Gift for Muslims: Islamic Studies Curriculum

About the author

Muhammad Asad: Muhammad Asad rahimahullah (born Leopold Weiss; 2 July 1900 - 20 February 1992) was an Austro-Hungarian journalist, traveler, writer, linguist, political theorist, diplomat, and Islamic scholar, widely regarded as one of the most influential European Muslims of the 20th century. Born in what is now Lviv, Ukraine, into a Jewish family with a long rabbinical lineage, he displayed extraordinary linguistic aptitude from childhood: by age thirteen he had acquired Hebrew and Aramaic alongside his native German and Polish, and by his mid-twenties could also read and write English, French, Persian, and Arabic. Traveling to Palestine as a journalist, he engaged critically with the Zionist movement and its leaders. He later journeyed extensively across the Arab world and embraced Islam, taking the name Muhammad Asad. During his years in the Arabian Peninsula he spent time among Bedouin tribes and in the company of Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. He subsequently served as Pakistan's representative in international diplomatic contexts, including at the United Nations. Muhammad Asad is perhaps best known for two landmark works: his autobiographical account of his journey to Islam, 'The Road to Makka,' and his monumental Qur'anic translation and commentary, 'The Message of the Qur'an.'