((Short description|Egyptian author and Islamic theorist (1906–1966)))
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((Use dmy dates|date=November 2020))
((Infobox religious biography
| religion           = [[Islam]]
| era                = [[Modern era]]
| image              = Sayyid Qutb.jpg
| caption            = Qutb on trial in 1966((#tag:ref|Although the photo is from other sources, it is identified on the BBC Documentary ''[[The Power of Nightmares]]'' as being the only known photo of Qutb at his trial immediately preceding his execution.|group=Note))
| alt                = 
| name               = Sayyid Qutb
| native_name        = ((lang|ar|سيد قطب))
| birth_name         = Sayyid Ibrahim Husayn Shadhili Qutb
| title              = 
| birth_date         = ((birth date|1906|10|9|df=y))
| birth_place        = [[Musha, Egypt|Mūshā]], [[Asyut Governorate]], [[Khedivate of Egypt]]
| death_date         = ((death date and age|1966|8|29|1906|10|9|df=y))
| death_place        = [[Cairo]], [[United Arab Republic]]
| nationality        = Egyptian
| relatives = [[Muhammad Qutb]] (brother)
| Maddhab            = [[Shafi'i]]
| school_tradition   = [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]
| main_interests     = [[Islam]], [[politics]], [[Quranic exegesis]] ([[tafsir]])
| notable_ideas      = [[Jahiliyyah]], Ubudiyya
| works              = [[Milestones (book)|''Milestones'']], [[Fi Zilal al-Quran|''In the Shade of the Quran'']]
| influences         = ‘[[Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani]], [[Ibn al-Qayyim]], [[Ibn Taymiyyah]], [[Rashid Rida]], [[Hassan al-Banna]], [[Alexis Carrel]], [[Abbās al-Aqqād]], [[Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi]],<ref>((Cite book|last1=Benjamin |first1=Daniel |last2=Simon |first2=Steven |title=The Age of Sacred Terror |date=2002 |publication-place=New York |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-58836-259-9 |page=62 |quote="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"))</ref> [[Muhammad 'Abduh]],<ref>((Cite book|last=Gumus |first=M. Siddik |title=Islam's Reformers |publisher=Hakikat Kitabevi Publications |year=2017 |location=Istanbul |page=183 |quote="Sayyid Qutb... announced his admiration for Ibn Taimiyya and Muhammad ’Abduh in almost all his books."))</ref> [[Oswald Spengler]], [[Arnold J. Toynbee]]<ref>((cite book|quote=Qutb had devoured Oswald Spengler's Decline of the West, Arnold Toynbee's A Study of History and T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, which all portrayed the West as degenerate and profane|page=17|title=Leading with Everything to Give|year=2009|publisher=Piquant Editions Limited|first=Simon|last=Walker))</ref>
| influenced         = [[Abdullah Azzam]], [[Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi]], [[Anwar al-Awlaki]], [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], [[Mahmoud Ezzat]], [[Mohammed Badie]], [[Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj]], [[Muhammad Qutb]], [[Osama bin Laden]], [[Shukri Mustafa]], [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], [[Ali Khamenei]], [[Abu Ali al-Anbari]]
| death_cause        = [[Execution by hanging]]
))

'''Sayyid Ibrahim Husayn Qutb''' (((IPAc-en|ˈ|k|uː|t|ə|b))<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/qutb "Qutb"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> or ((IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ʌ|t|ə|b)); ((IPA-arz|ˈsæjjed ˈʔotˤb|lang)); ((lang-ar|سيد قطب إبراهيم حسين|translit=Sayyid 'Ibrāhīm Ḥusayn Quṭb)); 9 October 1906((Snd))29 August 1966) was an [[Egyptians|Egyptian]] [[Islam]]ic scholar, [[revolutionary]], poet, and a leading member of the Egyptian [[Muslim Brotherhood]] in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1966, he was convicted of plotting the [[assassination]] of Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] and was executed by [[hanging]]. He is considered as "the Father of [[Salafi jihadism]]", the religio-political doctrine that underpins the ideological roots of global jihadist organisations such as [[al-Qaeda]] and [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIL]].<ref>((Cite news|last=Manne|first=Robert|date=7 November 2016|title=Sayyid Qutb: Father of Salafi Jihadism, Forerunner of the Islamic State|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/religion/sayyid-qutb-father-of-salafi-jihadism-forerunner-of-the-islamic-/10096380|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002133334/http://www.abc.net.au/religion/sayyid-qutb-father-of-salafi-jihadism-forerunner-of-the-islamic-/10096380|archive-date=2 October 2018))</ref><ref>((Cite journal |last=Bolechów |first=Bartosz |year=2022 |title=The Islamic State's Worldview as a Radical Terror Management Device |url=http://www.studiapolitologiczne.pl/The-Islamic-State-s-Worldview-nas-a-Radical-Terror-Management-Device,147954,0,2.html |journal=Studia Politologiczne |volume=63 |pages=64–65 |doi=10.33896/SPolit.2022.63.4 |s2cid=248190680 |doi-access=free ))</ref>

