Jahiliyyah () is an Islamic concept of "ignorance of divine guidance" or "the state of ignorance of the guidance from God" or "Days of Ignorance" referring to the condition in which Arabs found themselves in pre-Islamic Arabia, i.e. prior to the revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad. The root of the term ''jahiliyyah'' is the I-form verb ''yajhalu'' "to be ignorant or stupid, to act stupidly". By extension, it has come to refer to the state of anyone not following Islam and the Qur'an.

In the Qur'an

The term ''jahiliyyah'' is used several places in the Qur'an, and translations often use various terms to represent it:

3:154 Then, following misery, He sent down upon you a feeling of security, a slumber overcoming a party among you, while another party cared only for themselves, thinking false thoughts about God, thoughts fit for the ''Age of Idolatry''. 5:50 Do they truly desire the law of ''paganism''? But who is fairer than God in judgment for a people firm of faith? 33:33 Remain in your homes, and do not display your adornments, as was the case with the earlier ''Age of Barbarism''. 48:26 For the unbelievers had planted in their hearts a zealotry, the zealotry of ''lawlessness'' ...

Post-Qur'anic Muslim Scholarship

Medieval Islamic scholar ibn Taymiyyah was probably the first to use the term to describe backsliders in contemporary Muslim society . In the 20th century, Indian Islamist writer Abul Ala Maududi wrote of it. Sayyid Qutb popularized the term in his influential work ''Ma'alim fi al-Tariq'' "Milestones", with the shocking assertion that "the Muslim community has been extinct for a few centuries."

When a person embraced Islam during the time of the Prophet, he would immediately cut himself off from Jahiliyyah. When he stepped into the circle of Islam, he would start a new life, separating himself completely from his past life under ignorance of the Divine Law. He would look upon the deeds during his life of ignorance with mistrust and fear, with a feeling that these were impure and could not be tolerated in Islam! With this feeling, he would turn toward Islam for new guidance; and if at any time temptations overpowered him, or the old habits attracted him, or if he became lax in carrying out the injunctions of Islam, he would become restless with a sense of guilt and would feel the need to purify himself of what had happened, and would turn to the Qur'an to mold himself according to its guidance. —Sayyid Qutb

Jahili poetry

With the period before the coming of Islam being defined as the time of "Jahiliyyah", pre-Islamic poetry is commonly referred to in Arabic as "الشعر الجاهلي" or Jahili poetry - literally "the ignorant poetry". Although so named, however, what survives of this poetry is well regarded as the finest of Arabic poetry to date (see Pre-Islamic poetry).

Jahiliyya in contemporary society

Use of the term for modern Muslim society is usually associated with Qutb's other radical ideas (or Qutbism) -- namely that reappearance of ''Jahiliyya'' is a result of the lack of Sharia law, without which Islam cannot exist; that true Islam is a complete system with no room for any element of ''Jahiliyya;'' that all aspects of ''Jahiliyya'' ("manners, ideas and concepts, rules and regulations, values and criteria") are "evil and corrupt"

Non-Muslim societies may also be termed ''jahili''. One western academic has compared the idea of contemporary Jahiliyya in some radical Islamic circles to the secular Marxist idea of false consciousness - in each case the masses being unaware they are not following their true consciousness by rising up to overthrow the capitalist system and replacing it with socialism (in the case of Marxism); or overthrow the secular state and replace it with the true Islam of strict sharia law (in the case of Qutbism).

See also

Arabic poetry

Hanif

Pre-Islamic Arabia

Takfir

Takfiri

References

Further reading

Milestones

Category:Arabic words and phrases Category:History of Islam Category:Islamic terms Category:Conversion to Islam

da:Jahiliya de:Dschāhiliyya es:Jahiliyyah fa:جاهلیت fr:Jahiliya id:Jahiliyah it:Jahiliyya he:קדם-אסלאם hu:Dzsáhilijja arz:جاهليه ms:Jahiliah nl:Jahiliyya ja:ジャーヒリーヤ pl:Dżahilijja pt:Jahiliyyah ru:Джахилия szl:Dżahilijja sv:Jahiliya uk:Джахілія zh:蒙昧时代

Notability	Sayyid Qutb
Era	Modern era
Name	Sayyid Qutb
Birth date	October 09, 1906
Death date	August 29, 1966
Ethnicity	Egyptian
Region	Middle East
Maddhab	Shafi'i
School tradition|	Sunni
Main interests	Islam, Politics, Quranic exegesis (tafsir)
Notable ideas	Jahiliyyah, Ubudiyya
Works	Milestones, In the Shade of the Quran
Influences	Hassan al-Banna, Ibn al-Qayyim, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi}}

Sayyid Qutb () (also Said, Syed, Seyyid, Sayid, or Sayed; Koteb, Qutub, Kotb, or Kutb) (; October 9, 1906 – August 29, 1966) was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist theorist, poet, and the leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and '60s.

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''). His magnum opus, ''Fi Zilal al-Qur'an'' (''In the shade of the Qur'an''), is a 30-volume commentary on the Qur'an.

During most of his life, Qutb's inner circle mainly consisted of influential politicians, intellectuals, poets and literary figures, both of his age and of the preceding generation. By the mid-1940s, many of his writings were officially among the curricula of schools, colleges and universities.

Even though most of his observations and criticism were leveled at the Muslim world, Qutb is also known for his intense disapproval of the society and culture of the United States which he saw as obsessed with materialism, violence, and sexual pleasures. Views on Qutb vary widely. He has been described by some as a great artist and martyr for Islam, but by many Western observers as one who shaped the ideas of Islamists and particularly of groups such as Al Qaeda Today, his supporters are identified as Qutbists or "Qutbi", (by their opponents, not by themselves).

