| Sayyid Qutb |
The Mistakes and Innovations of Sayyid Qutb |
| Article ID : NDV010008 |
Amongst those who have criticised
Sayyid Qutb include:
- Shaikh Abdullaah ad-Dawaish - may Allaah have mercy
upon him. He criticised 'az-Zilaal' a number of years ago and recorded over 180 mistakes
in the matters of 'aqeedah and manhaj in his book 'al-Mawrid az-Zalaal fit -Tanbeeh alaa
Akhtaa az-Zilaal'
- And for his takfeer of the whole Ummah he was
even criticised by some of the prominent figureheads of Ikhwaan, indicating that at his time, his ideas were not really widely accepted.
- Shaikh Mahmood Muhammad Shaakir and others criticised
him in his lifetime and refuted him regarding his reviling and slander of Uthmaan (ra) and
the other Companions such as az-Zubair, Sa'd, Abdur-Rahmaan bin 'Awf and also some of the
taabi'een.
- Shaikh Muhammad Hamood an-Najdi in his book 'al-Qawl
ul-Mukhtasir al-Mubeen fee Manhaahij al-Mufassireen' regarding his position on the
Sifaat...
- Muhammad Tawfeeq Barakaat in his book 'Sayyid Qutb
Khulaasatu Hayaatihi' (p.176-177) said:In these pages we shall try - with the help of
Allaah - to state the most important criticisms that have been directed
at Sayyid Qutb - may Allaah have mercy upon him - whether it is positive
or negative, trying to do that to the best of our capability. And to the
extent of my knowledge, there has not appeared any Muslim writer who has
been promoted to such a high level, or whose position has been
disparaged and reduced to a low level as the likes of Sayyid Qutb - and
we are not festering this second aspect [i.e Qutb's disparagement]. Let
us then look at some of the things that have been said about him,
generally:
- It has been said: That he is a new prophet for a
specific Jamaa'ah of the Muslims
- It has been said: That he does not know what comes
out of his head, the strong sentiments and fluency of the language led him to words which
are but useless [no meaning behind them]
- It has been said: That he is a man of
imaginations/ideas, he makes his rulings upon whims and he flies in the wind/breeze of the
soul therefore he does not correctly know the true state of affairs
- It has been said: That he used to speak about the
ahkaam (rulings) of the Sharee'ah without having any knowledge whatsoever of fiqh
- It has been said: That he desires to bring about a
massive barrier between the Muslims and the Islamic fiqh
- It has been said: That he desired to cut the people
off from the books of tafseer with the use of sentimental words in his Zilaal
- It has been said: That he declared all the Muslims to
be disbelievers and did not leave save a few people who were still revolving around Islam.
- And many more things have been said about him
- Shaikh Muhammad Naasir ud-Deen al-Albaanee who
criticised him for his speaking with 'wahdatul-wujood' and said that he was merely a
writer [adeeb], who was ignorant, with no knowledge, and that he did not call to the
Tawheed of Allaah.
It is not correct therefore to claim
that Sayyid Qutb is being criticised and disparaged now, in the Nineties by a
single or perhaps two or three scholars. Rather a fair number of scholars have
criticised him for many things and additionally he was criticised during his
lifetimes very heavily for many matters in which he made grave and serious errors.
Amongst them are:
His rebuke and censure of the Prophet of Allaah, Moosaa
(alaihis-salaam) and making him the object of ridicule.
Sayyid Qutb said,
in at-Tasweer al-Fannee fil-Qur'aan: "Let us take Moosaa - he is the
example of the fiery, excitable leader [quotes Qasas 28:15] and here his zealous
, excitable spirit appeared, just as his emotions in favour of his nation were
shown; but this emotional impulse quickly passed away - and he regained his
composure - and this is what happens with the excitable folk. [Quotes Qasas
28:15-17, 18] - and this change shows a well-known manifestation, that of one
who is afraid, distressed and expecting evil in every moment - and this is also
the sign of the excitable (folk). Then along with this and along with the fact
that he promissed that he would not aid the wrongdoers - then let us see what he
did [quotes Qasas 28:18]. He desired to attack the other man just as he did the
day before, and his zeal and emotion led him to forget his having sought
forgiveness, his regret, his fear and his anxious watchfulness... So let us
leave him here, to meet him again, at a second period in his life, ten years
later. So perhaps he had calmed down and became a man who was of calm nature and
gentle-natured. No indeed! So here he was, being called from the right hand side
of the mountain: that he should throw down his staff, so he threw it down and it
became a snake - moving quickly, he hardly saw it before he jumped and ran, not
looking back and not turning aside... he was the same highly strung youth...
