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Muhammad Asad's name figures prominently on the roll of 20th-century English-language Muslim thinkers. Born as Leopold Weiss into a Polish family of strong Jewish background, he was a gifted young writer and adventurous traveler who journeyed to the East to discover Islam. The result of his travels is a highly charged and brilliantly written autobiography, The Road to Mecca. He found the Muslim world an unexpected tonic: its complexities, temperament and sense of spiritual security intrigued him. Over the decades that followed, he became the most articulate and passionate of Muslim scholars and writers, devoted to the revival of his faith and its reconciliation with the modern world.He had also undertaken a translation of Sahih al-Bukhari, the collected books of Prophetic traditions, but all his translations except one were destroyed during the chaos that followed World War II.
At 80, he completed his translation and commentary of the Qur'an, The Message of the Qur'an.
The Message of the Qur'an is widely recognised as among the best English translations and commentaries of the Qur'an and comparable to the famous works of Pickthall, Yusuf Ali and Daryabadi. His rendering is simple and straightforward. Although widely known as a proponent of conservative Islam, his translation departs from the traditional exegetic approaches and reflects his deep knowledge of Jewish and Christian scriptures.
Asad's work however is difficult to obtain and expensive. The work is published in a bulky format, and is hindered by the use of small typeface. In the last three years, Islamic Book Trust began the task of re-issuing this important work in a new and attractive typeset and beautifully bound. It also boasts of a comprehensive index and uses the standard Uthmani Qur'anic script
Muhammad Asad's name figures prominently on the roll of 20th-century English-language Muslim thinkers. Born as Leopold Weiss into a Polish family of strong Jewish background, he was a gifted young writer and adventurous traveler who journeyed to the East to discover Islam. The result of his travels is a highly charged and brilliantly written autobiography, The Road to Mecca. He found the Muslim world an unexpected tonic: its complexities, temperament and sense of spiritual security intrigued him. Over the decades that followed, he became the most articulate and passionate of Muslim scholars and writers, devoted to the revival of his faith and its reconciliation with the modern world.He had also undertaken a translation of Sahih al-Bukhari, the collected books of Prophetic traditions, but all his translations except one were destroyed during the chaos that followed World War II.
At 80, he completed his translation and commentary of the Qur'an, The Message of the Qur'an.
The Message of the Qur'an is widely recognised as among the best English translations and commentaries of the Qur'an and comparable to the famous works of Pickthall, Yusuf Ali and Daryabadi. His rendering is simple and straightforward. Although widely known as a proponent of conservative Islam, his translation departs from the traditional exegetic approaches and reflects his deep knowledge of Jewish and Christian scriptures.
Asad's work however is difficult to obtain and expensive. The work is published in a bulky format, and is hindered by the use of small typeface. In the last three years, Islamic Book Trust began the task of re-issuing this important work in a new and attractive typeset and beautifully bound. It also boasts of a comprehensive index and uses the standard Uthmani Qur'anic script
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Who is Leopold Weiss?Muhammad Asad (born Leopold Weiss; 12 July 1900-20 February 1992) was a Jewish-born Austro-Hungarian Muslim journalist. He was a traveler, writer, linguist, thinker, political theorist, diplomat and Islamic scholar. Asad was one of the most
influential European Muslims of the 20th century.
Who is Muhammad Asad?Muhammad Asad (born Leopold Weiss; 1900-1992) was an Austro-Hungarian Pakistani Muslim convert and polymath, born in modern day Ukraine. He worked as a journalist, traveler, writer, political theorist, and diplomat. Born to a Jewish family, Weiss had
acquired a passing fluency in Hebrew and Aramaic by age 13, in addition to his native German and Polish languages. By his mid-twenties, he could read and write in English, French, Persian and Arabic. In Mandatory Palestine, Weiss engaged in arguments with Zionist leaders like Chaim Weizmann, voicing his reservations about some aspects of the Zionist Movement. After traveling across the Arab World as a journalist, he converted to Sunni Islam in 1926 and adopted the name "Muhammad Asad". Asad being the Arabic rendition of his root name Leo (Lion).
What is Judaism?Judaism encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people. Judaism is a monotheistic religion, with the Torah as its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible), and supplemental
oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship that God established with the Children of Israel.
Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Within Judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism, which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah.
The Jews are an ethnoreligious group and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2012, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14 million, or roughly 0.2% of the total world population. About 42% of all Jews reside in Israel and about 42% reside in the United States and Canada, with most of the remainder living in Europe.
What is Islam?One of the major religions of the world, Islam literally translates to "submission," as a follower of Islam (Muslims) devotes their life to that of their God. The religion began with the teachings of Muhammad in the 7th century. The theology of Islam
is based on the Qur'an, which was given to Muhammad by God. Some of the major fundamental principles of Islam include the Five Pillars, which hope to unite all Muslims into a community. Two different factions of Muslims exist - the majority are known as Sunni, with a small percentage known as Shi'a - both predominantly reside throughout the Middle East.
Muhammad died in 632 AD and the religion of Islam formally started after his death. The Quran was formally compiled and finalised in 650 AD, prior to which it was 'memorised' and written across many parchments.