Life and public career

Early childhood

Qutb was raised in the Egyptian village of Musha, located in Upper Egypt's Asyut Province. His father was a landowner and the family estate's administrator, but he was also well known for his political activism, holding weekly meetings to discuss the political events and Qur'anic recitation. At this young age, Sayyid Qutb first learned about the melodic illustrations of the Qur'an, which would fuel the artistic side of his personality all the way to his last book. In his teens, Qutb was also a critic of the religious institutions he came into contact with, he disliked how those institutions were used to form public opinion and thoughts. He had a special disdain, however, for schools that specialized in religious studies only, and sought to prove that locals school that held regular academic classes as well as religion were more beneficial than the unevenness of the religious school program. At this time, Qutb developed his bent against the Imams and their traditional understanding of education, and this would be the standard of confrontation throughout his life.

He moved to Cairo, where he could receive an education based on the British style of schooling, between 1929 and 1933, before starting his career as a teacher in the Ministry of Public Instruction. During his early career, Qutb devoted himself to literature as an author and critic, writing such novels as ''Ashwak'' (''Thorns'') and even helped to elevate Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz from obscurity. In 1939, he became a functionary in Egypt's Ministry of Education (''wizarat al-ma'arif'' ).

From 1948 to 1950, he went to the United States on a scholarship to study its educational system, spending several months at Colorado State College of Education (now the University of Northern Colorado) in Greeley, Colorado. Qutb's first major theoretical work of religious social criticism, ''Al-'adala al-Ijtima'iyya fi-l-Islam'' (''Social Justice in Islam''), was published in 1949, during his time in the West.

Though Islam gave him much peace and contentment, he suffered from respiratory and other health problems throughout his life and was known for "his introvertedness, isolation, depression and concern." In appearance, he was "pale with sleepy eyes." Qutb never married, in part because of his steadfast religious convictions. While the urban Egyptian society he lived in was becoming more Westernized, Qutb believed that 'the current ideas of the society and its prevalent traditions apply great pressure - back-breaking pressure, especially in the case of women; the Muslim woman is really under extreme and oppressive pressure'. Qutb joked to his readers that he was never able to find a woman and had to reconcile himself to bachelorhood.

It was clear from his childhood that Qutb valued education, playing the part of a teacher to the women in his village:

Syed Qutb from a young age would save up his money for a man called Amsaalih, who used to sell books around the local villages. He would have a big collection of books, and another small collection specifically for Syed Qutb. If Syed never had the money, he would tell him that I don't have the money now, so let me borrow it and I'll give it you next time you come around. And Amsaalih would let him do that. At the age of 12, he had his own library collection of 25 books, even though books were really expensive during that time. He would imitate the scholars by reading the books, and then give lectures to the rest of the village. If any women needed any information, they would wait till Syed Qutb came back from school, and ask him to share the knowledge he had to them. In many occasions he would be shy because he was a young man, but in some occasions he would go and teach the knowledge he had to the people who asked him.

Visit to America

This turning point resulted from Qutb's visit to the United States for higher studies in educational administration. Over a two-year period, he worked in several different institutions including what was then-Wilson Teachers' College in Washington, D.C. and Colorado State College for Education in Greeley, as well as Stanford University. He also traveled extensively, visiting the major cities of the United States and spent time in Europe on the return journey to Egypt.

On his return to Egypt, Qutb published an article entitled "The America that I Have Seen." He was critical of many things he had observed in the United States: its materialism, individual freedoms, economic system, racism, brutal boxing matches, "poor" haircuts, superficiality in conversations and friendships, restrictions on divorce, enthusiasm for sports, lack of artistic feeling, "animal-like" mixing of the sexes (which "went on even in churches"), and strong support for the new Israeli state. Hisham Sabrin, noted that:

As a brown person in Greeley, Colorado in the late 40s, studying English he came across much prejudice. He also felt quite appalled by what he perceived as loose sexual openness of American men and women (a far cry by any measure, from Musha, Asyut where he grew up). But, in fact this American experience was not truly a crisis for Qutb, but rather a moment of choice and fine-tuning of his already Islamic identity. He himself tells us on his boat trip over “Should I travel to America, and become flimsy, and ordinary, like those who are satisfied with idle talk and sleep. Or should I distinguish myself with values and spirit. Is there other than Islam that I should be steadfast to in its character and hold on to its instructions, in this life amidst deviant chaos, and the endless means of satisfying animalistic desires, pleasures, and awful sins? I wanted to be the latter man.”.

Qutb noted with disapproval the sexuality of American women:

the American girl is well acquainted with her body's seductive capacity. She knows it lies in the face, and in expressive eyes, and thirsty lips. She knows seductiveness lies in the round breasts, the full buttocks, and in the shapely thighs, sleek legs—and she shows all this and does not hide it.

He also commented on the American taste in arts:

The American is primitive in his artistic taste, both in what he enjoys as art and in his own artistic works.

“Jazz” music is his music of choice. This is that music that the Negroes invented to satisfy their primitive inclinations, as well as their desire to be noisy on the one hand and to excite bestial tendencies on the other. The American’s intoxication in “jazz” music does not reach its full completion until the music is accompanied by singing that is just as coarse and obnoxious as the music itself. Meanwhile, the noise of the instruments and the voices mounts, and it rings in the ears to an unbearable degree… The agitation of the multitude[2] increases, and the voices of approval mount, and their palms ring out in vehement, continuous applause that all but deafens the ears.

