Adil Najam
I am most pleasantly surprised that readers have so quickly figured out the mystery man in our latest ATP Quiz. Since they have, let me add a little more information and let the discussion continue.
I am not sure, however, how many readers know of Muhammad Asad or of his connection to Pakistan. Let me confess that until fairly recently I did not; at least not of the Pakistan connection. As I have gotten to know more about this connection, I have gotten more and more intrigued - all the more so because there is relatively little in his own writings or that of others about this.
But lets start from the beginning.
Asad was born in 1900 as Leopold Weiss to Jewish parents in Lvov (then part of the Habsburg Empire, now in Ukraine). He moved to Berlin in 1920 to become a journalist and traveled to Palestine in 1922. It was there that he first came into contact with Arabs and Muslims and began a long journey into Muslim lands and minds that eventually led to his embracing Islam in 1926. His bestselling autobiography Road to Mecca (published 1954) recounts these years in vivid and captivating detail., including his adventures in Arabia and in working with King Ibn Saud and the Grand Sanusi, amongst others.
Later in his life, after retiring in Spain, he spent 17 years working on an English translation of the Quran which was first published in 1980. Many consider this to be one of the finest English translation of the Quran - some argue this is because he himself was fluent in bedouin Arabic which is closest to the Arabic in the Quran, others suggest that since he was himself a European and wrote in more understandable idiomatic English his translation is most accessible to non-Arabic speakers.
As a lay-reader who ver the years has read a number of English translations, including his, I do find Asad’s translation - The Message of the Quran - to be easier to read than those by Abdullah Yusuf Ali or Marmaduke Pickthall which are amore formal and literal translations. Unlike the translations by Prof. Ahmed Ali (my particular favorite) and by Thomas Cleary which are also in contemporary idiom and very readable, the Mohammad Asad translation has the added virtue of also having commentary and explanations, and the new edition is wonderfully presented, printed in the highest quality, and with tasteful calligraphy. All in all, Mohammad Asad’s The Message of the Quran is the translation that I now recommend to friends, Muslims as well as non-Muslims.
But I digress. Much as I like Muhammad Asad’s translation of the Quran and especially in its new printing, that is not the subject of this post. The subject of the post is his ‘Pakistani connection’ and also why we do not find much about that connection in his writings. Here is what we know.
By the early 1930s Asad had gotten rather disenchanted by King Ibn Saud and his religious advisors (see Road to Mecca) and had begun travelling Eastwards into other Muslim lands. This brought him to British India and there he met and became a good friend of Dr. Mohammad Iqbal. Indeed, Iqbal encouraged him to write his book Islam at the Crossroads (published 1934); whose cover has the following testimonial from Iqbal:
“I have no doubt that coming as it does from a highly cultured European convert to Islam, it will prove an eye-opener to our younger generation.” Muhammad Iqbal.
During World War II imprisoned him in a camp for enemy aliens (because of his Austrian nationality) while his father was interned by the Nazis because he was Jewish. After the War he fervently threw his all behind the demand for Pakistan. Upon the creation of Pakistan, he saw himself very much a ‘Pakistani’ as did those he worked with (reportedly even took to wearing the achkan). In 1947 he became the director of the Department of Islamic Reconstruction in West Pakistan and worked on a treatise with ideas for the Constitution of Pakistan. Many of these ideas (which were mostly related to creating a multi-party parliamentary democracy) were reproduced in his later books but he was not very successful in getting them implemented.
In 1949 Asad joined the Pakistan Foreign Ministry as head of the Middle East Division and eventually in 1952 came to New York as Pakistan’s representative to the United Nations. Here he met the woman who would become the last of his wifes (Pola Hamida). Whether it was the fact that he married her and divorced his earlier wife or the messiness of Pakistani politics, it was in this period that he fell out with the powers in Pakistan and resigned from the Foreign Ministry. He decided to stay on in New York to write Road to Mecca, which became a major success. He never really returned to Pakistan (although, supposedly, Gen. Zia ul Haq tried to get him back) and died in Europe in 1992.
It was his estrangement with the Pakistan government that pushed him back into writing and produced two amazing works - Road to Mecca and The Message of the Quran. However, here once again is a story of one who wished to give his all to Pakistan and we did not let him.