Author of 24 books,<ref>[[John L. Esposito]], ''Islam and Politics'', Syracuse University Press (1998), p. 139</ref> with around 30 books unpublished for different reasons (mainly destruction by the state),<ref>Badmas 'Lanre Yusuf, ''Sayyid Quṭb: A Study of His Tafsīr'', The Other Press (2009), p. 89</ref> and at least 581 articles,<ref>Badmas 'Lanre Yusuf, ''Sayyid Quṭb: A Study of His Tafsīr'', The Other Press (2009), p. 85</ref> including novels, literary arts critique and 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 al-Tariq]]'' (''Milestones''). His [[Masterpiece|magnum opus]], ''[[Fi Zilal al-Quran]]'' (''In the Shade of the Qur'an''), is a 30-volume commentary on the [[Quran]].<ref>Sayed Khatab, ''The Political Thought of Sayyid Qutb: The Theory of Jahiliyyah'', Routledge (2006), p. 161</ref>

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 included in the curricula of schools, colleges and universities.<ref>''The Political Thoughts of Sayyed Qutb'', Ch. 3, p. 56</ref>

Even though most of his observations and criticism were leveled at the [[Muslim world]], Qutb also intensely disapproved of the society and [[culture of the United States]],<ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_jihad.html|title=America at a Crossroads ((!)) JIHAD: The Men and Ideas behind Al Qaeda |work=[[PBS]]|accessdate=19 October 2022))</ref><ref name="A Lesson in Hate">David Von Drehle, [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-lesson-in-hate-109822568/ A Lesson In Hate] ''Smithsonian Magazine''</ref> which he saw as [[materialism|materialistic]], and obsessed with violence and sexual pleasures.<ref name="beforeUS">((cite web |url=http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle8626.html |title='Qutb: Between Terror And Tragedy' by Hisham Sabrin |access-date=2006-06-17 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235927/http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle8626.html |archive-date=27 September 2007)) quoting Hourani, A. ''Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798–1939.'' Cambridge University Press, 1962. and Mitchell, Richard S. ''The Society of The Muslim Brotherhood''. Oxford University Press, 1969.</ref>
He advocated violent, offensive [[jihad]].<ref>Stahl, A.E. "'Offensive Jihad' in Sayyid Qutb's Ideology." International Institute for Counter-Terrorism.</ref><ref name="Qutb, 2003 pp. 63, 69">Qutb, ''Milestones'', (2003) pp. 63, 69</ref>
Qutb has been described by followers as a great thinker and [[Shahid|martyr for Islam]],<ref name="islamonline.net">[http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=3m245Q Interview with Dr Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh – Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader] ((webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510151517/http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=3m245Q |date=10 May 2008 )) 8 May 2008</ref><ref name="Sayyid Qutb by Ahmed El-Kadi, MD">((cite web|url=http://www.islam101.com/history/people/century20/syedQutb.htm|title=Syed Qutb|access-date=26 February 2015))</ref> while many Western observers (and some Muslims)((#tag:ref|Writing before 9/11, Islamist British convert to Islam, Hamid Algar, stated:"Sayyid Qutb ... some 28 years after his death is still the most influential ideologue of the Islamic movement in the contemporary Arab world ... Ma'alim fi 'l-Tariq [Milestones] must definitely count among the historic documents of the contemporary Islamic movement."<ref>''Social Justice in Islam'' by Sayyid Qutb, translated by John Hardie, translation revised and introduction by Hamid Algar, Islamic Publications International, 2000, p.1, 9, 11</ref>|group=Note)) see him as a key originator of [[Islamism|Islamist]] ideology,<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_5bmzlNx1iAC&dq=qutb+bin+laden&pg=PA18 The Osama Bin Laden I Know]'', Peter L. Bergen] pp. 18–20</ref> and an inspiration for violent Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda.<ref name="Irwin">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/01/afghanistan.terrorism3 Robert Irwin, "Is this the man who inspired Bin Laden?"] ''[[The Guardian]]'' (1 November 2001).</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/magazine/the-philosopher-of-islamic-terror.html Paul Berman, "The Philosopher of Islamic Terror"], ''[[New York Times Magazine]]'' (23 March 2003).</ref><ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/incl/Out-of-the-Shadows.pdf|title=Out of the Shadows: Getting ahead of prisoner radicalization|website=[[PBS]]|accessdate=19 October 2022))</ref><ref>((cite web|url=http://www.pwhce.org/evolutionofalqaeda.html|title=The Evolution of Al-Qaeda: Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi|author=Trevor Stanley|access-date=26 February 2015))</ref> Qutb is widely regarded as one of the most leading Islamist ideologues of the twentieth century. Strengthened by his status as a [[Shahid|martyr]], Qutb's ideas on ''Jahiliyya'' and his close linking of implementation of ''[[Sharia|Shari'ah]]'' (Islamic Law) with ''[[Tawhid]]'' (Islamic monotheism) has highly influenced contemporary Islamist and [[Jihadism|Jihadist]] movements.<ref>((Cite web|title=Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966)|url=https://iep.utm.edu/qutb/#H12|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529162620/https://iep.utm.edu/qutb/|archive-date=29 May 2021|website=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy))</ref> Today, his supporters are identified by their opponents as "[[Qutbism|Qutbists]]"<ref>[http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/07spring/eikmeier.htm Qutbism: An Ideology of Islamic-Fascism] ((webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609120804/http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/07spring/eikmeier.htm |date=9 June 2007 )) by Dale C. Eikmeier. From ''[[Parameters (journal)|Parameters]]'', Spring 2007, pp. 85–98.</ref> or "Qutbi".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Bmz9y2osH1YC&dq=qutbiyyun&pg=PA175 Pioneers of Islamic revival] By ʻAlī Rāhnamā, p. 175</ref>