Return to Egypt

Qutb concluded that major aspects of American life were primitive and "shocking", a people who were "numb to faith in religion, faith in art, and faith in spiritual values altogether". His experience in the U.S. is believed to have formed in part the impetus for his rejection of Western values and his move towards Islamism upon returning to Egypt. Resigning from the civil service, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1950s and became editor-in-chief of the Brothers' weekly ''Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin,'' and later head of its propaganda section, as well as an appointed member of the working committee and of its guidance council, the highest branch in the organization.

In July 1952, Egypt's pro-Western government was overthrown by the nationalist Free Officers Movement headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Both Qutb and the Muslim Brotherhood welcomed the coup against the monarchist government — which they saw as un-Islamic and subservient to British imperialism — and enjoyed a close relationship with the movement prior to and immediately following the coup. Nasser would go the the house of Syed Qutb and ask him for ideas about the Revolution. Many members of the Brotherhood expected Nasser to establish an Islamic government. However, the cooperation between the Brotherhood and Free Officers which marked the revolution's success soon soured as it became clear the secular nationalist ideology of Nasserism was incompatible with the Islamism of the Brotherhood.

Nasser's Attempt to bring Qutb into his Government

Nasser had secretly set up an organisation that would sufficiently oppose the Muslim Brotherhood once he came to power. This organisation was called "Tahreer' ("freedom" in arabic). It was well known that the Brotherhood were made popular by their extensive social programs in Egypt, and Nasser wanted to be ready once he had taken over. At this time, Qutb did not realize Nasser's alternate plans, and would continue to meet with him, sometimes for 12 hours a day, to discuss a post monarch Egypt. Once Qutb realize that Nasser had taken advantage of the secrecy between the Free Officers and the Brotherhood, he promptly quit. Nasser then tried to persuade Qutb by offering him any position he wants in Egypt except its Kingship, saying:

We will give you whatever position you want in the government, whether it's the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Arts, etc."

Qutb refused every offer, having understood the reality of Nasser's plans.

After the attempted assassination of Nasser in 1954, the Egyptian government used the incident to justify a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, imprisoning Qutb and many others for their vocal opposition to various government policies. During his first three years in prison, conditions were bad and Qutb was tortured. In later years he was allowed more mobility, including the opportunity to write.

This period saw the composition of his two most important works: a commentary of the Qur'an ''Fi Zilal al-Qur'an'' (''In the Shade of the Qur'an''), and a manifesto of political Islam called ''Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq'' (''Milestones''). These works represent the final form of Qutb's thought, encompassing his radically anti-secular and anti-Western claims based on his interpretations of the Qur'an, Islamic history, and the social and political problems of Egypt. The school of thought he inspired has become known as Qutbism.

Qutb was let out of prison at the end of 1964 at the behest of the Prime Minister of Iraq, Abdul Salam Arif, for only 8 months before being rearrested in August 1965. He was accused of plotting to overthrow the state and subjected to what some consider a show trial. Many of the charges placed against Qutb in court were taken directly from ''Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq'' and he adamantly supported his written statements. The trial culminated in a death sentence for Qutb and six other members of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was sentenced to death as the leader of a group planning to assassinate the President and other Egyptian officials and personalities, though he was not the instigator or leader of the actual plot. On 29 August 1966, he was executed by hanging.

Evolution of thought, views and statements

Theological Stances

Qutb held that belief in matters that cannot be seen (or are imperceptible) was an important sign of man's ability to accept knowledge from fields outside of science:

The concept of the imperceptible is a decisive factor in distinguishing man from animal. Materialist thinking, ancient as well as modern, has tended to drag man back to an irrational existence, with no room for the spiritual, where everything is determined by sensory means alone. What is peddled as 'progressive thought' is no more than dismal regression.

Secularism

Different theories have been advanced as to why Qutb turned away from his secularist tendencies towards Islamic Sharia. One common explanation is that the conditions he witnessed in prison from 1954–1964, including the torture and murder of Muslim Brothers, convinced him that only a government bound by Islamic law could prevent such abuses. Another is that Qutb's experiences in America as a darker-skinned person and the insufficiently anti-Western policies of Nasser demonstrated to him the powerful and dangerous allure of ignorance (''jahiliyyah')'—a threat unimaginable, in Qutb's estimation, to the secular mind. Two excerpts of the opening of his book Milestones contain the following view:

Finally, Qutb offered his own explanation in ''Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq'', arguing that anything non-Islamic was evil and corrupt, while following Sharia as a complete system extending into all aspects of life, would bring every kind of benefit to humanity, from personal and social peace, to the "treasures" of the universe.

In general, Qutb's experiences as an Egyptian Muslim—his village childhood, professional career, and activism in the Muslim Brotherhood—left an unmistakable mark on his theoretical and religious works. Even Qutb's early, secular writing shows evidence of his later themes. For example, Qutb's autobiography of his childhood ''Tifl min al-Qarya'' (''A Child From the Village'') makes little mention of Islam or political theory and is typically classified as a secular, literary work. However, it is replete with references to village mysticism, superstition, the Qur'an, and incidences of injustice. Qutb's later work developed along similar themes, dealing with Qur'anic exegesis, social justice, and political Islam.

Qutb's career as a writer also heavily influenced his philosophy. In ''al-Taswiir al-Fanni fil-Quran'' (''Artistic Representation in the Qur'an''), Qutb developed a literary appreciation of the Qur'an and a complementary methodology for interpreting the text. His hermeneutics were applied in his extensive commentary on the Qur'an, ''Fi zilal al-Qur'an'' (''In the Shade of the Quran''), which served as the foundation for the declarations of ''Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq''.

