THE TAFSÔR OF MUHAMMAD ASAD

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF HIS METHODOLOGY

BY

MAZIAH MAHMUD

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

MALAYSIA

2007
 THE TAFSÔR OF MUHAMMAD ASAD
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF HIS METHODOLOGY

BY

MAZIAH BINTI MAHMUD

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirement for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed
Knowledge and Heritage (Qur’Én and Sunnah Studies)

Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and

Human Sciences
International Islamic University
Malaysia

JUNE 2007
 ABSTRACT

Muhammad Asad is a well-known scholar whose main contribution is in the field of

tafsÊr. The Message of the Qur’Én represents his contribution towards that end. This
research attempts to examine and explain all the components of the methodology
applied by Muhammad Asad in his tafsÊr. These components as identified by the
researcher are: (1) The Qur’Én Interprets the Qur’Én, (2) Interpretation by Highly
Authentic AÍÉdÊth, (3) Identification of the Central Theme of SËrah, (4) Condensation
of the Contents of SËrah, (5) Utilization of Some Selected TafsÊr Works, (6)
Deliberation over the Semantic Dimension of Words and Phrases, (7) Re-examination
of the Value of the Reports on AsbÉb al-NuzËl, (8) Meccan and Medinan Revelations,
and (9) Illustration from Judeo-Christian Sources. Some of these methods are
traditional and some are novel. Muhammad Asad has thus made an enviably beautiful
fusion of old as well as new techniques in unfolding the messages of the Revelation
from on high. Muhammad Asad’s biographical sketch also forms a part of the thesis.
Other major issues discussed in the thesis comprise the basic features of The Message
of the Qur’Én, and its contemporary relevance.

ii
 ‫ﺨﺺ اﻟﺒﺤﺚ‬
‫ﻣﻠ ّ‬

‫ﻳﻌﺘﺒﺮ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ أﺳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﻠﻤﺎء اﻟﺒﺎرزﻳﻦ اﻟﺬﻳﻦ ﺳﺎهﻤﻮا ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻣﻠﺤﻮظ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎل اﻟﺘﻔﺴﻴﺮ ﻣﺘﻤﺜﻼ ﻓﻲ‬
‫ﺗﺄﻟﻴﻔﻪ آﺘﺎب ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن اﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ ﺑﻌﻨﻮان "اﻟﺮﺳﺎﻟﺔ اﻟﻘﺮﺁﻧﻴﺔ"‪ .‬ﻳﺘﻨﺎول هﺬا اﻟﺒﺤﺚ دراﺳﺔ ﺗﺤﻠﻴﻠﻴﺔ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻌﻨﺎﺻﺮاﻟﻤﻨﻬﺠﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ اﺳﺘﺨﺪﻣﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮﻩ‪ .‬هﺬﻩ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻﺮ اﻟﻤﻨﻬﺠﻴﺔ آﻤﺎ ﺣﺪدﺗﻬﺎ اﻟﺒﺎﺣﺜﺔ ﺗﺸﺘﻤﻞ‬
‫اﻵﺗﻲ‪ (1) :‬ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن ﺑﺎﻟﻘﺮﺁن‪ (2) ،‬ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن ﺑﺎﻷﺣﺎدﻳﺚ اﻟﺼﺤﻴﺤﺔ‪ (3) ،‬ﺗﺤﺪﻳﺪ اﻟﻤﺤﻮر‬
‫اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﻲ ﻟﻠﺴﻮر‪ (4) ،‬إﻋﺪاد ﻣﻠﺨﺼﺎت ﻟﺠﻤﻴﻊ اﻟﺴﻮر‪ (5) ،‬اﻻﺳﺘﻔﺎدة ﻣﻦ اﻟﺘﻔﺎﺳﻴﺮ اﻟﻤﺨﺘﺎرة‪(6) ،‬‬
‫دراﺳﺔ أﺻﻮل ودﻻﻻت اﻟﻜﻠﻤﺎت اﻟﻘﺮﺁﻧﻴﺔ‪ (7) ،‬إﻋﺎدة دراﺳﺔ أﺳﺒﺎب اﻟﻨﺰول دراﺳﺔ ﻧﻘﺪﻳﺔ‪ (8) ،‬ذآﺮ‬
‫اﻟﺴﻮر اﻟﻤﻜﻴﺔ واﻟﻤﺪﻧﻴﺔ‪ (9) ،‬اﻹﺳﺘﻔﺎدة ﻣﻦ اﻹﺳﺮاﺋﻴﻠﻴﺎت‪ .‬ﻓﻘﺪ اﺳﺘﺨﺪم اﻟﻤﻔﺴﺮ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮﻩ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ‬
‫ﻣﺘﻨﻮﻋﺔ ﺑﻌﻀﻬﺎ ﻗﺪﻳﻢ وأﺧﺮى ﺣﺪﻳﺜﺔ‪ ،‬ﻣﻤﺎ زاد ﻓﻲ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮﻩ ﻟﻶﻳﺎت اﻟﻘﺮﺁﻧﻴﺔ‪ .‬وأﺧﻴﺮأ‪ ،‬أﻟﻘﻰ اﻟﺒﺤﺚ‬
‫اﻟﻀﻮء ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎت أﺧﺮى ﺑﻤﺎ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ ﺣﻴﺎة اﻟﻤﻔﺴﺮ واﻟﺨﺼﺎﺋﺺ اﻷﺳﺎﺳﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮﻩ وﻣﻨﺎﺳﺒﺘﻪ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻌﺼﺮ اﻟﺮاهﻦ واﻟﻮاﻗﻊ‪.‬‬