==Life and public career==

===Early life===
Sayyid Ibrahim Husayn Shadhili Qutb((#tag:ref|also spelled ''Said, Syed, Seyyid, Sayid, Sayed; Koteb, Qutub, Kotb, Kutb''|group=Note)) was born on 9 October 1906.<ref>James Toth, ''Sayyid Qutb : The Life and Legacy of a Radical Islamic Intellectual'', OUP USA (2013), p. 12</ref> He was raised in the Egyptian village of [[Musha, Egypt|Musha]], located in [[Upper Egypt]]'s [[Asyut Governorate|Asyut Province]]. His father, whose sixth great-grandfather was an [[Indian Muslim]],<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> was an Upper Egyptian landowner and the administrator of the family estate, but he was also well known for his [[activism|political activism]], holding weekly meetings to discuss the political events and [[Qira'at|Qur'anic recitation]].<ref>((Citation |url=https://data.bnf.fr/en/12191673/sayyid_qut_b/ |title=Sayyid Qutb Ibrahim Husyen profile))</ref><ref name=":0">Adnan Musallam, ''From Secularism to Jihad : Sayyid Qutb and the Foundations of Radical Islamism'', Greenwood Publishing Group (2005), p. 30</ref><ref name=":1">Badmas 'Lanre Yusuf' ''Sayyid Quṭb : A Study of His Tafsīr'', The Other Press (2009), p. 58</ref> At this young age, Sayyid Qutb first learned about melodic recitations of the Qur'an, which would fuel the artistic side of his personality. He eventually [[Hafiz (Quran)|memorized the whole Qur'an]] at 10.<ref>Sayed Khatab, ''The Political Thought of Sayyid Qutb : The Theory of Jahiliyyah'', [[Routledge]] (2006), p. 45</ref> 

A [[Intellectual giftedness|precocious child]], during these years, he began collecting different types of books, including [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories, [[One Thousand and One Nights|''A Thousand and One Nights'']], and texts on [[astrology]] and [[Magic (supernatural)|magic]] that he would use to help local people with [[Exorcism in Islam|exorcisms]] (''ruqya''.)<ref>John Calvert, ''Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism'', [[Oxford University Press]] (2009), pp. 40–43</ref> In his teens, Qutb was critical of the religious institutions with which he came into contact, holding in contempt the way in which 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 demonstrate that local schools that held regular academic classes as well as classes in religion were more beneficial to their pupils than religious schools with lopsided curricula. At this time, Qutb developed his bent against the [[imams]] and their traditional approach to education. This confrontation would persist throughout his life.<ref>Khalidy, Saleh. ''Sayyid Qutb: From Birth to Martydom''. Dar Al-Qalam 3rd edition 1999.</ref>