Late in his life, Qutb synthesized his personal experiences and intellectual development in the famous ''Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq,'' a religious and political manifesto for what he believed was a true Islamic system. It was also in this text that Qutb condemned Muslim governments, such as Abdul Nasser's regime in Egypt, as secular with their legitimacy based on human (and thus corrupt), rather than divine authority. This work, more than any other, established Qutb as one of, if not the premier Islamists of the 20th century.

Events that lead from Secularism to Islam

Qutb told people of his shift from secularism to Islam.

His journey started when he studied the Qur'an in a literal way, and he slowly began to understand the principles lined in the religion. Then something happened to him in America to remove his doubts. He says; that while he was going to America, he was on the boat (ferry), and he saw the way the boat he was travelling in - was rocking in the huge sea – all under the control of Allah without it sinking or capsizing. At that point he realized the power of Allah. He said Iman (belief) entered into his heart due to this.

His second scenario was in San Francisco, when he went on top of a mountain, and he could see the whole of creation in front of him, and he realized the beauty and harmony that existed amongst the creation as a whole. He said that, the sweetness of Iman hit him.

Political philosophy

Sayyid Qutb's mature political views always centered on Islam — Islam as a complete system of morality, justice and governance, whose Sharia laws and principles should be the sole basis of governance and everything else in life - though his interpretation of it varied. Following the 1952 coup, he espoused a `just dictatorship` that would `grant political liberties to the virtuous alone.` Later he wrote that rule by ''Sharia'' law would require essentially no government at all. In an earlier work, Qutb described military jihad as defensive, Islam's campaign to protect itself, while later he believed jihad must be offensive.

On the issue of Islamic governance, Qutb differed with many modernist and reformist Muslims who claimed democracy was Islamic because the Quranic institution of ''Shura'' supported elections and democracy. Qutb pointed out that the Shura chapter of the Qur'an was revealed during the Mekkan period, and therefore, it does not deal with the problem of government. It makes no reference to elections and calls only for the ruler to consult some of the ruled, as a particular case of the general rule of ''Shura.''

Qutb also opposed the then popular ideology of Arab nationalism, having become disillusioned with the 1952 Nasser Revolution after having been exposed to the regime's practices of arbitrary arrest, torture, and deadly violence during his imprisonment.

View on Harmony of Man

Qutb felt strongly that the world was meant to serve man if understood properly. He wrote:

"Islam teaches that God created the physical world and all its forces for man's own use and benefit. Man is specifically taught and directed to study the world around him, discover its potential and utilize all his environment for his own good and the good of his fellow humans. Any harm that man suffers at the hands of nature is a result only of his ignorance or lack of understanding of it and of the laws governing it. The more man learns about nature, the more peaceful and harmonious his relationship with nature and the environment. Hence, the notion of "conquering nature" can readily be seen as cynical and negative. Its is alien to Islamic perceptions and betrays a shameless ignorance of the spirit in which the world has been created and the divine wisdom that underlies it."

Jahiliyyah vs. freedom

This exposure to abuse of power undoubtedly contributed to the ideas in his famous prison-written Islamic manifesto ''Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq'' (Milestones), where he advocated a political system the opposite of dictatorship—i.e. one with no government. There Qutb argued: Much of the Muslim world approaches the Qur'an as a means to simply acquire culture and information, to participate in academic discussions and enjoyment. This evades the real purpose, for rather, it should be approached as a means to change society, to remove man from the enslavement of other men to the servitude of God. Rather than support rule by a pious few, (whether a dictator(s) or democratically elected), Muslims should resist ''any'' system where men are in "servitude to other men"—i.e. obey other men—as un-Islamic and a violation of God's sovereignty (''Hakamiyya'') over all of creation. A truly Islamic polity would have no rulers—not even have theocratic ones—since Muslims would need neither judges nor police to obey divine law. It was what one observer has called "a kind of anarcho-Islam." The way to bring about this freedom was for a revolutionary vanguard. to fight ''jahiliyyah'' with a twofold approach: preaching, and abolishing the organizations and authorities of the ''Jahili'' system by "physical power and Jihad." The vanguard movement would grow with preaching and jihad until it formed a truly Islamic community, then spread throughout the Islamic homeland and finally throughout the entire world, attaining leadership of humanity. While those who had been "defeated by the attacks of the treacherous Orientalists!" might define jihad "narrowly" as defensive, Islamically correct Jihad (according to Qutb) was in fact offensive, not defensive.

Qutb emphasized this struggle would be anything but easy. True Islam would transform every aspect of society, eliminating everything non-Muslim. True Muslims could look forward to lives of "poverty, difficulty, frustration, torment and sacrifice." ''Jahili'' ersatz-Muslims, Jews and Westerners would all fight and conspire against Islam and the elimination of ''jahiliyyah.''

Criticisms

Though greatly admired by many in the Muslim world, Qutb also has critics. Following the publication of ''Milestones'' and the aborted plot against the Nasser government, mainstream Muslims took issue with Qutb's contention that "physical power" and jihad had to be used to overthrow governments, and attack societies, "institutions and traditions" of the Muslim—but according to Qutb ''jahili''—world. The ulema of Al-Azhar University school took the unusual step following his death of putting Sayyid Qutb on their index of heresy, declaring him a "deviant" (''munharif'').

Reformist Muslims, on the other hand, questioned his understanding of ''sharia,'' i.e. that it is not only perfect and complete, but completely accessible to people and thus the solution to any of their problems. Also criticized is his dismissal of not only all non-Muslim culture, but many centuries of Muslim learning, culture and beauty following the first four caliphs as un-Islamic and thus worthless.