..."
His rebuke and censure of the Companions of Allaah's Messenger
(sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) , especially Uthmaan (radiallaahu anhu). [The way of the Rawaafid] On this
issue he was corrected and refuted by Mahmood Shaakir in his lifetime but he
maintained his position and did not recant. His refusal is in the magazine
ar-Risaalah vol 977 in the year 1952. This was after Mahmood Shaakir wrote four
treatise against him the titles of three of them being: hukmun bilaa bayyinah,
laa tasubboo ashaabee, al-alsinatu al-muftireen. They were published in the
magazine al-Muslimoon starting in Muharram of the year 1372 hijri.In spite of
this he still allowed the book 'Al-Adaalat ul-Ijtimaa'iyyah' to be published
before his death.
He said in the aforementioned book for example:
"Indeed, it was a truly a trial that Alee was not
the third of the Rightly Guided Caliphs" (p.191 5th edn & p.162 12th
edn.)
"And
we tend to the opinion that the khilaafah of Alee was the
natural extension of the khilaafah of the two shaikhs [i.e. Abu Bakr and Umar]
and that the era of Uthmaan was merely a gap in between" (p.206 5th
edn.)
"And it is unfortunate that the khilaafah came to Uthmaan
when he was an old man; his determination had weakened and did
not reach the goals intended by Islaam; and his resolve was too weak to
steadfastly face the plots of Marwaan and plots of Umayyah beyond that." (p.186 5th
edn.)
"The Companions saw this deviation from the
spirit of Islaam, and would call one another to al-Madeenah to save Islaam
and to save Islaam from the trial; and the khalifah - in his old age, and
his state brought about by advanced age - did not possess control of his
affair to the expense of Marwaan. It is difficult to accuse the spirit of
Islaam in the person of Islaam, but it is likewise difficult to pardon him
for the error of the unfortunate occurrence of his taking the khilaafah
whilst he was a weakened old man, who was surrounded by evil courtiers from
Banu Umayyah..." (p.189 5th edn and its meaning is on p.161 of the 12th
edn.)
His declaration of all societies to be disbelievers
without exception. [The way of the Khawaarij]
And this is confirmed by Yoosuf al-Qardaawi in his book
- The Priorities of the Islamic Movement (p.110) where he explains that the
books of Sayyid Qutb appeared in which Qutb performs takfeer of all societies
and in which he announces a destructive jihaad against the whole of mankind.
His saying that the Qur'aan is created. [The saying of
the Jahmiyyah].
His saying that existence is one (wahdatul wujood). [The
way of the Soofiyyah]
In his explanations of Surah Ikhlaas and also the
beginning of Surah Hashr. He said, for example, in his Zilaal (6/4002):
"Verily it is a single existence, and there is no other reality save that
of His, and there is no true and real existence save His - and every other
existing thing then its existence is an extension of His existence ... and when
this perception becomes firmly established, the one which sees nothing in
existence except the reality of Allaah..."
And in some of his other books, Sayyid Qutb affirms
this and also praises the Soofees and their actions
He said in his Zilaal (6/3291): "And there are
a people who worship Allaah, because they thank him for His favours which
they cannot count - and behind this worship, they do not look for Paradise
or Hellfire, nor to pleasure or punishment at all..."
His saying of the divine indwelling (hulool) and also
Jabr (mankind having no free will - being compelled to act). [The way of the
Jabariyyah].
His denial of some of the Attributes of Allaah in the
way and style of the Jahmiyyah. [The way of the Mu'attilah]
For example his denial of Istiwaa by explaining it away
- that it is merely an allegorical expression as he said in his Zilaal (3/1762)
and also in many other places such as: (1/53), (/1/54), (3/1296), (4/2045),
(5/2807)
And likewise his denial of the Meezaan (Scales) in
the way and style of the Jahmiyyah (4/2481).
His attacks on the Miracles of the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) .
His refusal of the acceptance of ahaad hadeeth in
matters of Aqeedah. [The way of the Mu'tazilah]
He said in his Zilaal (6/4008): "And the Aahaad
hadeeth are not to be taken in the matters of aqeedah, the source is the Qur'aan
- and something being mutawaatir is a condition [that has to be fulfilled] in
accepting hadeeth in the issues of belief..." And in this he is more astray
than the Ash'arees
His denial of the magic that was practiced upon the
Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) .