Qutb moved to [[Cairo]], where between 1929 and 1933 he received an education based on the British style of schooling 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. He wrote his very first article in the literary magazine ''al-Balagh'' in 1922, and his first book, ''Muhimmat al-Sha’ir fi al-Haya wa Shi’r al-Jil al-Hadir'' (The Mission of the Poet in Life and the Poetry of the Present Generation), in 1932, when he was 25, in his last year at [[Dar al-Ulum]].<ref>John Calvert, ''Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism'', [[Oxford University Press]] (2009), p. 67</ref> As a literary critic, he was particularly influenced by ‘[[Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani]] (d. 1078), "in his view one of the few mediaeval [[philologists]] to have concentrated on meaning and [[aesthetic]] value at the expense of form and [[rhetoric]]."<ref>John Calvert, ''Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism'', [[Oxford University Press]] (2009), pp. 106–107</ref> In 1939, he became a functionary in Egypt's Ministry of Education (''wizarat al-ma'arif'').

In the early 1940s, he encountered the work of [[Nobel Prize]]-winner [[French people|French]] [[eugenicist]] [[Alexis Carrel]], who would have a seminal and lasting influence on his criticism of [[Western culture|Western civilization]], as "instead of liberating man, as the post-[[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] narrative claimed, he believed that Western modernity enmeshed people in spiritually numbing networks of control and discipline, and that rather than building caring communities, it cultivated attitudes of selfish individualism. Qutb regarded Carrel as a rare sort of Western thinker, one who understood that his civilization "depreciated humanity" by honouring the "machine" over the "spirit and soul" (al-nafs wa al-ruh). He saw Carrel's critique, coming as it did from within the enemy camp, as providing his discourse with an added measure of legitimacy."<ref>John Calvert, ''Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism'', [[Oxford University Press]] (2009), pp. 91–92</ref>

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,<ref>Sayyed said about the Qur'an: "Allah has bestowed upon me with the life in the shades of the Qur'an for a period of time, I have tasted, during it, of his grace and beneficence, what I have never tasted at all in my life." ''[[Fi Zilal al-Qur'an]]'', Introduction, 1st Chapter.</ref> he suffered from respiratory and other [[Flareup|health problems throughout his life]] and was known for "his introvertedness, isolation, depression and concern." In appearance, he was "pale with sleepy eyes."<ref>Hamudah, Adil, ''Sayyid Qutb: min al-qarya ila al-mashnaqa'' (Cairo, Ruz al-Yusuf, 1987), pp. 60–61, quoted in Moussalli (1992), p. 35</ref> 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 the Quran taught women that 'Men are the managers of women's affairs ...'<ref>Shepard, William, ''Sayyid Qutb and Islamic Activism: a translation and critical analysis of Social Justice in Islam'' Leiden, EJ. Brill, 1996, p. 62</ref> Qutb lamented to his readers that he was never able to find a woman of sufficient "moral purity and discretion" and had to reconcile himself to bachelorhood.<ref>Qutb, Sayyid, ''Dan-bat al-tatawwur, Majallat al-Shu'un al-Ijtima'iyya fi al-Islam,'' 1940, pp. 6, 43–46, quoted in Calvert (2000)</ref>

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

<blockquote>"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."<ref>''The Lives of Hassan elBanna & Syed Qutb'', p. 15</ref></blockquote>

===Two years in the United States===
Time in the [[United States]], pursuing further studies in educational administration, cemented some of Qutb's views. Over two years, he worked and studied at Wilson Teachers' College in Washington, D.C. (one of the precursors to today's [[University of the District of Columbia]]), [[University of Northern Colorado|Colorado State College for Education]] (now the University of Northern Colorado) in [[Greeley, Colorado|Greeley]], and [[Stanford University]].<ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-and-religion/islam-biographies/sayyid-qutb#3404705757|title=Sayyid Qutb &#124; Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com|accessdate=19 October 2022))</ref> He visited the major cities of the United States and spent time in Europe on his journey home.