‫‪iii‬‬
 APPROVAL PAGE

I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it conforms
to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and
quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Heritage (Qur’Én and Sunnah Studies).

…..………………………………
Israr Ahmad Khan
Supervisor

I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable
standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a
dissertation for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage
(Qur’Én and Sunnah Studies).

...……..…………………………
Che Omar Hj Awang
Examiner

This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Qur’Én and Sunnah Studies and
is accepted as a partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Islamic
Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Qur’Én and Sunnah Studies).

..…………………………………
Sofiah Samsudin
Head, Department of Qur’Én
and Sunnah Studies

This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Human Sciences and is accepted as a partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree
of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Qur’Én and Sunnah Studies).

……..……………………………
Hazizan Mohd Noon
Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed
Knowledge and Human Sciences

iv
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, excepts

where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently

submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Maziah binti Mahmud

Signature………………… Date…………………

v
 INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND

AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED
RESEARCH

Copyright © 2007 by Maziah DEDICATED

binti Mahmud. All TO
rights reserved.

My father
MAHMUDASAD:
THE TAFSÔR OF MUHAMMAD BIN AN
MAT
ANALYTICAL STUDY
OF HIS METHODOLOGY
Who loves and inspires me,
No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or andby any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without any prior written permission of the
copyright holder except as provided below.
My mother
1. Any materialSITI MERIAM
contained HARUN
in or derived from this unpublished research
mayWho
onlytaught me how to readinthetheir
be used by others Qur’Én,
writing with due
acknowledgement.
whose blessings and prayers helped and strengthened me
to overcome many difficulties…
2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies
(print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in retrieval system
and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other
universities and research libraries.

Affirmed by Maziah binti Mahmud.

…………………………… ……………………………..
Signature Date

vi
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

All praises to Allah for His blessings in giving me strength, inspiration, and patience
to initiate, continue, and complete this work.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr.
Israr Ahmad Khan. He was quite generous in offering academic advice whenever I
needed it. He definitely helped me far more than what he was duty-bound.
My special gratitude goes to my examiner, Dr. Che Omar Hj. Awang, for
giving me helpful suggestions and comments, sharing his knowledge and experiences.
The names of three other persons must be mentioned with a deep sense of
gratitude; Dr. Sofiah Samsudin and Dr. Fuad Sawari who helped me greatly, advanced
beneficial suggestions, and gave me invaluable moral support; and Brother Ishak, who
gave me useful ideas and support throughout this work.
All my lecturers and administrative staff from IRKHS truly deserve my
appreciation for enhancing my knowledge and the experience.
I owe special thanks to my family members, especially, Minah binti Hamat
(grandmother), Mohd Ezlan Mahmud (brother) and his wife, Mahizan Mahmud
(sister) and her husband, and Rosmawati Ibrahim (sister) and her husband. Your
prayers and support are highly appreciated.
My thanks goes to all my friends, who provided support and encouragement by
their presence, understanding and caring nature. To YP, thank you for the support.
May Allah grant all of them the best of rewards here and hereafter!