Conservative/puritan criticism went further, condemning Qutb's Islamist/reformist ideas—such as social justice and redistributive economics, banning of slavery,—as "western" and ''bid'ah'' or innovative (innovations to Islam being forbidden ipso facto). They have accused Qutb of amateur scholarship, overuse of ''ijtihad'', innovation in ''Ijma'' (which Qutb felt should not be limited to scholars, but should be conducted by all Muslims), declaring unlawful what Allah has made lawful, assorted mistakes in ''aqeedah'' (belief) and ''manhaj'' (methodology).

Legacy

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 some consider his heroic martyr's death. According to authors Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, "it was Sayyid Qutb who fused together the core elements of modern Islamism: the Kharijites' takfir, ibn Taymiyya's fatwas and policy prescriptions, Rashid Rida's salafism, Maududi's concept of the contemporary jahiliyya and Hassan al-Banna's political activism."

His written works are still widely available and have been translated into many Western languages. Qutb's best known work is ''Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq'' (''Milestones''), but the majority of Qutb's theory can be found in his Qur'anic commentary ''Fi zilal al-Qur'an'' (''In the Shade of the Quran''). This 30-volume work is noteworthy for its innovative method of interpretation, borrowing heavily from the literary analysis of Amin al-Khuli, while retaining some structural features of classical commentaries (for example, the practice of progressing from the first sura to the last).

The influence of his work extends to issues such as Westernization, modernization, and political reform and the theory of inevitable ideological conflict between "Islam and the West" (see Clash of civilizations), the notion of a transnational umma, and the comprehensive application of jihad.

Qutb's theoretical work on Islamic advocacy, social justice and education, has left a significant mark on the Muslim Brotherhood (at least outside of Egypt).

Al Qaeda and Islamic Jihad

Qutb had influence on Islamic insurgent/terror groups in Egypt

One of Muhammad Qutb's students and later an ardent follower was Ayman Zawahiri, who went on to become a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and later a mentor of Osama bin Laden and a leading member of al-Qaeda. Zawahiri was first introduced to Qutb by his uncle and maternal family patriarch, Mafouz Azzam, who was very close to Qutb throughout his life. Azzam was Qutb's student, then protégé, then personal lawyer and executor of his estate — one of the last people to see Qutb before his execution. According to Lawrence Wright, who interviewed Azzam, "young Ayman al-Zawahiri heard again and again from his beloved uncle Mahfouz about the purity of Qutb's character and the torment he had endured in prison." Zawahiri paid homage to Qutb in his work ''Knights under the Prophet's Banner.''

Osama bin Laden was also acquainted with Sayyid's brother, Muhammad Qutb. A close college friend of bin Laden's, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, told Wright, that bin Laden regularly attended weekly public lectures by Muhammad Qutb, at King Abdulaziz University, and that he and bin Laden both "read Sayyid Qutb. He was the one who most affected our generation."

While imprisoned in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki became influenced by the works of Qutb. He would read 150–200 pages a day of Qutb's works, describing himself during the course of his reading as "so immersed with the author I would feel Sayyid was with me in my cell speaking to me directly.”

Works

Literary:

''Mahammat al-Sha'ir fi'l-Hayah wa Shi'r al-Jil al-Hadir'' (The Task of the Poet in Life and the Poetry of the Contemporary Generation), 1933

''al-Shati al-Majhul'' (The Unknown Beach), 1935

''Naqd Kitab: Mustaqbal al-Thaqafa fi Misr'' (Critique of a Book by Taha Husain: the Future of Culture in Egypt), 1939

''Al-Taswir al-Fanni fi'l-Qu'ran'' (Artistic Imagery in the Qur'an), 1945

''Al-Atyaf al-Arba'a'' (The Four Apparitions), 1945

''Tifl min al-Qarya'' (A Child from the Village), 1946

''Al-Madina al-Mashura'' (The Enchanted City), 1946

''Kutub wa Shakhsiyyat'' (Books and Personalities), 1946

''Askwak'' (Thorns), 1947

''Mashahid al-Qiyama fi'l-Qur'an'' (Aspects of Resurrection in the Qu'ran), 1946

''Al-Naqd al-Adabi: Usuluhu wa Manahijuhu'' (Literary Criticism: Its Foundation and Methods'), 1948

Theoretical:

''Al-Adala al-Ijtima'iyya fi'l-Islam (Social Justice in Islam), 1949

''Ma'arakat al-Islam wa'l-Ra's Maliyya (The Battle Between Islam and Capitalism), 1951

''Al-Salam al-'Alami wa'l-Islam (World Peace and Islam), 1951

Fi Zilal al-Qur'an (In the Shade of the Qur'an), first installment 1954

''Dirasat Islamiyya'' (Islamic Studies), 1953

''Hadha'l-Din'' (This Religion is Islam), n.d. (after 1954)

''Al-Mustaqbal li-hadha'l-Din'' (The Future of This Religion), n.d. (after 1954)

''Khasais al-Tasawwar al-Islami wa Muqawamatuhu'' (The Characteristics and Values of Islamic Conduct), 1960

''Al-Islam wa Mushkilat al-Hadara'' (Islam and the Problems of Civilization), n.d. (after 1954)

Ma'alim fi'l-Tariq (Signposts on the Road, or Milestones), 1964 (Reviewed by Yvonne Ridley)

Basic Principles of Islamic Worldview

The Islamic Concept and Its Characteristics

Islam and universal peace

See also

Fi zilal al-Qur'an

Theocracy

Islam and antisemitism

Taqiuddin al-Nabhani

References

Bibliography

Valentine, Simon Ross, Sayyid Qutb: Terrorism & the Origins of Militant Islam", American Chronicle, December 2008.

