One of the most prominent Muslim intellectuals in the modern West.
Born into a Sufi family in Iran, Nasr moved to America as a boy. His study of physics in college left him unsatisfied, so he turned to Neoplatonic philosophers and the "perennial wisdom" (a tradition of thought that posits a fundamental truth underlying all religions). He later went on to study Islamic philosophy (especially the neoplatonic Shi`ite tradition), and sought to reincorporate its study into the educational curriculum in Iran. He returned to writing and teaching in the U.S. at the time of the Iranian revolution (1979).
His short biography of the Prophet (Muhammad: Man of God) reflects his concern to step beyond modern naturalistic assumptions (which have led to skepticism about Islam) and emphasize the spiritual dimension of nature and of history, over and above (but not in opposition to) physical reality and science.