vii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ...................................................................................................................... ii
Abstract in Arabic ...................................................................................................... iii
Approval Page ............................................................................................................ iv
Declaration Page ........................................................................................................ v
Copyright Page........................................................................................................... vi
Dedication Page ......................................................................................................... vii
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... viii
Transliteration ............................................................................................................ xi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem ....................................................................... 2
1.3 Research Questions................................................................................. 3
1.4 Objectives ............................................................................................... 3
1.5 Research Scope ....................................................................................... 3
1.6 Research Significance............................................................................. 4
1.7 Research Methodology ........................................................................... 4
1.8 Literature Review ................................................................................... 4

CHAPTER TWO: MUHAMMAD ASAD: HIS LIFE

2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 8
2.2 Early Life ................................................................................................ 8
2.3 Career and Journeys ................................................................................ 10
2.4 Conversion to Islam ................................................................................ 17
2.5 Marriage .................................................................................................. 23
2.6 Academic Contributions ......................................................................... 25
2.7 Last Leg of His Life ................................................................................ 28

CHAPTER THREE: THE MESSAGE OF THE QUR’ÓN: BASIC FEATURES

3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 31
3.2 Historical Background ............................................................................ 31
3.3 Aim and Mission ..................................................................................... 33
3.4 The Sources ............................................................................................. 36
3.4.1 Books of TafsÊr and ‘UlËm al-Qur’Én ......................................... 36
3.4.2 Books of ×adÊth ........................................................................... 37
3.4.3 Arabic Literature on Linguistics and Dictionaries....................... 38
3.4.4 Sources of Fiqh and UÎËl Al-Fiqh ............................................... 39
3.4.5 SÊrah Literature and Biographical Dictionaries ........................... 39
3.4.6 Judeo-Christian Sources .............................................................. 40
3.5 Nature of the Interpretation ..................................................................... 41
3.6 Comparison with Other Translations ...................................................... 46
3.6.1 Brief Introduction to Pickthall and YËsuf ‘AlÊ ............................ 46
3.6.2 Aim .............................................................................................. 47

viii
 3.6.3 Sources ......................................................................................... 48
3.6.4 Diction and Vocabulary ............................................................... 48
3.6.5 Styles............................................................................................ 49
3.7 Contemporary Relevance ........................................................................ 50
3.7.1 Moral Issue .................................................................................. 51
3.7.2 Political Issue ............................................................................... 53
3.7.3 Women Issue ............................................................................... 55
3.7.4 Economic Issue ............................................................................ 56
3.7.5 Educational Issue ......................................................................... 57

CHAPTER FOUR: THE MESSAGE OF THE QUR’ÓN: METHODOLOGY

4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 60
4.2 The Qur’Én Interprets the Qur’Én............................................................ 61
4.3 Interpretation by Highly Authentic AÍÉdÊth ........................................... 63
4.4 Identification of the Central Theme of SËrah ......................................... 66
4.4.1 SËrah al-Baqarah ........................................................................ 67
4.4.2 SËrah Óli ‘ImrÉn ......................................................................... 67
4.4.3 SËrah al-NisÉ’ .............................................................................. 69
4.4.4 SËrah YËnus ................................................................................. 69
4.4.5 SËrah al-Ra‘d............................................................................... 70
4.4.6 SËrah ÙÉhÉ................................................................................... 71
4.5 Condensation of the Contents of SËrah .................................................. 71
4.6 Utilization of Some Selected TafsÊr Works ............................................ 74
4.6.1 JÉmi‘ al-BayÉn ‘an Ta’wÊl al-Qur’Én.......................................... 74
4.6.2 MafÉtÊÍ al-Ghayb......................................................................... 75
4.6.3 Al-KashshÉf ‘an ×aqÉ’iq al-TanzÊl ............................................. 77
4.6.4 Ma‘Élim al-TanzÊl ........................................................................ 78
4.6.5 AnwÉr al-TanzÊl wa-AsrÉr al-Ta’wÊl ........................................... 79
4.6.6 TafsÊr al-Qur’Én al-‘AÐÊm ............................................................ 80
4.6.7 TafsÊr al-ManÉr ........................................................................... 81
4.7 Deliberation over the Semantic Dimension of Words and Phrases ........ 82
4.8 Re-Examinaton of the Value of the Reports on AsbÉb al- NuzËl ........... 88
4.9 Meccan Or Medinan Revelations ............................................................ 91
4.10 Illustration from Judeo-Christian Sources .............................................. 96