Before his departure from the United States, even though more and more conservative, he still was "[[Western culture|Western]] in so many ways((snd))his dress, his love of [[classical music]] and [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] movies. He had read, in translation, the works of [[Charles Darwin]] and [[Albert Einstein]], [[Lord Byron]] and [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], and had immersed himself in [[French literature]], especially [[Victor Hugo]]".<ref>Wright, Looming Tower, 2006, p. 8</ref>

====Criticisms of American culture and society: "The America that I Have Seen"====
On his return to Egypt, Qutb in 1951 published "The America that I Have Seen", where he became explicitly critical of things he had observed in the United States, eventually encapsulating the West more generally: its [[Economic materialism|materialism]], [[individual freedom]]s, economic system, [[racism]], brutal [[boxing]] matches, "poor" [[haircut]]s,<ref name="A Lesson in Hate"/> superficiality in conversations and friendships,<ref name="On the arts">[http://www.currenttrends.org/research/detail/said-qutb-on-the-arts-in-america Excerpt] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106095348/http://www.currenttrends.org/research/detail/said-qutb-on-the-arts-in-america |date=6 January 2014 )) from Qutb's article "Amrika allati Ra'aytu" (The America That I Have Seen)</ref> restrictions on [[divorce]], enthusiasm for [[sports]], lack of [[art]]istic feeling,<ref name="On the arts"/> "animal-like" [[Sex segregation and Islam|mixing of the genders]] (which "went on even in churches"),<ref>Qutb, ''Milestones'', p. 139</ref> and strong support for the new [[Israel|Israeli state]].<ref>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.</ref> Hisham Sabrin, noted that:
<blockquote>As a brown person in Greeley, Colorado in the late 1940s studying English he came across much prejudice. He was appalled by what he perceived as loose sexual openness of American men and women (a far cry from his home of Musha, Asyut). This American experience was for him a fine-tuning of his 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."((Citation needed|date = February 2014))</blockquote>
Qutb noted with disapproval the openly displayed sexuality of American women:
<blockquote>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((emdash))and she shows all this and does not hide it.<ref name="A Lesson in Hate"/></blockquote>
He also commented on the American taste in arts:
<blockquote>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 increases, and the voices of approval mount, and their palms ring out in vehement, continuous applause that all but deafens the ears.<ref name="On the arts"/></blockquote>

===Return to Egypt===
Qutb concluded that major aspects of American life were primitive and "shocking"; he saw Americans as  "numb to faith in religion, faith in art, and faith in spiritual values altogether". His experience in the United States 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<ref>1953 according to Calvert (2000), 1951 according to Kepel (1985)</ref> and became editor-in-chief of the Brothers' weekly ''Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin,'' and later head of its [[propaganda]]<ref>"Upon his return to Egypt, he formally joined the Muslim Brotherhood and became the head of its propaganda (''tabligh'') department." [https://books.google.com/books?id=5-KAZxxE6oIC ''Cultural transitions in the Middle East''] (1994), [[Şerif Mardin]]</ref><ref>"In 1953 he formalized his Islamist leanings by joining the Muslim Brotherhood. He was appointed head of its propaganda department and used his position to try to convince 'Abd al-Nasser and the officers to implement Islamic law in Egypt." [https://books.google.com/books?id=2gAjMuLivlQC ''Islamism: a documentary and reference guide''] (2008), John Calvert</ref> section, as well as an appointed member of the working committee and of its guidance council, the highest branch in the organization.<ref>Moussalli, ''Radical Islamic Fundamentalism'', (1992), pp. 31–32</ref>

===Nasser and Qutb's death===
[[File:Sayed Qotb in jail.jpg|thumb|left|Sayyid Qutb during his years of imprisonment]]

In July 1952, [[Egypt]]'s pro-Western government was overthrown by the nationalist [[Free Officers Movement (Egypt)|Free Officers Movement]] headed by [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]. Both Qutb and the Muslim Brotherhood welcomed the ''[[coup d'état]]'' against the [[Farouk of Egypt|monarchist]] government((emdash))which they saw as un-Islamic and subservient to the [[British Empire]]((emdash))and enjoyed a close relationship with the movement prior to and immediately following the coup. Nasser would go to 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 co-operation 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 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,<ref>''The Life of Syed Qutb, The Revolution Happens'', p. 24</ref> to discuss a post monarchical Egypt. Once Qutb realized 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 wanted 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."<ref>Hassan elBanna & Syed Qutb, p. 24</ref>

