Martin Lings

Martin Lings (24 January 1909, Burnage, Manchester — 12 May 2005, Westerham, Kent), also known as Abū Bakr Sirāj ad-Dīn, was an English writer, philosopher, and Islamic scholar, author of the notable 1983 book "Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources." Lings attended Clifton College in Nottingham and went on to Oxford's Magdalen College, earning his BA degree in English literature; he specialized in William Shakespeare's studies and was a student and subsequently a close friend of [a999014]; while studying at Oxford, Martin discovered the writings of metaphysicists Rene Guenon and Frithjof Schuon. After graduating, Lings taught Anglo-Saxon and Middle English at Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania. In 1938, Martin traveled to Basel, Switzerland, to meet Schuon in person. He became interested in Islam and studied "Alawiyya," teachings of [a2168449] spread by Frithjof. The following year, Martin Lings went to Cairo, where he began learning Arabic and soon converted to Islam. He taught at the University of Cairo and produced annual Shakespeare plays. In 1952, Lings returned to the UK, forced to leave Egypt after anti-British upheavals. Martin earned his Bachelor's degree in Arabic from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, followed by a Ph.D. in 1959. He later worked at The British Museum and British Library, overseeing Eastern manuscripts and other textual works.