Muhammad Asad

Muhammad Asad (pronounced [ˈmoʊ̯hämæd ˈæsæd], Urdu: محمد أسد‎, born Leopold Weiss; 2 July 1900 – 20 February 1992) was a Jewish-born Austro-Hungarian journalist, traveler, writer, linguist, thinker, political theorist, diplomat and Islamic scholar. Asad was one of the most influential European Muslims of the 20th century.

By the age of thirteen, young Weiss had acquired a passing fluency in Hebrew and Aramaic, other than his native languages German and Polish. By his mid-twenties, he could read and write in English, French, Persian and Arabic. In Palestine, Weiss engaged in arguments with Zionist leaders like Chaim Weizmann, voicing his criticism of the Zionist Movement. After traveling across the Arab World as a journalist, he converted to Islam in 1926 and chose for himself the Muslim name "Muhammad Asad"—Asad being the Arabic rendition of his root name Leo (Lion).

During his stay in Saudi Arabia, he spent time with Bedouins and enjoyed close company of Ibn Saud—the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. He also carried out a secret mission for Ibn Saud to trace the sources of funding for the Ikhwan Revolt. Due to these activities, he was dubbed in a Haaretz article as "Leopold of Arabia"—hinting similarity of his activities to those of Lawrence of Arabia.

Zindagi Gulzar Hai

Zindagi Gulzar Hai (Urdu: زندگی گلزار ہے‎ ; English: Life is a Rose Garden) is one of the most popular Pakistani serial, directed by Sultana Siddiqui and produced by Momina Duraid of Moomal Productions, which was broadcast on Hum TV. Based on the novel of the same name by Umera Ahmad, it was first telecast from 30 November 2012 to May 2013 in Pakistan. The story revolves around two persons, opposite in thought and financial status. This serial has a strong female lead protagonist and was very popular among the female audience.

Zindagi Gulzar Hai also aired in various other countries including eleven Arab countries, several European countries and India. It premiered on the MBC Group on January 2014 in eleven Arab countries, Hum TV on March 2014 in Europe, and Zindagi on 23 June 2014. It has aired 5 times in India.

Plot summary

The story revolves around the lives of Kashaf Murtaza (Sanam Saeed) and Zaroon Junaid (Fawad Afzal Khan), who are poles apart. Kashaf comes from a middle-class family background and lives with her mother Rafia (Samina Peerzada) and her two sisters, Sidra (Mansha Pasha) and Shehnila (Sana Sarfaraz). Rafia had separated from her husband, Murtaza, (Waseem Abbas) because she did not give birth to a son. As a result, he married another woman, who did eventually give birth to his son Hamad.

Muhammad

Muḥammad (Arabic: محمد‎; c. 570 CE – 8 June 632 CE), is the central figure of Islam and widely regarded as its founder. He is known to Muslims as the "Holy Prophet", almost all of whom consider him to be the last prophet sent by God to mankind to restore Islam, which they believe to be the unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings, practices, and the Quran, which Muslims believe was revealed to him by God, formed the basis of Islamic religious belief.

Born approximately in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, Muhammad was orphaned at an early age; he was raised under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib. After his childhood Muhammad primarily worked as a merchant. Occasionally, he would retreat to a cave named Hira in the mountains for several nights of seclusion and prayer; later, at age 40, he reported being visited by Gabriel in the cave and received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" (lit. islām) to him is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, similar to the other prophets in Islam.

Muhammad (name)

Muhammad (Arabic: محمد‎) is the primary transliteration of the Arabic given name, مُحَمَّد‎, from the triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D; Praise and becomes conjugated to Muhammad, which means "The Most Praised One". It is the name of the Islamic prophet. Throughout the Muslim world, it is popular to name a male child after him. This name and its variant transliterations are among the most popular names in the world.

Lexicology

The name Muḥammad is the strictest and primary transliteration of the Arabic given name, محمد, that comes from the Arabic passive participle and triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D (Praise); hence Praised, or praiseworthy. However, its actual pronunciation differs colloquially, for example, in Egyptian Arabic: IPA: [mæˈħæmmæd], while in exclusively religious contexts, talking about Islam: IPA: [moˈħæmmæd].

The name has one of the highest spelling variants in the world. Other Arabic names from the same root include Mahmud, Ahmed, Hamed, and Hamid.

Transliterations

Muhammad: The Messenger of God (film)

Muhammad: The Messenger of God is a 2015 Iranian Islamic epic film directed by Majid Majidi and co-written with Kambuzia Partovi. The film is set in the sixth century where the story revolves around the childhood of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The film marks the biggest-budget production in Iranian cinema to date. Development of Muhammad: The Messenger of God began in 2007 and Majidi wrote the first draft of the screenplay by 2009. By 2011, a colossal set created in the city of Qom near Tehran was ready for the majority of the film. Several scenes were filmed in South Africa. Throughout the filming process, Majidi worked with a team of historians and archaeologists for the work on accuracy of the early life of Prophet Muhammad. Post-production works began in Munich during late 2013 and were completed in 2014. The cinematography is done by Vittorio Storaro and film score is composed by A. R. Rahman.

The film was set to have its premiere at the Fajr International Film Festival on 1 February 2015 but was pulled out due to technical difficulties. For the critics, film-makers and journalists, a special screening was held at Cinema Farhang in Iran on 12 February 2015. The film was released both in Iran and at Montreal World Film Festival on 27 August 2015. The film was selected as the Iranian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.