaedic authority. Shaikh Shakir was the man who achieved enviable fame and recognition as the foremost litterateur of the Arab world, who showed his grit and determination early in life as an undergraduate, when he challenged Taha Hussain (d 1973), the doyen of modernist/apologists dominating the intellectual scene. Since then the pivotal aim of his life was to do battle with his pen and intellect - personifying the concept of jihad bil qalam - in defence of his faith and conviction. On the basis of his extensive knowledge and research, Shaikh Shakir maintained that modern learning is but a continuation of the Islamic civilisation at its zenith. The articles dealing with these aspects appeared in the collection, Abateel wa Asmar (Funny and untrue tales). The other famous works included Tariq il-a Thaqfatina (The road to our culture) During the hard times faced by the Ikhwan al Muslimoon (Muslim Brotherhood) in Egypt, Shaikh Shakir's defence of Islam brought him into conflict with the Egyptian regime; he suffered imprisonment. Shaikh Shakir received the King Faisal International prize in the field of literature in 1984. Shaikh al-Muhaqqiqeen (the dean of verifiers) was born in Alexandria.