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

5.1 The Message Of The Qur’Én: Strengths And Weaknesses ..................... 100
5.1.1 .............................................................................................. Stre
ngths ............................................................................................. 100
5.1.2 .............................................................................................. We
aknesses ....................................................................................... 102
5.2 Summary ................................................................................................. 104
5.3 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................... 106

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 107

ix
 TRANSLITERATION

Table of the system of transliteration of Arabic words and names

used by the International Islamic University Malaysia.

b = ‫ب‬ z = ‫ز‬ f = ‫ف‬

t = ‫ت‬ s = ‫س‬ q = ‫ق‬

th = ‫ث‬ sh = ‫ش‬ k = ‫ك‬

j = ‫ج‬ Î = ‫ص‬ l = ‫ل‬

Í = ‫ح‬ Ì = ‫ض‬ m = ‫م‬

kh = ‫خ‬ Ï = ‫ط‬ n = ‫ن‬

d = ‫د‬ Ð = ‫ظ‬ h = ‫ﻩ‬

dh = ‫ذ‬ ‘ = ‫ع‬ w = ‫و‬

r = ‫ر‬ gh = ‫غ‬ y = ‫ي‬

Short vowels: a = َ i=ِ u= ُ

Long vowels: É = ‫ا‬ Ê=‫ي‬ Ë=‫و‬

Diphthongs: ay = ‫ا ي‬ aw = ‫ا و‬

x
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Muhammad Asad (1900-1992) is one of the most prominent Muslim scholars in the

20th century. His writings cover a wide range of subjects from the discipline of

political thoughts to religious issues. His writings have gained appreciation of a

number of scholars. But to date no major studies conducted on the methodology of

his tafsÊr work The Message of the Qur’Én.

The Message of the Qur’Én is the magnum opus of his writings, in which he

has accumulated his lifetime experiences and knowledge he gained of Islam directly

from the original sources. This tafsÊr cost Muhammad Asad seventeen years of

research and deliberation over the Qur’Én. He aimed at translating the Qur’Énic

message into English, a European language. He is the only Muslim European scholar

who translated as well as explained the Qur’Én. He says:

Although it is impossible to reproduce the Qur’Én as such in any other

language, it is none the less possible to render its message
comprehensible to people who, like most Westerners, do not know
Arabic at all or -as is the case with most of the educated non-Arab
Muslims- not well enough to find their way through it unaided.1

His rich experiences through his stay in the Arab world for a long period of

time, his familiarity with biblical sources and understanding of the western civilization

are some imperative factors that contributed to the distinctiveness and reliability of his

tafsÊr. His translation is clearer than ordinary literal translations of the Qur’Én in the

1
Muhammad Asad, The message of the Qur’Én (Gibraltar: DÉr al-Andalus, 1980), v.

1
context of its total message. This research seeks to study Muhammad Asad’s

translation and explanation of the Qur’Én objectively with a critical overtones.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

As far as my humble knowledge is concerned, there have been no major studies

conducted on the methodology of The Message of the Qur’Én. This research intends

to focus on the methodology adopted by the learned author in his work The Message

of the Qur’Én.

Muhammad Asad used a particular methodology in his tafsÊr The Message of

the Qur’Én which has nine components: (1) The Qur’Én Interprets the Qur’Én, (2)

Interpretation by Highly Authentic AÍÉdÊth, (3) Identification of the Central Theme of

SËrah, (4) Condensation of the Contents of SËrah, (5) Utilization of Some Selected

TafsÊr Works, (6) Deliberation over the Semantic Dimension of Words and Phrases,

(7) Re-examination of the Value of the Reports on AsbÉb al-NuzËl, (8) Meccan and

Medinan revelation, and (9) Illustration from Judeo-Christian sources. This study

attempts to examine and explain all those methodology used by Muhammad Asad in

his tafsÊr.

The study also strives to discover the impact of the methodology used by

Muhammad Asad in his tafsÊr. It will also look at his tafsÊr analytically and critically

to see whether the translation and explanation are acceptable.

