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Today is the 43th aniversary of executon of Sayyid Qutb, Egytian intellectual and writer.
43 years pass after death of Egyptian intellectual Sayyid Qutb
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Today is the 43th aniversary of executon of Sayyid Qutb, imported Egytian intellectual and writer.
Qutb, an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist, poet, became an intelectual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood following the death of Hassan al-Banna in the 1950s and '60s.
Qutb is easily one of the major architects and "strategists" of contemporary Islamic revival. Along with Maulana Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, the revivalist movement in South Asia, and Imam Khomeini, the leader of Iran's Islamic revolution, he gave shape to the ideas and the worldview that has mobilized and motivated millions of Muslims from Malaysia to Michigan to strive to reintroduce Islamic practices in their lives and alter social and political institutions so that they reflect Islamic principles.
The first excerpt comes from an early work, Social Justice in Islam, which he wrote in 1949. (Social Justice in Islam).
Author of 24 books, including novels, literary arts' critique, works on education, he is best known in the Muslim world for his work on what he believed to be the social and political role of Islam, particularly in his books Social Justice and Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (Milestones).
Qutb builds on the Islamic idea of tawhid (the singularity of God and, therefore, of the universe):
So all creation issuing as it does from one absolute, universal, and active Will, forms an all-embracing unity in which each individual part is in harmonious order with the remainder...Thus, then, all creation is a unity comprising different parts; it has a common origin, a common providence and purpose, because it was produced by a single, absolute, and comprehensive Will...So the universe cannot be hostile to life, or to man; nor can 'Nature' in our modern phrase be held to be antagonistic to man, opposed to him, or striving against him. Rather she is a friend whose purposes are one with those of life and of mankind. And the task of living beings is not to contend with Nature, for they have grown up in her bosom, and she and they together form a part of the single universe which proceeds from the single will.
Alongside notable Islamists like Maulana Mawdudi, Hasan al-Banna, and Ruhollah Khomeini, Qutb is considered one of the most influential Muslim thinkers or activists of the modern era, not only for his ideas but for what many consider his heroic martyr's death
His written works are still widely available and have been translated into many Western languages. Majority of Qutb's theory can be found in his 30-volume Qur'anic commentary Fi zilal al-Qur'an (In the Shade of the Quran).
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Remembering Sayyid Qutb, an Islamic intellectual and leader of rare insight and integrity
By Zafar Bangash
It is perhaps indicative of the present state of the Ummah that, outside his native Egypt and a small circle of Islamic activists, few Muslims are aware that August 29 marked the fourty-third anniversary of the martyrdom of Sayyid Qutb. He was no ordinary Muslim. A man of impeccable Islamic credentials, he made an immense contribution to Muslim political thought at a time when the Muslim world was still mesmerised by such western notions as nationalism, the nation-State and fathers of nations. Nationalist rhetoric laced with socialist slogans was the vogue.
It was in this atmosphere that Sayyid Qutb raised his voice - indeed his pen - against these false ideologies and in one clean sweep denounced them as the modern-day jahiliyyah (the primitive savagery of pre-Islamic days). In this Sayyid Qutb departed from Maulana Maudoodi's articulation of "partial jahiliyyah" in which the late Pakistani scholar was prepared to concede to the systems prevalent in Muslim societies some room for modification and hence a degree of respectability. Sayyid Qutb would have none of it; he insisted that, being a complete system of life, Islam needs no additions from man-made systems.
It was this forthright formulation which sent him to the gallows on August 29, 1966 together with two other Ikhwan al-Muslimoon leaders, Muhammad Yusuf Awash and Abd al-Fattah Ismail. The specific charge against Sayyid Qutb was based on his now-celebrated book, Ma'alim fi'l-tareeq ('Sign-posts on the Road', also translated as Milestones). The book denounced the existing order in Muslim societies as jahiliyyah, provides guidelines for Muslim activists, and describes the steps they must take to establish a society based on divine guidance.
The Ikhwan al-Muslimoon is no longer the movement that Sayyid Qutb had joined when he returned from the US in 1950. It has since been reduced to a shell, being little more than a political party with an Islamic flag. Even this mild version of Islamic expression is not tolerated by the pharaohs of Egypt, who are beholden to their masters in Washington and Tel Aviv. Yet it is the Muslim activists who are accused of 'intolerance.'