From Secularism to Jihad: Sayyid Qutb and the Foundations of Radical Islamism – Adnan A. Musallam

The Political Thought of Sayyid Qutb: The Theory of Jahiliyyah (2006)- Sayed Khatab

The Power of Sovereignty: The Political And Ideological Philosophy of Sayyid Qutb (2006)- Sayed Khatab

The Political Theory of Sayyid Qutb: A Genealogy of Discourse (2004)- Mohamed Soffar

Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb – Ahmad S. Moussalli

Calvert, John (2000), "`The World is an Undutiful Boy!`: Sayyid Qutb's American Experience," ''Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations'', Vol. II, No.1, pp. 87–103:98.

Curtis, Adam (2005). ''The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear''. BBC.

March, Andrew F. (2010) "Taking People as They Are: Islam as a 'Realistic Utopia' in the Political Theory of Sayyid Qutb," ''American Political Science Review'', Vol. 104, No. 1.

External links

Ahmed Bouzid, ''Man, Society, And Knowledge In The Islamist Discourse Of Sayyid Qutb'' ''Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University'' (April, 1998)

Martin Amis, ''The Age of Horrorism'' ''The Observer'' (September 10, 2006)

Paul Berman, The Philosopher of Islamic Terror ''New York Times Magazine'' (March 23, 2003).

Robert Irwin, Is this the man who inspired Bin Laden? ''The Guardian'' (November 1, 2001).

Daniel Brogan, Al Qaeda’s Greeley Roots ''5280 Magazine'' (June 2003).

Sayyid Qutb, ''Milestones''.

''Milestones'' (alternate translation)

''Sayyid Qtub's Milestones''

Sayyid Qutb, ''In the Shade of the Qur'an''. Source 1 ''In the Shade of the Qur'an''. Source 2

Sayyid Qetb ''This Religion of Islam''.

Hisham Sabrin, Qutb: Between Terror and Tragedy ''Disinformation.com'' (January 21, 2010)

David Von Drehle, A Lesson In Hate ''Smithsonian Magazine''

Alexis Carrel and Sayyid Qutb

Religion scholar Karen Armstrong discusses Sayyid Qutb from NPR´s ''Fresh Air from WHYY'' (October 17, 2001).

Sayyid Qutb's America from NPR's ''All Things Considered'' (May 6, 2003).

Religion Reformers In Islam

Sayyid Qutb's French connection

Remembering Sayyid Qutb, an Islamic intellectual and leader of rare insight and integrity

Major scholars on Sayyid Qutb

Biography and Activities of Sayyid Qutb

Category:1906 births Category:1966 deaths Category:Muslim philosophers Category:Egyptian Islamists Category:Egyptian religious leaders Category:Egyptian torture victims Category:Muslim activists Category:Greeley, Colorado Category:Islam and antisemitism Category:Executed activists Category:Muslim theologians Category:People executed by Egypt Category:Executed Egyptian people Category:20th-century executions Category:People executed by hanging Category:Muslim Brotherhood leaders Category:Sex segregation Category:Qur'anic exegesis scholars

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Notability	Islamic scholar
Era	Umayyad Caliphate
Name	Imam Abu Hanifa (إمام أبو حنيفة)
Title	Imam of the Abode of Emigration
Birth date	September 5, 699 (80 Hijri)Kufa, Iraq
Death date	June 14, 767 (150 Hijri)Baghdad, Iraq
Ethnicity	Persian
Region	Muslim World
Maddhab	Sunnah
School tradition|	Sunni Islam
Main interests	Fiqh
Notable ideas	Hanafi madhhab
Works	''Kitabul-Athar'', ''Fiqh al-Akbar''
Influences	Qatada ibn al-Nu'man, Alqama ibn Qays
Influenced	Muhammad al-Shaybani, Abu Yusuf, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi, Ahmad Sirhindi, Shah Waliullah }}

Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zuṭā ibn Marzubān (Persian/Arabic:نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان), better known as Imam Abū Ḥanīfah, (699 — 767 CE / 80 — 148 AH) was the founder of the Sunni Hanafi school of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).

Abu Hanifa is regarded by some as a one of the Tabi‘un, the generation after the Sahaba, who were the companions of the Islamic prophet because he saw the Sahabi Anas ibn Malik. There are some reports that he even transmitted hadiths from him and other Sahaba. However, it should also be noted that there are views that Imam Abu Hanifah (only) saw around half a dozen companions (possibly in young age), in other words, did not directly narrate ahadith from them. Nevertheless, it is widely acknowledged that he learnt ahadith from fellow Tabi'een including Ibrahim al Nakha'i.

Name, birth and ancestry

Abu Hanifa was born in Kufa, Iraq during the reign of the powerful Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. Acclaimed as ''Al-Imam al-A'zam'', or Al-A'dham (the Great Imam), Nu’man bin Thabit bin Zuta bin Mah was better known by his ''kunya'' Abu Hanifa. It was not a true ''kunya'', as he did not have a son called Hanifa, but an epithetical one meaning pure in monotheistic belief. His father, Thabit bin Zuta, a trader from Kabul, part of Khorasan in Persia (today in modern Afghanistan), was 40 years old at the time of Abu Hanifa's birth. Some called Abu Hanifa, al-Taymi. The origin of this name is that Abu Hanifa's grandfather Zuta was a slave and a member of the tribe of Taym purchased his freedom.

