The Road to Mecca

A truly amazing and accomplished life lived. One of the most influential books I've read in my life and gave me a more enlightened perspective on my own faith. Muhammad Asad's writing and eloquence are unmatched and it comes across in what is essentially an autobiography. I keep going back every few years to read it because it really just is that good!

Muhammed Assad was a gifted journalist. This gift makes the reading of his Near East adventures a highly entertaining experience. The son of wealthy Jewish parents, he came to Palestine in the early 1920's, became an Anti-Zionist and fell in love with the Arab world. He returned to Europe after many adventurous journeys, married a woman 14 years older then he was, became a Muslim, and went back East. The story is told through the memories entertained during a camel ride to Mecca in the early 1930's (although written about 20 years later). Asad was a fearless man (he once walked from Haifa to Damscus without a passport, and later dodged bullets while trying to advise the Sanusi rebels in Libya against fascist Italy). He had an enormous talent for languages - he could speak fluent Arabic and Persian, in addition to the European languages and Hebrew. He was immediately attracted to Islam. Even before becoming a Muslim he had nothing but praise for it. According to him, Islam is completely class -less, accommodating spiritual and physical needs perfectly. Asad's criticism of the Western value system seems relevant today at least as it was then. We might not share his conclusion and choose Islam, but we cant deny that there is something wrong in the Western way of life. The book DOES NOT include Asad's Indian and Pakistanian years. I do not know what book this information is from, and I would really want to get it, as I heard Asad WAS one of the people behind the estblishment of Pakistan. I recommand this truly extraordinary and enlightening book to everyone interested in what is really going on in the world.

This is one of the best books written by a Muslim convert,and I have to say that I was blown away by the amount of enlightening comments and views that Mr.Asad has included in his journey to becoming a Muslim.It is so bewildering to read and understand how a religion like Islam,so profound and dignified, could change a person like Mr.Asad to change his religion and ,ultimately,his ideas about life,God and people.This book is interesting to read because the style of writing is easty to understand,the description he uses to include the reader in the events is quite vivid and the personal remarks about people,places and politics are worth considering.In my opinion,this is not only a book,it is a treasured narrative that seems like a running documentary about a foreigner discovering the Middle East with all its grandeur and tragedies.

Muhammad Asad's book is indeed a minor classic within its field. Written by a European intellectual who embraced Islam as a young man, this book can help us to achieve a better understanding of a religion and a religious-cultural complex that has, to such a great extent, become a matter of controversy in our present time. Along with Nasr's more recent "Islam in the Modern World" it is a "must" to anyone who wishes to deepen his knowlede on the subject. I read the book already when I was very young, in a translation into my native Swedish, and I was happy to rediscover it in its original English now, some 50 years later.

Muhammad Asad is a very gifted writer. I found so many wonderful examples of writing on almost every page. His story and journey is worth reading because there are so many lessons within it about life, spirituality, the nature of human beings, and history. I enjoyed it very much.

Interesting story how I was introduced to this unusual book: our leader of “Islam 101” group in local mosque Pakistani by nationality mentioned Muhammad Asad name once. I found his biography in Wikipedia. I finished his book in three evenings, it was more interesting to me than Three Musketeers that I read in my childhood. His story is so unbelievable... He was born as Jew in Lvov, worked in Germany and finally became Muslim. "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.” I am not Muslim, but have Muslim’s friends and read whole Quran twice; I’m Christian and like to have conversations with Muslims. It still amazed me how Jew converted to Islam became one of the founders of Pakistan. This book is great reading, full of adventures, stories about Arabs. Just enjoy reading. His another work is "The Message of the Qur'an", a translation and commentary of the sacred book of Islam, the Qur'an. I read it partially, somehow in my group his translation was not recommended for study.

An inspiring book of how a European man of Austrian and Jewish descent, found the faith of Islam. His spiritual journey, as well as the actual journeys he undertook, He travelled all over Europe and the middle East i.e. Arabia, Syria,Egypt,Turkey,Iran, Afghanistan & the Indo-Pak subcontinent etc. He has the ability to make people and places come to life, so that it feels like the reader is actually with him during his journeys. His personal life & experiences, his friendships with kings and leaders, as well as the poor and Beduins in Arabia, are sad & joyous, always soul stirring & quite amazing, like life itself. Overall, a remarkable book. A must read for all who want to understand the tensions between the West and the Muslim world today, as well as the fascinating history of the middle East and Europe in the twentieth century.

In this extraordinary and beautifully-written autobiography, Asad tells of his initial rejection of all institutional religions, his entree into Taoism, his fascinating travels as a diplomat, and finally his embrace of Islam. Can a modern/secular mind find it way into Islam and appreciate its truth? And if so how is this possible? As I was born in and raised into a Muslim society, I took it for granted that Islam was the true calling of God. At one point in my life, I did some soul searching into what I really believed and found that while I was strong in my faith, I needed help understanding more things about Islam. I found several books that helped but this bok expressed how I really felt. Asad's experience is the perfect testimony of the modern reason finding its way into Islam and at the same time reconstructing the message and significance of Islam for the modern Muslim. It helps us understand the relevance of Quranic message for modernity.

such a great read!

It Is such a great book , recommended every one to read thus book and delivered in time.

Very well written Autobiography, interesting insights and stories - couldn’t put it down!

The best books in my opinion are those that touch upon so many different subjects but bring them all together cohesively. This book does just that. Theology, philosophy, politics, culture, geography, friendship... you won't be dissapointed. Muhammad Asad wrote in a beautiful and poignant manner, detailing his adventures in the near East in a way that makes you feel like you lived them yourself. It is one man's journey of self discovery, and everybody stands to benefit from his critical outlook. Once you get into it, it's very difficult to put it down, and when it ends you'll find yourself wishing that it didn't.

Some call him "Europe's gift to Islam", but I don't think that is appropriate. Rather he should be called "Islam's gift to Europe". After I read this book I converted to Islam. His narration of Ad Dajjal is thought provoking, scaring but amazing at the same time. This book should be read by everyone who realizes "the hollowness of material progress for the sake of progress alone"...