Sherei was born blind on 16 April 1948 in the village of Samalot, 25 km from Minya in Upper Egypt, to a large family of Al Shereis. His father was the mayor of the village. His paternal grandfather was Muhammad Pasha Al Sherei, a member of the parliament of Egypt during king Fouad I's reign, and his maternal grandfather was Mourad Al Sherei who was one of the companions of Saad Zaghloul during the revolution of 1919. His eldest brother, Muhammad Ali Muhammad Al Sherei, was the Egyptian ambassador to Australia. His family moved to Cairo when he was five years-old. There he attended the Demonstration Centre for the Rehabilitation and Training of the Blind (DCRTB). He studied the English language and Literature at the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University and graduated in 1970. He continued his studies in the US and in Britain. He attended the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also received three PhDs, including one from the Sorbonne in France.