The Road to Mecca

“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, and the result is a structure of absolute balance and solid composure.”- Leopold Weiss (Mohammed Asad)

It is clear from the title that we talk about one of the most influential Europeans. It is Mohammad Asad (formerly called Leopold Weiss).

     

Leopold Weiss, an Austrian of Jewish origin, studied philosophy and art at the University of Vienna, then went to journalism and excelled in it. He became a reporter in the Arab and Islamic East, and then stayed for a while in Jerusalem, then he visited Cairo and met Imam Mustafa al-Maraghi, so he discussed with him about religions, and he concluded the belief that “the soul and the body in Islam are like two twin faces of the human life that God created.” Then he began to learn Arabic in the halls of Al-Azhar, while he was still a Jew.

His Story with Islam

Leopold Weiss was a man of inquiry and searching for the truth, and he was distressed and amazed at the phenomenon of the large gap between the backward reality of Muslims and the radiant truths of their religion, and one day some Muslims would debate in opposition to Islam and blame Muslims for their failure to witness civilization, because they had abandoned Islam, so one of the Muslims surprised him.  Al-Tayyibeen with this comment: "You are a Muslim, but you do not know!".

Weiss laughed, saying: "I am not a Muslim, but I have seen in Islam what makes me angry when I see his followers wasting it !".

But this word shook his depths, and placed him in front of himself from which he was fleeing, and kept chasing him from afar until fate proved the sincerity of its good one, when (Muhammad Asad) pronounced the two testimonies.

This incident teaches us not to underestimate the charity and energies of any person, for we do not know who is the person with whom fate will address us ?!. Who among us did not make a turning point in his life, a word, a situation, or a meeting ?!. Who among us can resist in himself the courage to take from the generous ?!

The Islam of Muhammad Asad came as a decisive response to despair and loss, and a convincing declaration on the ability of Islam to attract the perplexed who are looking for the truth ...

And the most famous of what Muhammad Asad wrote was his book, Islam at the Crossroads. And he has a book (The Road to Mecca), and he has also translated the meanings of the Noble Qur’an and Sahih al-Bukhari into English. Muhammad Asad was a rare type of traveler in the world of the earth, and in the world of thought and spirit ...

Muhammad Asad says:

 “ ... Islam is still despite all the obstacles that are  The Muslims' delay left it as the greatest force arising from humankind known to mankind. Therefore, my desires were gathered around the issue of his resurrection ”.

He says: “Islam compels man to unify all aspects of life ... as it cares one concern for the world and the hereafter, the soul and the body, the individual and the society, and guides us to make better use of our energies. It is not one of the paths, but it is the only way.  He brought these teachings not as a guide from a gift, but a guide.

"The man who sent mercy to the worlds, if we refused his guidance," then this does not mean anything less than that we refuse the mercy of God!.

“Islam is not a philosophy but a way of life. Among other religions, we see Islam alone. It declares that individual perfection is possible in this worldly life, and this perfection is not postponed until after the death of bodily desires, and among other religions, we find Islam alone allows a person to enjoy his life until  Maximum limit without wasting one minute of his spiritual direction.

Islam does not make contempt for the world a condition for salvation in the Hereafter. In Islam, you are not only entitled, but you must also benefit from your life to the maximum extent of benefit. It is the duty of a Muslim to extract from  Himself is the best in it, in order to honor this life that God has blessed him with, and to help his fellow human beings in their spiritual, social, and material efforts. Islam affirms in its declaration that a person can achieve perfection in his worldly life, by making full use of the aspects of the worldly potential in his life”.

Muhammad Asad sheds light on the way to escape from our deteriorating reality, writing: “We have only one way out to escape the shame of this decadence in which we are. We have to make ourselves aware of this shame by making it focus our eyes day and night! And to feed its bitterness ...

We must shed ourselves from the spirit of apology, which is another name for mental defeat in us. Instead of submitting Islam in light of Western mental standards, we should view Islam as the standard by which we judge the world.

The second step is to act in the Sunnah of our Prophet with awareness and determination… ”

Finally, Muhammad Asad advises us with this commandment: “A Muslim must live with a high head, and he must verify that he is distinguished, be very proud because he is, and declare this distinction with courage instead of apologizing for it!”.

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Written By - Khaled

Edited By - Kashish Chadha