His ancestry is generally accepted as being of non-Arab origin as suggested by the etymology of the names of his grandfather (Zuta) and great-grandfather (Mah). The historian, Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, records a statement from Abu Hanifa's grandson, Ismail bin Hammad, who gave Abu Hanifa's lineage as Thabit bin Numan bin Marzban and claiming to be of Persian origin. The discrepancy in the names, as given by Ismail of Abu Hanifa's grandfather and great-grandfather are thought to be due to Zuta's adoption of the Arabic name (Numan) upon his acceptance of Islam and that Mah and Marzban were titles or official designations in Persia, with the later meaning a margrave refers to the noble ancestry of Abu Hanifa's family as the Sasanian margraves of Kabul. Those stories maintain for his ancestors having been slaves purchased by some Arab benefactor are, therefore, untenable and seemingly fabricated. The widely accepted opinion, however, is that he was of Persian ancestry.

Status as a Tabi‘i

Abu Hanifa was born 67 years after the death of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, but during the time of the Sahaba of Muhammad, some of whom lived on until Abu Hanifa's youth. Anas bin Malik, Muhammad's personal attendant, died in 93 AH and another companion, Abul Tufail Amir bin Wathilah, died in 100 AH, when Abu Hanifa was 20 years old.

However the author of al-Khairat al-Hisan collected information from books of biographies and cited the names of the Sahaba whom it is reported that the Imam has transmitted ahadith from. He counted them as sixteen of the Sahaba. They are: Anas ibn Malik, Abdullah ibn Anis al-Juhani, Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Juz’ al-Zabidi, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa, Wa’ila ibn al-Asqa`, Ma`qal ibn Yasar, Abu Tufail `Amir ibn Wa’ila, `A’isha bint Hajrad, Sahl ibn Sa`d, al-Tha’ib ibn Khallad ibn Suwaid, al-Tha’ib ibn Yazid ibn Sa`id, Abdullah ibn Samra, Mahmud ibn al-Rabi`, Abdullah ibn Ja`far, and Abu Umama. Hadith Reported by Abu Hanifa upon the authority of Anas ibn Malik "Seeking of knowledge is an obligation on each and every Muslim."

It is perceived this is due to the strict age requirements for learning the discipline of hadith that existed at the time in Kufa where no one below the age of 20 was admitted to a hadith school. The scholars of the time felt anyone below this age would not have attained the maturity required to be able to understand the meaning of the narrations.

Early life and education

Abu Hanifa grew up in a period of oppression during the caliphates of Abdul Malik bin Marwan and his son Al-Walid I (Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik). The governorship of Iraq was under the control of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, a loyal follower of Abdul Malik. During his governorship leaders in religion and learning were especially targeted by Hajjaj as they were proving to be an obstacle to Abdul Malik's establishment of his rule across Arabia and Iraq. Consequently, Abu Hanifa had no interest nor the opportunity to acquire any education in his early childhood. He was simply content with following in the footsteps of his father as a silk merchant.

He set up a silk weaving business where he showed scrupulous honesty and fairness. Once his agent in another country, sold some silk cloth on his behalf but forgot to point out a slight defect to the purchasers. When Abu Hanifa learned this, he was greatly distressed as he had no means of refunding their money. He immediately ordered the entire proceeds of the sale of the consignment of silk to be distributed to the poor.

Following the deaths of Hajjaj in 95 AH and Walid in 96 AH, justice and good administration began to make a comeback with the caliphates of Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik and thereafter Umar bin Abdul Aziz. Umar encouraged education to such an extent that every home became a madrasa. Abu Hanifa also began to take an interest in education which was heightened further by the unexpected advice of as-Sha'bi (d. 722), one of Kufa's most well-known scholars.

While running an errand for his mother, he happened to pass the home of as-Sha'bi. Sha'bi, mistaking him for a student, asked him whose classes he attended. When Abu Hanifa responded that he did not attend any classes, Sha'bi said, "I see signs of intelligence in you. You should sit in the company of learned men." Taking Sha'bi's advice, Abu Hanifa embarked on a prolific quest for knowledge that would in due course have a profound impact on the history of Islam. His early education was achieved through madāris and it is here that he learned the Qur'an and Hadith, doing exceptionally well in his studies. He spent a great deal of time in the tutelage of Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, a great jurist of Kufah.

Like Imam Malik ibn Anas, Imam Abu Hanifa was one of the students of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (Muhammad's (SAW) great grandson; 6th Imam of Shia Islam). This has been confirmed by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami in his Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, Allamah Shiblinji in his Nur al Absar, Abdul Haleem Jindi and Mohaqiq Abu Zohra and various other Muhadatheen (hadith scholars) and Ulema have clarified that Imam Abu Hanifa was a student of Imam Ja'far Sadiq. Imam Ja'far had opened a university that not only taught religion, but the sciences and math. The Islamic alchemist, Jābir ibn Hayyān, studied at the Imams' university. Under these conditions Abu Hanifa studied and gained his knowledge.

This fact may explain the mutual respect and relative peace that has often existed between the Hanafi and Maliki Sunnis and the Shias.

Adulthood and death

In 763, al-Mansur, the Abbasid monarch offered Abu Hanifa the post of Chief Judge of the State, but he declined to accept the offer, choosing to remain independent. His student Abu Yusuf was appointed ''Qadi Al-Qadat'' (Chief Judge of the State) of al-Mansur regime instead of himself.

In his reply to al-Mansur, Abu Hanifa recused himself by saying that he did not regard himself fit for the post. Al-Mansur, who had his own ideas and reasons for offering the post, lost his temper and accused Abu Hanifa of lying.

"If I am lying," Abu Hanifa said, "then my statement is doubly correct. How can you appoint a liar to the exalted post of a Chief Qadi (Judge)?"

Incensed by this reply, the ruler had Abu Hanifa arrested, locked in prison and tortured. He was never fed nor cared for. Even there, the indomitable jurist continued to teach those who were permitted to come to him.

