I didn't make any money from my writing until much later. I published about 80 stories for nothing. I spent on literature.

Some suggestions for you :

I believe society has a right to defend itself, just as the individual has the right to attack that with which he disagrees.

We used the Western style to express our own themes and stories. But don't forget that our heritage includes The Thousand and One Nights.

I was a government employee in the morning and a writer in the evening.

The Arab world also won the Nobel with me. I believe that international doors have opened, and that from now on, literate people will consider Arab literature also. We deserve that recognition.

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

It is simply not part of my culture to preserve notes. I have never heard of a writer preserving his early drafts.

I was reading a lot of books I admired, and thought that I would like to write something like that someday.

I reject any path which rejects life, but I can't help loving Sufism because it sounds so beautiful. It gives relief in the midst of battle.

I accepted the interviews and encounters that had to be held with the media, but I would have preferred to work in peace.

An allegory is not meant to be taken literally. There is a great lack of comprehension on the part of some readers.

I've never worked in politics, never been a member of an official committee or a political party.

My countrymen have the right to shake my hand and talk to me if they so wish. Don't forget that their support and their reading of my works is what brought me the Nobel prize.

Insults are the business of the court.

There are no heroes in most of my stories. I look at our society with a critical eye and find nothing extraordinary in the people I see.