Qutb refused every offer, having understood the reality of Nasser's plans. Upset that Nasser would not enforce a government based on Islamic ideology, Qutb and other Brotherhood members plotted to assassinate him in 1954.<ref name=qutbassassin>((cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.mideastweb.org/Middle-East-Encyclopedia/sayyid_qutb.htm|author=Ami Isseroff|title=Sayyid Qutb|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Middle East|date=7 December 2008|access-date=9 July 2013))</ref> The attempt was foiled and Qutb was jailed soon afterwards;<ref name=qutbassassin /> the Egyptian government used the incident to justify a crackdown on various members of the Muslim Brotherhood for their vocal opposition towards the Nasser administration. 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.<ref>Berman, ''Terror and Liberalism'', (2003), p. 63</ref> 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 sentiment|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 in May 1964 at the behest of the President of [[Iraq]], [[Abdul Salam Arif]], for only 8 months before being rearrested on August 9, 1965. He was accused of plotting to overthrow the state and subjected to what some consider a [[show trial]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Hasan, S. Badrul, ''Syed Qutb Shaheed'', Islamic Publications International, 2nd ed. 1982</ref> 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.<ref name=qutbassassin /> The trial culminated in a death sentence for Qutb and six other members of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was sentenced to death for his part in the conspiracy to assassinate the President<ref name=qutbassassin /> and other Egyptian officials and personalities, though he was not the instigator or leader of the actual plot.<ref>Sivan (1985) p. 93.</ref><ref>Fouad Ajami, "In the Pharaoh's Shadow: Religion and Authority in Egypt," ''Islam in the Political Process,'' editor James P. Piscatori, Cambridge University Press, 1983, pp. 25–26.</ref> 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:

((blockquote|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 "[[Progress (history)|progressive thought]]" is no more than dismal [[Wikt:regression|regression]].<ref>Fi Dhalal al Qur'an, vol. 1, p. 35</ref>))

Simultaneously, he rejected magical beliefs asserted by traditional interpretations of Islamic narratives, such as rejecting the tradition that Surah [[al-Falaq]] was meant to be sent down to break a curse.<ref>Mol, Arnold Yasin. "The Denial of Supernatural Sorcery in Classical and Modern Sunnī Tafsīr of Sūra al-Falaq (113: 4): A Reflection on Underlying Constructions." Al-Bayan: Journal of Qur'an and Hadith Studies 11.1 (2013): 15-32.</ref>

===Secularism===
((Main|Secularism))

Beginning from 1948, Qutb's ideological orientation would radically shift to an Islamist worldview, when he penned his first [[Islamism|Islamist]] treatise ''al-‘Adāla''. Qutb would later denounce the literary works he published during the 1940s as "un-Islamic".<ref>((Cite book|last=Duvall|first=Nadia|title=Islamist Occidentalism: Sayyid Quṭb and the Western Other|publisher=Gerlach Press|year=2019|isbn=978-3-95994-062-7|location=Berlin|pages=39, 64–65))</ref>

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 to 1964, including the [[torture]] and [[murder]] of the Muslim Brotherhood members, convinced him that only a government bound by [[Sharia|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 ''[[jahiliyyah]]'' (pre-Islamic ignorance)((emdash))a threat unimaginable, in Qutb's estimation, to the secular mind.((Citation needed|date = March 2021)) In the opening of his book ''Milestones'' he presents the following views:

((blockquote|"It is necessary for the new leadership to preserve and develop the material fruits of the creative genius of Europe, and also to provide mankind with such high ideals and values as have so far remained undiscovered by mankind, and which will also acquaint humanity with a way of life which is harmonious with human nature, which is positive and constructive, and which is practicable."<ref name="Milestones 1964, page 1">[''Milestones'', 1964, Syed Qutb, p. 1</ref>))

((blockquote|"Democracy in the West has become infertile to such an extent that it is borrowing from the systems of the Eastern bloc, especially in the economic system, under the name of socialism. It is the same with the Eastern bloc. Its social theories, foremost among which is Marxism, in the beginning attracted not only a large number of people from the East but also from the West, as it was a way of life based on a creed. But now Marxism is defeated on the plane of thought, and if it is stated that not a single nation in the world is truly Marxist, it will not be an exaggeration. On the whole this theory conflicts with man's nature and its needs. This ideology prospers only in a degenerate society or in a society which has become cowed as a result of some form of prolonged dictatorship. But now, even under these circumstances, its materialistic economic system is failing, although this was the only foundation on which its structure was based. Russia, which is the leader of the communist countries, is itself suffering from shortages of food. Although during the times of the Tsars Russia used to produce surplus food, it now has to import food from abroad and has to sell its reserves of gold for this purpose. The main reason for this is the failure of the system of [[collective farming]], or, one can say, the failure of a system which is against human nature."<ref name="Milestones 1964, page 1"/>))

