Muhammad Asad

Muhammad Asad, }}}} (born Leopold Weiss; 2 July 1900 – 20 February 1992) was an Austro-Hungarian 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).

During his stay in Saudi Arabia, he spent time with Bedouins and enjoyed the close company of the state's founder, Ibn Saud. He also carried out a secret mission for Ibn Saud to trace the sources of funding for the Ikhwan Revolt. Due to these activities, he was dubbed in a Haaretz article as "Leopold of Arabia"—hinting similarity of his activities to those of Lawrence of Arabia. On his visit to India, Asad became friends with the Muslim poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, who persuaded him to abandon his eastward travels and "help elucidate the intellectual premises of the future Islamic state". He also spent five years in internment by the British government at the outbreak of World War II. On 14 August 1947, Asad received Pakistani citizenship and later served in several bureaucratic and diplomatic positions including the Director of Department of Islamic Reconstruction, Deputy Secretary (Middle East Division) in the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan, and Pakistan's envoy to the United Nations.

In the West, Asad rose to prominence as a writer with his best-selling autobiography, ''The Road to Mecca''. Later, after seventeen years of scholarly research, he published his magnum opus: ''The Message of the Qur'an''—an English translation and commentary of the Quran. The book, along with the translations of Pickthall and Yusuf Ali, is regarded as one of the most influential translations of the modern era. An ardent proponent of rationality in interpreting religious texts, he dedicated his works "to People who Think". Other notable of his works include: "Islam at Crossroads" (1934) and "This law of Ours and other essays" (1987).

In 2008, the entrance square to the UN Office in Vienna was named ''Muhammad Asad Platz'' in commemoration of his work as a "religious bridge-builder". Asad has been described by his biographers as "Europe's gift to Islam" and "a Mediator between Islam and the West". Provided by Wikipedia