Muhammad Asad

Austrian-born Pakistani writer and social activist (1900–1992)

Person · Open Library

Born: 1900
Died: 1992
Works: 39

Top works

Islam and politics
Can the Qur'an be translated?
al-Islām ʻalā muftaraq al-ṭuruq
Beitrag zur Analyse des Wolframits
Beiträge zur Entwicklung der Myopie

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 4
Total plays: 6

via Last.fm · Muhammad Asad

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

via Crossref · CC0

Quotes

“It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree with my interpretations, even the classical Quran commentators disagreed on many details. Disagreement deepens our understanding of the Quran.”
“Jew or Arab. Both here are brimming over with an intolerant hatred that leads them nowhere. Each side says to the other: You do not belong here.”
“Some Muslim scholars argue that the concept of Democracy is not compatible with the concept of an Islamic state. But of course it is and the Quran outlines the essence of Democracy.”
“Islam appears to me like a perfect work of architecture. All its parts are harmoniously conceived to complement and support each other; nothing is superfluous and nothing lacking, with the result of an absolute balance and solid composure. Probably this feeling that everything in the teachings and postulates of Islam is "in its proper place" has created the strongest impression on me.”
“By imitating the manners and the mode of life of the West, the Muslims are being gradually forced to adopt the Western moral outlook: for the imitation of outward appearance leads, by degrees, to a corresponding assimilation of the world-view responsible for that appearance.”
“We allow ourselves to be blown by the winds because we do know what we want: our hearts know it, even if our thoughts are sometimes slow to follow- but in the end they do catch up with our hearts and then we think we have made a decision.”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Born: ( 1900-07-02 ) 2 July 1900, Lemberg , Austria-Hungary , (present-day Lviv , Ukraine )
Died: 20 February 1992 (1992-02-20) (aged 91), Mijas , Andalucia , Spain
Nationality: Austrian , Pakistani
Main interest s: Islamic studies , Islamic democracy , Muslim world , Quran
Notable idea s: Islamic state , Independent Reasoning
Notable work s: The Message of The Qur'an The Road to Mecca Islam at Crossroads This law of Ours
Alma mater: University of Vienna ( dropped out in 1920)
Occupation: Linguist , Academic, Traveler , Political Theorist , Historian
Religion: Islam
Denomination: Sunni

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Show 4 more facts

date of birth: 1900-07-02
date of death: 1992-02-20
Commons category: Muhammad Asad
Commons gallery: Muhammad Asad

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

1 object attributed to Muhammad Asad, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

Untitled

~19 min read

Article

Muhammad Asad (born Leopold Weiss; 2 July 1900 – 20 February 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).