These experiences would prompt Qutb to adopt a radical stance, of [[Takfir|excommunicating]] the Muslim governments as well as their supporters out of the pale of Islam. These revolutionary ideas published through his 1960s prison writings "''In the Shade of the Qur’an''" and its spin-off, "''Milestones''", would lay the ideological foundations of future Jihadist movements.<ref>((Cite book|last=Calvert|first=John|title=Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism|publisher=C. Hurst & co. (Publishers) Ltd.|year=2018|isbn=978-1-84904-949-8|location= London|pages=219))</ref> In ''Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq'' Qutb argues that anything non-Islamic was evil and corrupt, and that 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.<ref>Qutb, ''Milestones'', pp. 90, 32</ref>

Qutb's experiences as an Egyptian Muslim((emdash))his village childhood, professional career, and activism in the Muslim Brotherhood((emdash))left an indelible mark on his theoretical and religious works.((Citation needed|date = March 2021)) 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'', 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 ''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 the premier Islamists of the 20th century, and perhaps the foremost proponent of Islamist thought in that era. Qutb denounced [[secularism]] as an inherently "oppressive system" since it sabotaged freedom of religion by constraining all religious practice to the private realm; whereas an Islamic state would grant full religious freedom to Muslims by implementing Islamic laws publicly while delegating non-Muslim faiths to the private realm.<ref>((Cite book |last=Crone |first=Patricia |title=The Qurʾānic Pagans and Related Matters: Collected Studies in Three Volumes (volume 1) |publisher=Brill |year=2016 |isbn=978-90-04-31228-9 |location= Leiden, The Netherlands |pages=156, 417–418))</ref>

Qutb, dissatisfied with the condition of contemporary Islam, identified its benighted state as having two principal causes. The first was that many Muslims were forsaking their faith in the Qur'an, failing to enforce Sharia law. This had led to the virulent spread of a secular culture within Muslim societies, which, with the assistance of the innate and centuries-long Western hatred towards Islam, was a second important cause of the straying of many Muslims from the right path. Qutb asserted that the Islamic world had sunk into a state of ''jahiliyyah''.<ref>Sayed Khatab, ''Hakimiyyah and Jahiliyyah in the Thought of Sayyid Qutb'', Taylor & Francis, [[Middle Eastern Studies]], Vol. 38, No. 3, 2002 p. 162; ((cite journal |last=Khatab |first=Sayed |title="Hakimiyyah" and "Jahiliyyah" in the Thought of Sayyid Qutb |journal= Middle Eastern Studies |volume= 38|issue= 3|pages= 145–170 |jstor= 4284246 |year=2002|doi=10.1080/714004475 |s2cid=144004347 ))</ref> This led Qutb to advocate in his book ''Milestones'' that the general masses weren't Muslims and that a revolutionary Islamic vanguard should return the ignorant people back to what he considered as pristine Islam:

<blockquote>"Indeed, people are not Muslims, as they proclaim to be, as long as they live the life of ''Jahiliyyah''. If someone wishes to deceive himself or to deceive others by believing that Islam can be brought in line with this ''Jahiliyyah'', it is up to him. But whether this deception is for others, it cannot change anything of the actual reality. This is not Islam, and they are not Muslims. Today the task of the Call is to return these ignorant people to Islam and make them into Muslims all over again".<ref>((Cite book|last=Aaron|first=David|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/mg602rc.9|title=In Their Own Words: Voices of Jihad – Compilation and Commentary|publisher=RAND Corporation|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8330-4402-0|pages=80|jstor=10.7249/mg602rc.9))</ref><ref>((Cite book|last=Qutb|first=Sayyid|url=https://holybooks.com/milestones-by-syed-qutb-shaheed/|title=Milestones|publisher=Islamic Book Service|year=1964|isbn=81-7231-244-X|pages=113|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815041345/https://holybooks.com/milestones-by-syed-qutb-shaheed/|archive-date=15 August 2020))</ref></blockquote>

===Events prompting the move from secularism to Islam===
According to an anonymous work (''The Lives of Hassan elBanna & Syed Qutb'' available on Scribd), Qutb was inspired to abandon his secular world view for Islam by how Allah prevented the ship he was traveling in to America from sinking into the ocean.