Salam Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am a big fan of Allama Muhammad Asad. His The Road to Mecca was amazing writing I have ever read. I read it many times. Each time I read I discover new things new thought and new teachings. His philosophy, workings and thoughts are definitely asset of Islam. However, muslim scholars and muslim rarely remeber him. In some places Muhammad asad is like taboo. Believe me. In my opinion he is the greatest of All scholars in all ages of islam. Anyway, anyone give me any clue about the documentary on him shown in BBC?
I was talking to someone at work today about Asad and this post and she mentioned that there was a documentary on him shown on BBC some years ago. Does anyone know about that or have access to it?
Can i find these books by Asad online for download. Can someone point me to a resource?
On ATP reccomendation I had ordered copies of Muhammad Asad’s translation of the Quran and of his ‘Road to Mecca’ on Monday. Today I recieved both from Amazon. I have not yet read them of course but just a few immediate reactions. Just the photographs in ‘Road to Mecca’ and also the first 4-5 pages that I read are very emotional and draws me in immediately. On the Quran translation, I will start reading it soon but right now its printing and presentation is very beautiful and I know this will become something that I will get more copies of to gift to other people.
Thank you so much for recommending these.
BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN IR RAHEEM
I respect the ATP moderators effort to keep the discussion decent and on topic. I also understand that this is not the place for “broad theological discussions” since this is not a religious site. I am also worried that some brothers forget that we do not have to prove what is wrong with other religions in order to have faith in Islam.
But I hope that ATP moderators will not cut off the discussion of what led Allama Asad to become a Muslim.
If the word ‘revert’ offends some people, then I will not use it although it is the usual word used. The point of this essay I think is that we should try to learn from his example about what he saw in Islam that attracted him to it. This is not about what he was lacking in his his own faith, but what he saw as attractive in Islam.
I think he wanted from Pakistan the same thing he wanted from Islam. A foundation for a just and equitable world. His translation of the Holy Koran is often called a ‘modern’ translation because he is not stuck in taqleed, instead he is about ijtehad and understanding the teachings of Islam in modern environment.
He joined the Pakistan movement because he wanted this country to become the place where a revitalized and modern Islamic thought would prosper. But as others have said, for him the foundations of this was always Islam and the teachings of the Holy Koran.
I hope ATP moderators have no objection to this discussion.
Jazakallah khairan
but Admin this Asad sahab was a convert so asusual it raises questions among others that why did he choose Islam over Judaism.
What I think that we born muslims are not right candidate to ask, “Is Islam good?” because majority of us would say ‘Yes’, intentially or unintentially. Same goes with followers of other religions as well. I have a very good Aussie Christian friend who belongs to my community[I.T] and he has a good knowledge of Christianity. We often discuss about conflicts between 2 great religions and despite of he does admit about the loophole introduced later in orignal teachings, he still says that His religion is true rest are not.
There are books available in market in which new converts talks about why did they accept Islam. Asking us about our religion is like somebody ask a “Phal wala” about quality of his fruits. Offcourse he wouldn’t call it bad. God gave you sense to taste fruit yourself and reach to some conclusion. As Alvi said, go thru the orignal texts and decide yourself what you think about it. Don’t criticize a religion due to its followers because followers could distract from orignal path. It’s like I start giving bad names to MIT just because a bunch of students didn’t perform well.
Once again we remind people to remain on topic and respect ATP comment policy. There are plenty of other more appropriate forums for broad theological discussions, and this is not one of them.
“Ostracization is a form of persecution and harassment.”
JJ: You are right. That is why Islam is against the ‘Caste System’ prevalent in certain religions and societies. On its part Islam stands for equality of all mankind at birth. In Islam every human being is born innocent and free of sin. All human beings are equal in the eyes of God. No one is ‘Son of God’ and no one is born from the ‘Head of God’ or for that matter from the ‘Feet of God’. No one is born ‘Untouchable’. No body is superior or inferior by birth. That is the beauty of Islam that has attracted millions of those out-casted by the others into its folds. Islam does not discriminate against people. Islam does not out-caste but rather accepts the outcasts into its ranks. However Muslims do shun away from those who leave Islam for other religions. But that is neither ‘ostracization’ nor ‘persecution’ nor ‘harassment’. Association is a personal choice. There are no untouchables in Islam. Fear not my friend. Study Islam. It is a beautiful religion. You may like it after all.