The Roots of Sayyid Qutb’s Qur’anic Studies, 1939 – 1947

Abstract

The paper is an inquiry into the roots of Sayyid Qutb’s Qur’anic studies 1939 - 1947, which were to pave the way for his commitment to Islam and his emergence as a leading ideologue of the contemporary Islamic movement in Egypt, the Arab and Muslim worlds. Qutb’s Qur’anic commentary Fi Zilal ai-Qur’an (In the Shades of the Qur’an) which appeared first in early the 1950’s and his other controversial Islamic writings have become an integral part of current Islamic resurgence. And like other Muslim revolutionary writers, Qutb’s Islamic writings are grounded in and justified by quotations from the Qur’an. This is clearly seen in his major Islamic writings such as al-‘Adalah al-ijtima’iyah fi al- Islam (Social Justice in Islam) (1949). The paper tries to discuss Qutub’s literary career and concerned works to focus on them and to disseminate among the world leaders.