Sayyid Qutb was a prolific writer. His best works, however, were produced after his sudden return from the US. What disappointed him most there was the infatuation of American society with materialism and the widespread sexual anarchy. He could have gone on to study for his doctoral thesis, but decided instead to return to Egypt and devote his life to the Islamic movement.
If there was one particular moment in his life which proved crucial in this decision, it was his pain at the manner in which Hasan al-Banna's martyrdom was reported in the American press. Crescent International readers will not be surprised at the manner in which the New York Times reported the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Banna. It wrote: "In Cairo the leader of the outlawed terrorist Moslem Brotherhood Hasan el-Banna, was killed by an assassin" (February 13, 1949). It went on to say: "Sheikh Hasan el-Banna, 39-year-old head of the outlawed Moslem Brotherhood extremist Egyptian nationalist movement that was banned after authorities had declared it responsible for a series of bombing outrages and killings last year, was shot five times by a group of young men in a car and died tonight in hospital."
The "terrorist" appellation for Islamic activity is not a phenomenon of the eighties or nineties. It has been in circulation for more than 50 years. One can immediately see the emotionally-loaded expressions - "terrorist", "extremist", "outlawed", etc - used for the Ikhwan al-Muslimoon by the mouthpiece of the zionist establishment in America. Qutb's disappointment at seeing the supposedly respectable organs of public opinion indulging in a vicious attacks on the character of a leading Islamic leader can be imagined.
When Sayyid Qutb returned to Egypt, he started working with the Ikhwan al-Muslimoon, which he had not previously been a member of, as well as continuing to think and write. At the time, the Ikhwan were working with the 'Free Officers' plotting to overthrow the monarchy of king Farouk. Among the Free Officers were such figures as colonel Gamal Abd al-Nasser and colonel Anwar Sadat. According to the Sadat's own account, Sayyid Qutb was the main ideologue of the Free Officers' 'revolution.' Had the coup failed, it is clear that Sayyid Qutb would have paid with his life. Sadat, again according to his own account, had gone to the cinema on the day of the coup in order to have an alibi in the event that 'things went wrong.' He went on to become the president of Egypt after Nasser's death from a heart attack in September 1970.
The Free Officers, however, soon fell out with the Ikhwan. That can be no surprise to those with even a superficial familiarity with such institutions as the military in the Muslim world. The coup-plotters were young and inexperienced; they needed a father-figure and an intellectual guide; Sayyid Qutb fit the bill well. But once the coup had succeeded, the Free Officers had other plans.
Within two years of the coup, Nasser had taken full control of the state. He then came down hard on the Ikhwan. Two events in particular contributed to the break: the Ikhwan's insistence on an Islamic constitution and a free press; and their denunciation of the July 1954 Anglo-Egyptian Agreement pertaining to the Suez Canal. This totally exposed Nasser's false revolutionary credentials. The treaty allowed British troops to enter Egypt if British interests were threatened in the Middle East. In fact, it actually permitted the presence of British troops on the Suez Canal.
From the beginning of 1954 until his execution, Sayyid Qutb spent most of his time in prison. In early 1954, when the Egyptian secret service came to arrest him, Sayyid Qutb was running a high fever. They insisted on putting the handcuffs on him and forcing him to walk to prison. On the way, he fainted several times from weakness. Once inside the prison compound, a specially-trained dog was unleashed upon him which dragged him around for more than two hours. He was then interrogated for seven hours without a break.
At his 'treason' trial in 1966, he was accused of plotting to bring about a Marxist coup in the country. This ludicrous charge was made by a regime that was already a close ally of the erstwhile Soviet Union. The rulers of Egypt knew that they were trying a man on wholly false charges. The real reason for the prosecution was Sayyid Qutb's denunciation of the system and regime as jahiliyyah. Nasser knew that if such ideas were allowed to circulate, they would threaten his rule and ultimately lead to his overthrow. Sayyid Qutb had to be eliminated.
