Nasir Al-Din Al-Asad obtained his BA and Ph.D. degrees in Arabic Language from Fuad Al-Awal University in Cairo in 1955. Then, he lectured at the Arab University and Institute for Research and Studies in Cairo before returning to his country to assist in establishing the Jordanian University. He was a Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, the Dean of the College of Arts and twice the President of the same University. He is also the President of Ahlia (Private) University in Jordan.
Professor Al-Asad is a distinguished intellectual, with significant contributions to the study of Arabic literature during pre-Islamic and early Islamic eras. This is best illustrated by his book The Sources of Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry and their Historical Importance (in Arabic). He has also written extensively on modern literary arts in Jordan and Palestine and on various aspects of Arabic language, history and Islamic studies. In addition, he edited five books and translated Antonius’s The Arab Awakening jointly with Ihsan Abbas.
Aside from his diverse cultural and intellectual pursuits, Professor Al-Asad held several prestigious offices in the Jordanian Government including his appointment as President of the Royal Jordanian Academy for Research on the Islamic Civilization, Jordan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Minister of Higher Education.
Professor Al-Asad is an Honorary Professor at the Jordanian University. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Israa University and AbdAl-Hamid Shuman Prize. In addition to the King Faisal International Prize for Arabic Literature, he received numerous awards, national decorations and memberships of learned institutions including the Arabic Language academies in Cairo, Amman, Damascus and Morocco, the Aligarh Islamic Academy in India.
This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.