The Road to Mecca by Muhammad Asad
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was less of a book that I read, than a story I lived.
The adventures of Leopold Weiss – eventually to become Muhammad Asad – took me across the unassuming childhood towns of Eastern Europe, the silent yet overpowering Arabian Deserts and the imposing Mountains of Iran.
Yet, the journey this book is about is not the one made by the body, but rather the one embarked upon by the soul.
Living in the quiet discontent after the First World War, Western Man had to live with the reality that he was capable of much evil and cruelty to his fellow man. The level of destruction in Europe was enough to put it into a sort of traumatic shock. People responded to this abyss facing them in many different ways, some with a turn to hedonistic desires, others to the blind pursuit of science and progress, but all with a quiet discomfort at the new realities that faced them.
But to all who thought introspectively, the conclusion was clear. With the removal of God from society, with His mention being hushed and discussed in somewhat embarrassed tones, there was no ultimate moral authority to determine what was right and what was wrong.
It is within this context we find Leopold Weiss born and raised, a happy yet unsatisfied young man who felt the craving to understand his reason and purpose for existence. Following on from his time as a young, budding journalist striving to make a name for himself, he happened upon a chance journey to Palestine to visit a relative. This trip was the beginning of a much more transcendent journey that was yet to come.
Asad posits that the mind of the average European has been so indoctrinated against Islam that this bias has lasted for centuries since originating with the Crusades. This civilisational struggle was to bestow the feeling of unity, and more importantly identity, to Europe at the expense of a similar, counter-identity to its newly emerged enemy, Islam.
Such a struggle between 2 religions and powers necessitated for Christian Europe that Muslims and Islam were demonised and painted as backward barbarians, a trope which has unfortunately persisted throughout the centuries until this very day. It was this bias that Weiss fought with himself to overcome, aided by the purification of his living with, travelling amongst and learning from the Muslims he met on his journey.
The narrative of this book is interwoven with the journeys Asad had taken in earlier years. One moment we are in the present, drudging through the deserts of Central Arabia, the next we are recalling Weiss’ then travels throughout Egypt, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iran and Libya.
This book was full of captivating prose which confounded me as to how such complex thoughts and feelings could be explained so clearly and illustrated so vividly. It seems evident to me that Asad’s adventures, journeys and experiences have done magnificently in their shaping the clarity of his thoughts and his ability to express them.
Without delving too much into the details – and thereby committing a great injustice to this wonderful book, for it must be experienced first hand – Weiss’ story culminates in him realising the truth of Islam in his heart and soul, before accepting it with his tongue and limbs.
Asad provides a unique insight into the mind of a European who has lived both the quintessential European, culturally Christian/Jewish life and one as an observant Muslim who has traveled into the heart of the Muslim world. His experiences within are (with some exception) ones to be learnt from, and his observations and ones to be listened to. As a Sunni, Orthodox Muslim myself, I found little objectionable content creed-wise with this book, but there were a minority of times where I found myself not quite agreeing with some of his thoughts. This would equally however, be down to my misunderstanding of his thoughts and therefore the fault my own.
Asad’s journey is one of a soul born in times of intense Godless hedonism, searching for answers as to its own existence. It is a journey spanning not just across deserts, but across time and hearts. The journey of a man searching for peace, meaning and Truth, ultimately finding it where he least expected.
After reading more about him since finishing the book, Asad’s later life is yet full of adventure and importance. He was a strong advocate for the founding of Pakistan, and became a member of its Government, then a minister for it to the United Nations. He then left behind the idea of dealing with politics and lived the rest of his days quietly, until his death and burial in Spain, the former frontlands of the Umayyad Caliphate.
Muhammad Asad’s The Road to Mecca is a masterpiece. I had previously tried to read it 10 years earlier upon strong recommendation from my Father. At the time I found it somewhat tedious and couldn’t keep up with the flow of the narrative, I quickly abandoned it. A decade later and I found myself completely enthralled with the book. Older and wiser, I resonated with almost everything I read, and was glued in awe at what I was reading. O’ the life that men before us have lived!
To conclude, The Road to Mecca was akin to enjoying a date-fruit that became sweeter the more it was chewed. I felt myself fully immersed in his journey and the adventures he had experienced and finished the book yearning to join my brethren in faith and complete my own Hajj. It was also a reminder of what has been lost with the advent of modern travel, even while appreciating what has been gained. At times I couldn’t put the book down and waited early for the chance to read again the next day. I would heavily recommend this specific book of his to anyone wishing to understand the mind of a man searching for faith while living in the heart of its birthplace.
A must-have for any Muslim’s library.