When Dr. Taha Hussein published his famous book, On Pre-Islamic Poetry, the intellectual and literary arena erupted in unprecedented controversy. He shook cultural circles with his bold views, which questioned the authenticity of pre-Islamic poetry and considered the Holy Quran the most reliable source for understanding pre-Islamic Arab life. In this book, thinker Muhammad Farid Wajdi tackles this work with a careful critical reading, not based on emotion or attack, but rather on objective analysis and fairness. He presents Taha Hussein's ideas as they are, then discusses them clause by clause, revealing points of agreement and disagreement, and offering solid intellectual alternatives that demonstrate the depth and authenticity of the Arab character. This book places the reader in the midst of one of the fiercest intellectual battles in the history of modern Arabic literature, opening a door to understanding the dialectic between heritage and modernity, reason and text, and poetry and the Quran.

محمد فريد وجدي (1878–1954م) مفكر وكاتب مصري. كتب موسوعة «دائرة معارف القرن العشرين». اهتم بالدين والعلم والفلسفة. وكان من رموز الفكر النهضوي العربي.