His denial that Eesaa (as) was raised to the heaven
His claim that the point of dispute between the
Messenger and the Pagans was with respect to Tawheed ur-Ruboobiyyah only and
that Tawheed ul-Uloohiyyah is but Tawheed ur-Ruboobiyyah.
He said in his Zilaal (4/1846): "Then the issue of
Uloohiyyah was not the point of difference, indeed, it was the issue of
Ruboobiyyah which the messages (of the Messengers) addressed. And this was what
the final message was addressing also."
His claim that the Sifaat (Attributes of Allaah) are but
mere imaginations (takhyeel).
And for those who call for Haakimiyyah and raise its
banner high, then it is well known to the lowest student of knowledge that the
Haakimiyyah of Allaah Azzawajall applies even more so to His Essence, His Names
and Attributes [as well as His Sharee'ah etc.] So the one who does not judge -
in the matters related to knowledge about Allaah - by what Allaah has revealed -
then it is more befitting for him to be labelled a rejector of the Haakimiyyah
of Allaah Azzawajall. What is required is justice and fair speech and speaking
the truth, even if it be against one's own soul - and applying the fundamental
principles of Islamic Belief justly and fairly to every individual that they
apply to - and this is a sign of a Muslims honesty, integrity and love for the
Revelation of Allaah.
His refusal to pray Salaatul-Jumu'ah with the
justification that there is no khilaafah at the present time.
Alee Ashmaawee says in his book: "The Secret History
of Ikhwaan ul-Muslimeen" (at-Taareekh as-Sirree li-Jamaa'atil-Ikhwaan il-Muslimeen):
"And the time for the Jumu'ah prayer arrived so I said to him: 'Let us leave and
pray' and it was a surprise that I came to know - and for the first time - that he did not
used to pray Jumu'ah" (p.112)
His speaking with "Hurriyatul-I'tiqaad" [The
Freedom of Belief] - meaning that people can be left upon the religion that they
are upon. [So Christians should be left as Christians - Jews as Jews etc...] -
Shaikh Ibn Uthaimeen was asked 'What do you say about the one who speaks
with Hurriyatul-I'tiqaad?' The Shaikh replied: 'The one who allows Hurriyatul
I'tiqaad - that a person can believe in whatever religion he wishes is a
Kaafir...'. NOTE: TAKFEER IS NOT BEING MADE HERE - Since even though someone
utters something which necessitates disbelief, the conditions have to be
fulfilled and the preventive barriers [mawaani'] have to be removed before the
verdict of disbelief can be issued and that is for the Ulamaa' alone - BUT THIS
IS TO SHOW THE NATURE OF QUTB'S IGNORANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES OF THE RELIGION.
Shaikh al-Albaanee commented about Qutb that he is merely a writer (adeeb),
lacking in Islamic knowledge.
"For Islam does not desire the freedom of worship
for its followers only, rather it affirms this right for all the different
religions and it tasks the Muslims to fight and defend this right for all people
and it [even] allows them to fight under this flag, the flag which guarantees
the freedom of worship for the adherents of all other religions...so that it is
realised that it is a free world order... (Nahwa Mujtami' Islaamee p.105)
"And Islaam does not feel uneasy about the
differences of mankind in aqeedah and manhaj, rather it considers this as
something necessitated by natural disposition and a goal from ahgher will in
life amongst the people...(Nahwa Mujtami' Islamee p.103)"
His speaking about the Qur'an with mere personal
opinion. There are 181 mistakes in matters of aqeedah and issues of knowledge in
his Fi zilaal il-Quraan as pointed out by Shaik Abdullaah bin Muhammad
as-Dawaish in his book, Al-Mawrid uz-Zilaal fit-Tanbeeh alaa Akhtaa'a az-Zilaal
and as the saying goes: Al-Lamsu wal-Basar khairun min as-Sam'i wal-khabr.
For a full and excellent refutation of Sayyid Qutb refer
to the following books by the Shaikh Rabee' bin Haadee al-Madkhalee, which have
been recommended by Shaikh Ibn Uthaimin, Shaikh Bin Baz and others.
1. Adwaa al-Islaamiyyah alaa Aqeedati Sayyid Qutb
2. Mataa'in Sayyid Qutb fis-Sahaabah
3. Al-Awaasim mimmaa fee kutub Sayyid Qutb minal-Qawaasim
4. Al-Hadd ul-Faasil bainal-Haqq wal-Baatil
After reading these it should become clear to the one
who is free from ta'assub and hizbiyyah that Sayyid Qutub is most certainly not
a mujaddid, in the league of the likes of Ibn Taymiyyah as is ignorantly
propagated by many.