2
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This research attempts to answer the following questions:

a) Who is Muhammad Asad?

b) How significant is his tafsÊr to us?

c) What are the main features of The Message of the Qur’Én?

d) Does his work conform to the standard of traditional tafsÊr or modern tafsÊr

methodology?

e) What is the methodology of The Message of the Qur’Én?

1.4 OBJECTIVES

This research has several intended objectives. They are as follows:

a) To introduce Muhammad Asad and his work The Message of the Qur’Én to

the readers.

b) To highlight the significance of Muhammad Asad’s tafsÊr.

c) To recognize the main features of The Message of the Qur’Én.

d) To examine the position of The Message of the Qur’Én in the traditional

and the modern tafÉsÊr.

e) To study and evaluate the methodology used by Muhammad Asad in The

Message of the Qur’Én.

1.5 RESEARCH SCOPE

The scope will cover the contents of The Message of the Qur’Én by giving special

attention to the significance of its methodology and conduct an analysis on its

strengths and weaknesses. This research will analyze and critically evaluate the

methodology of The Message of the Qur’Én.

3
1.6 RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE

There is no major writing written on The Message of the Qur’Én by contemporary

writers. This research intends to bring to the notice of the intelligentsia the strengths

and weaknesses of Muhammad Asad’s work.

This research is significant in that it will analyze Muhammad Asad’s

methodology in his tafsÊr. Some scholars have done research on Muhammad Asad’s

work, but none has touched on his methodology of tafsÊr.

1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research will use the inductive method based on primary sources, which refer to

the traditional and modern tafsÊr, as well as other writings of Muhammad Asad on

various issues, and other related topics. It will also objectively assess the position of

Muhammad Asad’s work in the traditional and modern tafsÊr perspectives.

This research will focus on an analytical study of the tafsÊr of Muhammad

Asad adopting the textual library research based on the The Message of the Qur’Én.

In short, the methods applied in this research will be analytical and critical.

1.8 LITERATURE REVIEW

Many studies on the methodology of tafsÊr have been done by many scholars, but very

little have been written on Muhammad Asad’s.

An article written by Muzaffar Iqbal titled ÑAbdullah YËsuf ÑAlÊ and

Muhammad Asad: Two Approaches to the English Translation of the Qur’Én2

attempts to make a comparative study of certain aspects of two English translations of

the Qur’Én. The writer highlights the general characteristics of the two translations,
2
Muzaffar Iqbal, “‘Abdullah YËsuf ÑAlÊ and Muhammad Asad: Two Approaches to the English
Translation of the Qur’Én,” Journal of Qur’Énic Studies, no. 2 (2000): 107-123.

4
diction, and vocabulary, as well as their understanding and their rendering of certain

key Qur’Énic terms into English.

A big contribution done by M. Ikram Chaghatai titled Europe’s Gift to Islam:

Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss)3 is a compilation of all materials talk about

Muhammad Asad and his academic contribution. This book was published in 2007 in

two volumes. The first volume comprises of the following elements: (1) Personality,

Biography, works etc, (2) Studies: Appreciation, Evaluation, and Criticism, (3)

Reviews. The second volume is divided into two parts: (1) Muhammad Asad’s

writing, and (2) Addenda.

The other writing of Muzaffar Iqbal is all about Muhammad Asad’s

biography.4 This article discusses the chronology of Muhammad Asad’s life (1900-

1992). The writer gives a tentative outline of the biography Muhammad Asad shortly

in this article.

Murad W. Hoffman in his research5 acknowledges Muhammad Asad’s

contribution to the Islamic culture and knowledge. His understanding of Western

civilization is one of the factors which has contributed to the uniqueness of his Islamic

writings. Muhammad Asad’s writings are very valuable and considered as eye

openers of the Western advancement to the Islamic movement.

The writing of K. G. Simon and E. R. Harder titled Muhammad Asad and the

Road to Mecca. Text of Muhammad Asad’s Interview with Karl Gunter Simon6

discusses Muhammad Asad’s book The Road to Mecca which is published in 1954.

3
M. Ikram Chaghatai, Europe’s Gift to Islam: Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss) (New Delhi: Adam
Publishers & Distributors, 2007).
4
Muzaffar Iqbal, “Muhammad Asad: A Biography, Islamic Studies,” vol. 37, no.3 (1998): 411-414.
5
Murad W. Hoffman, “Muhammad Asad: Europe’s Gift to Islam,” Islamic Studies, vol. 39, no.2
(2000): 233-247.
6
Elma Ruth Harder, Muhammad Asad and The Road to Mecca. Text of Muhammad Asad’s Interview
with Karl Gunter Simon, Islamic Studies, vol. 37, no. 4 (1998), 533-544.

