Muhammad Asad was officially the first citizen of ๐ต๐ฐ & the first person to be awarded a passport in 1947. He was an Austro-Hungarian-born Jewish convert to Islam and the author of one of the most influential Quranic translations of the modern age "The Message of Quran". ๐งต
Born: July 1900 (Austria-Hungary)
Died: February 1992ย (Andalucia,ย Spain)
Asad was an Islamic interpreter, journalist, traveller, writer,ย political theorist, diplomat and a linguist fluent in Hebrew, Aramaic, English, French,ย Persianย andย Arabic who served ๐ต๐ฐ a great deal. /1
Died: February 1992ย (Andalucia,ย Spain)
Asad was an Islamic interpreter, journalist, traveller, writer,ย political theorist, diplomat and a linguist fluent in Hebrew, Aramaic, English, French,ย Persianย andย Arabic who served ๐ต๐ฐ a great deal. /1
Inspired by his journeys to the Arabic World, he converted to Sunni Islam in 1926 choosing for himself the name "Asad" which was the Arabic rendition of his root name Leo (Lion). In 1932, he migrated to British India and became a close friend of Allama Muhammad Iqbal. /2
He translated Sahih Al-Bukhari into English for the first time in history on Iqbal's insistence for which he travelled to Kashmir in 1934 where he also set up his printing press in Srinagar. In 1939, during WWII, Asad was arrested & his parents were murdered by theย Nazis. /3
He was released three years later and reunited with his family in Jamalpur when the war ended in 1945. He became a strong advocate of a separate homeland for the Muslims in these years. One of his essays titled โPakistan Ka Matlab Kya?โ became a popular slogan of Independence. /4
In recognition of his support for Pakistan, Asad was granted the first full citizenship by the Government of Pakistan and appointed as the Director of Islamic Reconstruction where he was actively involved in drafting Pakistan's first Constitution. /5
On special instructions of PM Liaquat Ali Khan, Asad was issued the first Pakistani passport in 1947 to travel to ๐ธ๐ฆ to facilitate the pilgrims, which remained with him till the end. He also served as the Joint Secretary of the Middle East Division in the Foreign Office, /6
Minister Plenipotentiary to the UN & organizer of the International Islamic Colloquium. He resigned from the Foreign Office upon the then Governor General's refusal to permit him to marry a Polish woman & left for Switzerland to complete his autobiography 'The Road To Mecca'. /7
He was later invited by President Gen Ayub Khan to return to ๐ต๐ฐ which he politely refused due to unending differences. In 1980, he published one of the most popular translations and explanations of the Quran to date titled 'The Message of Quran'. /8
In 1983, upon the then President Gen Zia ul Haq's request, he visited ๐ต๐ฐ one last time. He continued to live in Spain till his death but held on to his Pakistani nationality despite being offered citizenship from various Muslim countries. /9
He was conferred with the title of 'Allama' and on March 23, 2013, a stamp under the 'Man of Letters' series was issued by Pakistan Post in his honour.
Thank you @yamin_f for introducing me to his work back in 2018. It helped me understand the Quran so much better. ๐ /10
Thank you @yamin_f for introducing me to his work back in 2018. It helped me understand the Quran so much better. ๐ /10
Ref attd. /11
Loading suggestions...