‘Abd al Salām Al-‘Ujaylī was one of the most productive and versatile literary figures in twentieth century Syria. His experiences both as a medical doctor and a politician fed into his fictional output, which is most often characterized as realism. Al-‘Ujaylī is considered one of the earliest writers of fiction in Syria. Among his over forty publications are novels, poetry collections, theatre plays, travelogues, essays and auto-biographies. His preferred genre however remained the short story.