5
 The research7 done by Hasan Pipip Ahmad RifÉ‘Ê examines the political

thought of Muhammad Asad. This study emphasizes on how Muhammad Asad’s

proposal of a contemporary model of the SharÊÑah state in the context of Pakistan

deals with constitutional questions pertaining to the nature and powers of the various

organs of the state and other issues related to the Islamic legislation.

BasÏomÊ Muhammad SaÑÊd in his book8 placed Muhammad Asad as a modern

Muslim scholar. This book discusses Muhammad Asad’s thought and approaches on

the Islamic issues. There are many quotations from Muhammad Asad’s tafsÊr in order

to explain about his views on certain issues.

The book in Arabic written by MuÎÏafÉ ×ilmÊ titled IslÉm Muhammad Asad9

highlights the conversion of Muhammad Asad to Islam. Generally, the discussion in

this book purports the relation between the corruption of Western civilization and

conversion of Muhammad Asad to Islam.

Since there are limited writings and researches on Muhammad Asad’s

methodology of tafsÊr, we have to review other writings by him in order to understand

more about his methodology of tafsÊr.

An essay in his book This Law of Ours and Other Essays10 published in 1987

titled The Message of the Qur’Én, explains the role of Arabia and the Arabic language

in the revelation of God’s eternal Word. He emphasizes the importance of Arabic

language skills in order to understand the essence of the Qur’Én.11

7
Pipip AÍmad RifÉ’Ê Hasan, “The Political Thought of Muhammad Asad,” (MA Thesis, Concordia
University, 1998).
8
BasÏomÊ, MafhËm tajdÊd al-dÊn (Kuwayt: DÉr al-Da‘wah, 1984).
9
MuÎÏafÉ ×ilmÊ, IslÉm Muhammad Asad (Iskandariyyah: DÉr al-Da‘wah, 1985).
10
Muhammad Asad, This law of ours and other essays (Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust, 2001).
11
Ibid., 188.

6
 Other book written by him is ØaÍÊÍ al-BukhÉrÊ: The Early Years of Islam.12 He

is a mufassÊr who is very conscious about the ÍadÊth authenticity. He says:

My life-work completed and published under the title The Message of

the Qur’Én; and any scholarly reader of that work will easily recognize
how much of the spirit of ÍadÊth-and hence, of the immortal labor of al-
BukhÉri- has gone into my interpretation of the Word of God.13

This is the proof that Muhammad Asad has used ÍadÊth in his tafsÊr.

The book titled Islam at the Crossroads14 confirms the usage of ÍadÊth in his

translation of Qur’Én’s work. The aims of this work are: (1) preserving those forms

and values of earlier Muslims which were still relevant to the reality of Islam as a

culture-producing force, and (2) re-awakening the spirit of Islamic ideology as

expressed in the Qur’Én and the ÍadÊth.15

12
Muhammad Asad, ØaÍÊÍ al-BukhÉrÊ: Early years of Islam (Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust,
2002).
13
Ibid., ix.
14
Muhammad Asad, Islam at crossroads (Gibraltar: DÉr al-Andalus, 1982).
15
Ibid., 8.

7
 CHAPTER TWO

MUHAMMAD ASAD: HIS LIFE

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Muslim ummah is undoubtedly too fortunate in having a great number of scholars in

almost all the fields of the known disciplines of knowledge, whether physical

sciences, social sciences or religious sciences. Out of these scholars the ummah has

forgotten many of them almost immediately after their arrival on the stage of

knowledge. Many others were remembered by the ummah for quite some time.

However, there are Muslim scholars whom the ummah can never forget due to the

ever relevance of their works and contributions towards knowledge. Muhammad

Asad is one such scholar whom the ummah will never forget. This chapter will

discuss Muhammad Asad’s life chronologically. It is divided into six headlines: (1)

Early life, (2) Career and Journeys, (3) Conversion to Islam, (4) Marriage, (5)

Academic Contributions, and (6) Last Leg of his Life.

