From Judaism to Islam: Leopold Weiss to Muhammad Asad 3/4

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