In 767, Abu Hanifa died in prison. The reason of his death is not clear, as some say that Abu Hanifa issued a legal opinion for bearing arms against Al-mansoor, and the latter had him poisoned to death. It was said that so many people attended his funeral that the funeral service was repeated six times for more than 50,000 people who had amassed before he was actually buried. Later, after many years, a mosque, the Abu Hanifa Mosque was built in the Adhamiyah neighborhood of Baghdad.

The tomb of Imam Abu Hanifa and other Sunni sites including tomb of Abdul Qadir Gilani were destroyed by Shah Ismail of Safavi empire in 1508. In 1533, Ottomans reconquered Iraq and rebuilt the tomb of Imam Abu Hanifa and other Sunni sites.

Works

''Kitaab-ul-Aathaar'' narrated by Imaam Muhammad al-Shaybani – compiled from a total of 70,000 ahadith

''Kitabul Aathaar'' narrated by Imaam Abu Yusuf

''Aalim wa'l-muta‘allim''

''Fiqh al-Akbar''

''Musnad Imaam ul A'zam''

''Kitaabul Rad alal Qaadiriyah''

References

External links

Book on Imam e Azam Abu Hanifa

Biographical summary of Abu Hanifa

Abu Hanifa on Muslim heritage

Imam Abu Hanifa By Shiekh G. F. Haddad

Tajik president’s articles about Imam Azam attract interest in Muslim countries

2009 announced Year of Imam Azam in Tajikistan

Category:699 births Category:767 deaths Category:Hanafis Category:Sunni imams Category:Medieval Persian people Category:Persian scholars Category:Muslim scholars Category:Sunni Muslim scholars Category:Islamic studies scholars Category:Muslim scholars of Islam Category:Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Category:Tabi‘un Category:Taba‘ at-Tabi‘in Category:Sunni fiqh scholars Category:Qur'anic exegesis scholars Category:Mujaddid Category:Iraqi religious leaders Category:Iraqi people of Iranian descent

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Name	Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Birth name	Dennis Bradley Philips
Birth date	January 07, 1947
Birth place	Kingston, Jamaica
Occupation	Islamic preacher
Religion	Sunni Islam
Website	www.bilalphilips.com
Footnotes	}}

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips (born Dennis Bradley Philips January 7, 1947) in Jamaica is a contemporary Islamistic scholar, teacher, speaker, and author, resident in Qatar. He appears on Peace TV, which is a 24-hour Islamic satellite TV channel broadcasted to many countries around the world. According to Investigative Project on Terrorism he follows a strong anti-Western agenda and is connected to radical and terrorist Islamistics.

Biography

Education

Philips was born January 7, 1947 in Jamaica, but grew up in Canada, where he converted to Islam in 1972. He received his B.A. degree from the Islamic University of Medina and his M.A. in Aqeedah (Islamic Theology) from the King Saud University in Riyadh, then to the University of Wales, where he completed a PhD in Islamic Theology in the early 1990's. Philips comes from a family of educators, as both his parents were teachers and his grandfather was a Christian minister and Bible scholar.

Islamic Information Center

In 1994 he founded (and continues to direct) an Islamic Information Center, now known as Discover Islam, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Islamic Online University

The Islamic Online University has been founded by Dr. Bilal Philips as a completely tuition-free institution that is offering an online intensive, undergraduate, and graduate courses in Islamic Studies. The university offers a four year bachelor of arts degree in Islamic studies program.

The IOU was initially launched in 2001 from UAE with an offering of a few short courses. After a five year interlude, it was restarted in 2007 from Qatar with a greater offering of completely free short courses.

Controversies

In an interview given, Philips accused the Australian authorities of "blindly following American allegations and unsubstantiated false accusations" claiming that investigations in the UK, Canada and Australia had found no evidence that he was in any way connected with terrorism. In this interview, he also pointed out that he had not entered the USA since 1995, characterizing media claims that he had been deported in 2004 as an "outright lie". Philips also called the statement that he was an "unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing "really a joke", claiming that it was based on a "supposedly leaked report" of over 100 prominent Muslims who were never charged. In April 2011 he has been banned from re-entering Germany as persona non grata.

At a conference in Toronto during the city's Pride Parade on July 3, 2011, Philips briefly reiterated his view that homosexuals caught in the act should be executed in countries governed by Islamic law.

Publications

Books

'' Fundamentals of TAWHEED (Islamic Monotheism) International Islamic Publishing House; ISBN 9960964809 '' The Evolution of Fiqh (Islamic Law & The Madh-habs) International Islamic Publishing House (Edited by Bradley Philips); ISBN 9960672867 '' True Message of Jesus Christ Islamic Book Services 2006; ISBN 8172313608 '' Purpose of Creation 84pp, Islamic Book Services 2002; ISBN 8172313586 '' Funeral Rites International Islamic Publishing House; ASIN 9960850846 '' Polygamy in Islam Islamic Book Services; ISBN 8172317158 '' Islamic Studies Al-Basheer 2002; ISBN 1898649197

Videos

Sundry videos at LightUponLight.com

See also

List of Da'ees

Dawah

Islam in Canada

Zakir Naik

Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo

Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno

References

External links

Bilal Philips' official website

Bilal Philips' Blog

Bilal Philips audio and video lectures

Interview with Bilal Philips on Famous Muslims

Lecture: Hardening of the Heart

Bilal Philips' Islamic Online University

Category:Converts to Islam Category:Canadian Muslims Category:Canadian people of Jamaican descent Category:Alumni of the University of Wales Category:Living people Category:1947 births Category:Muslim scholars Category:Islamic studies scholars Category:21st-century imams Category:Salafis

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