2.2 EARLY LIFE

Muhammad Asad’s real name was Leopold Weiss. He was born in the Polish city of

L’vov in Eastern Galicia, in the summer 1900. He was the second of three children.1

His mother, Malka, was a daughter of a rich banker, Menahem Mendel Feigenbum,

and his father, Akiva, was a son of an orthodox rabbi in Czernovitz in Bukovina.2

1
Muhammad Asad, The road to Mecca (Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust, 1999), 54.
2
Martin Kramer, “The Road from Mecca: Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss)” in The Jewish discovery
of Islam, edited by Martin Kramer (Tel Aviv: The Moshe Dayan Center, 1999), 226.

8
 The tradition of the family was broken by his father, who became a barrister.

Since he was a descendant of a long line of rabbis, he received a religious education

that would qualify him to keep alive the family’s rabbinical tradition. He was very

familiar with the Aramaic language and was an expert in Hebrew language from an

early age. He studied the Hebrew version of the Old Testament and the commentaries

of the Talmud, Mishna and Gemara. He also delved into the details of Biblical

exegesis, the Targum by the age of 13.3

From the very young age, his interest was in reading the stirring historical

romances of Sienkiewicz, the fantasies of Jules Verne, Red Indian stories by James

Fenimore Cooper and Karl May and, later, the verses of Rilke and the sonorous

cadences of Also sprach Zarathustra4. His father was very sad and disappointed with

his school results in the Gravity and Electricity subjects, Latin and Greek grammar,

but satisfied by his good achievement and inclination toward history and literature;

both Polish and German.5

In 1914, his family settled in Vienna. He ran away from school and joined the

Austrian army under a false name. After a week, his father succeeded in tracing him

with the police’s help and he was escorted back to Vienna. Nearly four years later, he

was drafted into the Austrian army to fight in the First World War, but the empire

collapsed a few weeks after his induction and the war was over.6

In 1918, he entered the University of Vienna and studied history of art and

philosophy7. However, those academic studies lost appeal and failed to satisfy him.

He says:

3
Asad, The road to Mecca, 54-55.
4
It talks about the Aramaic priest of Zoroastrianism, Zoroaster.
5
Asad, The road to Mecca, 54.
6
Ibid., 56.
7
Ibid., 57.

9
 My heart was not in those studies. A quiet academic career did not
attract me. I felt a yearning to come into more intimate grips with life,
to enter it without any of those carefully contrived, artificial defenses
which security-minded people love to build up around themselves; and I
wanted to find by myself an approach to the spiritual order of things
which, I knew, must exist but which I could not yet discern.8

In 1919, his mother died at the age of 34. He, then, grew restless hence it

became increasingly difficult for him to pursue his university studies. During that

time, he decided to give them up for good and to try his hand in journalism. But, his

father strongly objected to such a course and, without any hesitations, he defied his

father’s hope. He was determined to start life on his own. In 1920, he left Vienna and

boarded a train for Prague.9

It is interesting to note that Asad’s parents were from different backgrounds.

Asad was fated to exploit his talent in journalism, which ultimately led him to the

reality of Islam. He aimed at something bigger when he chose the world of journalism

as his career. He found therein what he was looking for, that is, spiritual dimension in

life.

2.3 CAREER AND JOURNEYS

Asad’s life became challenging when he started a new life on his own in Prague. At

that time, he possessed only a diamond ring, which his mother left for him before she

died. He sold it through the good office of a waiter in Prague’s main literary café to

get the money. Asad described this transaction as a fortune because with the money

he proceeded to Berlin.10

After a few months, his cash ran out and he began to look for a job. It was

difficult to find a job there. At last a lucky break came when he was introduced to the

8
Ibid., 57.
9
Ibid., 60.
10
Ibid.

10
famous film director, F. W. Murnau, who took him as a temporary assistant for two

months. After that, he was writing a film scenario along with his best friend, Anton

Kuh, a Viennese journalist who had recently come to prominence in Berlin as a

theatre critic. After another year full of adventurous ups and downs in various cities

of Central Europe, he worked at short-lived jobs and finally, he wholeheartedly

entered the world of journalism.11

In the autumn of 1921, he was introduced by his friend to Dammert, who was

starting a news agency of his own, the United Telegraph, in cooperation with United

Press of America. He worked with the United Telegraph press agency as a telephonist