Shortly before his scheduled execution, an emissary of Nasser came to Sayyid Qutb asking him to sign a petition seeking mercy from the president. Sayyid Qutb's reply was forthright: "If I have done something wrong in the eyes of Allah, I do not deserve mercy; but if I have not done anything wrong, I should be set free without having to plead for mercy from any mortal." The emissary went away disappointed; Nasser was denied the pleasure of turning down Sayyid Qutb's 'appeal' for mercy.
Sayyid Qutb wrote a number of books, including the well-known tafseer, Fi Zilal al-Qur'an ('In the shade of the Qur'an'), in which he explains Qur'anic ayaat with references to other ayaat of the noble Book. This he compiled during his long confinements in prison on spurious charges. Similarly, his contribution to Muslim political thought was immense. He categorically rejected any borrowings from the west and insisted that Islam is self-sufficient.
That such a worthy son of Islam should be so mistreated and humiliated in a Muslim country shows the depths of depravity to which the regimes in the Muslim world have sunk. Perhaps this was partly the reason that Nasser's army faced such an ignominious defeat at the hands of the zionist forces a year later, in the 'Six Day war' of June 1967.
Sayyid Qutb lives in the hearts of millions of Muslims worldwide. His books have been translated into virtually every language that Muslims read, and remain hugely influential. The main translations into Farsi have been done by the Rahbar of the Islamic Republic, Ayatullah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, himself. This is a great tribute to the martyred scholar of Islam.
[Zafar Bangash is Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT).]
Biographies
Al-Ghazaly – The Man of Da`wah
"Lack of a sense of culture for a religious scholar is more dangerous than a lack of blood cells for a weak patient. A caller to Allah has to read about virtually everything. He or she has to read the books of belief and the books of atheism, the books of Sunnah and the books of philosophy. In short, to read about all schools of human thought is how one gains experience in life." Alija Izetbegovic
"Do we want the Muslim people to leave their going-around-in-circles, their dependence, backwardness, and poverty? Then we show clearly which path will take us to that goal: establishing Islam in every field in the personal life of the individual, in family and society…and the establishment of a unique Islamic community from Morocco to Indonesia." Bediüzzaman Said Nursi
"There is an apparent burden in worship, but there is an ease and lightness in its meaning that defies description. For in the prescribed prayers the worshipper declares, "I bear witness that there is no god but God." That is to say, he finds the door of a treasury of mercy in everything because he is believing and saying, "There is no Creator and Provider other than Him. Harm and benefit are in His hand. He is both All-Wise; He does nothing in vain, and He is All-Compassionate; His bounty and mercy are abundant." And he knocks on the door with his supplication. Moreover, he sees that everything is subjugated to the command of his own Sustainer, so he takes refuge in Him. He places his trust in Him and relies on Him, and is fortified against every disaster; his belief gives him complete confidence." El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X)
"America needs to understand Islam, because this is one religion that erases from its society, the Race problem!" Hasan Al-Banna
"Wasting time and effort in investigating trivial matters that will not lead to action is prohibited in Islam. This category includes debating minute aspects of rulings in cases which have never occurred, investigating the meaning of the Qur'anic verses which are still beyond the scope of human knowledge (the mutashabihaat verses), and differentiating between the companions (Sahabah) of the Prophet or investigating the instances of disagreement that took place among them. Every sahabi (may Allah be pleased with them all) has the honour and distinction of being a companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and to each is the recompense of his motives." Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah
"Through patience and poverty one attains leadership in religion. The seeker of Truth needs the will that inspires him and pushes him upward and knowledge that leads and guides him." Khurram Murad
"Our heart beats approximately 67 times a minute, every time it wants to beat, it asks Allah, am I permitted to beat? If Allah says yes, it beats and if He says no then the life ends." Sayyid Qutb
"In the scale of God, the true weight is the weight of faith; in God's market the only commodity in demand is the commodity of faith. The highest form of triumph is the victory of soul over matter, the victory of belief over pain, and the victory of faith over persecution." Syed Abul Ala Maududi
"Islam has not lost its intrinsic values and it is as dynamic today as it was yesterday. Only, the people have lost the understanding of Islam, and they are not conscious of its superiority over other ideologies." Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi
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