-to transmit news to the provincial newspapers- for about a month. He was promoted

as a journalist after he had made a good report by having an interview with Madame

Gorky, wife of Maxim Gorky, who was the head of large-scale action within Russia

that was stricken by a famine of unprecedented scale at that time.12

In the United Telegraph, Asad did not publish anything in his own name. He

was entirely unfamiliar to the daily press and unhappy with this. He wrote an article

on some of his impression on Palestine and sent copies of it to many German

newspapers with a proposal to write a series of articles on the Near East. Only one of

them accepted his suggestion and appointed him as a correspondent in the Near East,

and offered him a contract for a book to be written on his return. Asad accepted the

offers and became a correspondent for the Frankfurter Zeitung, one of the famous

newspapers in Europe and Germany. He began to write articles on Palestine with the

hope that he would travel all over the Near East.13

11
Ibid., 61-62.
12
Ibid., 63-64.
13
Ibid., 97-98.

11
 In the spring of 1922, he received a letter from his uncle Dorian, who invited

him to visit Jerusalem. Dorian was his mother’s youngest brother, a psychiatrist and

the head of a mental hospital in Jerusalem14. There, he saw and understood the Arabs’

life. He was struck by how Islam influenced Arabs’ routines with practical meaning,

spiritual strength and the inner peace.

Asad first explored the realities of Islam and at the same time he discovered the

immoralities of Zionism. The Zionists threatened to transfer all the complications and

insoluble problems of European life into a country which would remain happier

without them. Although Asad’s origin was Jewish, he conceived a firm objection to

Zionism. Apart from his personal sympathy for the Arabs, he was of the opinion that

it was immoral for a foreign Great Power to force native people, the Arabs, out of

their country.15

He started to come into contact with Zionist Committee of Action. He

confronted with Menahem Ussishkin and Chaim Weizmann, and soon gained a

reputation as a sympathizer of the Arab cause. His new friend; Jacob Israel de Haan,

the Dutch poet and journalist, who objected the idea of Zionism, helped him greatly in

Jerusalem. He also helped him find the journalistic work.16

Living and mixing with the Arabs, Asad found something that he had always

unconsciously been looking for; he writes:

In the Arabs I began to find something I had always unwittingly been

looking for: an emotional lightness of approach to all questions of life -a
supreme common sense of feeling, if one might call it so. In time it
became most important to me to grasp the spirit of these Muslim people:
not because their religion attracted me (for at that time I knew very little
about it), but because I recognized in them that organic coherence of the
mind and the senses which we Europeans had lost.17

14
Ibid., 74.
15
Ibid., 93.
16
Kramer, 226-229.
17
Asad, The road to Mecca, 100.

12
 Consequently, Asad became more and more attentive to inquiries and desire to

know the Arabs’ culture, history, and religion. For him, Arabs had the emotional

protection as a personal quest. He searched for Arabs’ characters and the ideas that

absorbed in them spiritually; which he felt different from the Europeans.18

In Palestine, he realized the ambiguous role of the British administration

relating to the conflict between the Arabs and the Zionists. In 1923, he went to Egypt

to expand the scope of his work for the Frankfurter Zeitung to other countries besides

Palestine. Living for months in Egypt, he discovered that Arabs remained free of the

inner stresses so strange to the West.19

In the summer of 1923, he returned to Jerusalem. His best friend, Jacob de

Haan introduced him to the Amir Abdullah of neighboring Transjordan, who invited

him to visit his country.20 It is remarkable that this was the first time in his life that he

was meeting with an Arab’s Head of State. Then, he went to Syria, where he learned

more about Islam. He spent much time in reading Islamic books as well as studying

the Qur’Én.21 In the autumn 1923, after he left Syria, he went to Turkey for several

months. He found Istanbul at that time very similar to Europe.22

His career in journalism took him to many countries in the Near East. It

offered him a distinctive view on the world affairs, especially issues relating to the

Jews and Arabs. When he traveled broadly, mingled with the Muslim intellectuals as

well as ordinary people, his interest in Islam increased and deepened.

Upon returning to Europe after several years being away, he met the editor-in-

chief, Dr. Heinrich Simon. Dr. Heinrich Simon was impressed by the appearance of

18
Ibid., 101.
19
Ibid., 105-108.
20
Ibid., 109.
21
Ibid., 127.
22
Ibid., 136.

13