<blockquote>"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((emdash))was rocking in the huge sea((emdash))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."<ref>''The Lives of Hassan elBanna & Syed Qutb'', p. 18</ref></blockquote>

==Political philosophy==
((Islamism sidebar))
Qutb's mature political views always centered on Islam((emdash))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((emdash))though his interpretation of it varied. Qutb's political philosophy has been described as an attempt to instantiate a complex and multilayer eschatological vision, partly grounded in the counter-hegemonic re-articulation of the traditional ideal of Islamic universalism.<ref>((cite journal |last = Mura|first = Andrea|year = 2014|title = The Inclusive Dynamics of Islamic Universalism: From the Vantage Point of Sayyid Qutb's Critical Philosophy|journal = Comparative Philosophy|volume = 5|issue = 1|pages = 29–54|issn = 2151-6014|doi = 10.31979/2151-6014(2014).050106|doi-access = free))</ref>

Following the [[Egyptian Revolution of 1952|1952 coup]], he espoused a 'just dictatorship' that would 'grant political liberties to the virtuous alone.'<ref>Sivan, Emmanuel, ''Radical Islam : Medieval Theology and Modern Politics'', Yale University Press, 1985, p. 73</ref><ref>''al-Akhbar'', 8 August 1952</ref> Later he wrote that rule by ''[[sharia]]'' law would require essentially no government at all.<ref name="Irwin"/> In an earlier work,<ref>Qutb, ''Social Justice in Islam''</ref> Qutb described military [[jihad]] as defensive, Islam's campaign to protect itself,<ref>Berman, ''Terror and Liberalism'' (2003), p. 98</ref> while later he believed jihad must be offensive.<ref>Stahl, A.E. "'Offensive Jihad' in Sayyid Qutb's Ideology." International Institute for Counter-Terrorism.  24 March 2011.</ref>

On the issue of Islamic governance, Qutb differed with many modernist and reformist Muslims who claimed that 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.''<ref>Sivan, ''Radical Islam'', 1985, p. 73</ref>

Qutb also opposed the then popular ideology of [[Arab nationalism]], having become disillusioned with the [[Egyptian Revolution of 1952|1952 Nasser Revolution]] after having been exposed to the regime's practices of arbitrary arrest, torture, and deadly violence during his imprisonment. In the introduction to his influential 1964 theological and political manifesto ''Maʿālim fī aṭ Ṭarīq'', Sayyid Qutb declared:
<blockquote>"Mankind today is on the brink of a precipice, not because of the danger of complete [nuclear] annihilation which is hanging over its head – this being just a symptom and not the real disease – but because humanity is devoid of those vital values which are necessary not only for its healthy development but also for its real progress. Even the Western world realises that Western civilization is unable to present any healthy values for the guidance of mankind...  It is the same with the Eastern bloc. Its social theories, foremost among which is Marxism ... is defeated on the plane of thought ... It is essential for mankind to have new leadership! At this crucial and bewildering juncture, the turn of [[Islam]] and the [[Ummah|Muslim community]] has arrived – the turn of Islam".<ref>((Cite book|last=Qutb Shaheed|first=Syed|url=http://www.izharudeen.com/uploads/4/1/2/2/4122615/milestones_www.izharudeen.com.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwig07KHh_rzAhV63jgGHRK0CiQQFnoECBAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0oj_PSVwMadHl4tMWrRl_y|title=Milestones|pages=3–4))((Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes ))</ref><ref>((Cite book|last=Qutb|first=Sayyid|title=Milestones: Special Edition|publisher=Maktabah Booksellers and Publications|year=2006|isbn=0-9548665-1-7|editor-last=al-Mehri|editor-first=A.B.|location= Birmingham, England|pages=12, 23–24))</ref></blockquote>

Qutb's intense dislike of the West and ethnic nationalism notwithstanding, a number of authors believe he was influenced by European [[fascism]]  ([[Roxanne Leslie Euben|Roxanne L. Euben]],<ref name=Euben>((cite book|first=Roxanne L.|last=Euben|title=Enemy in the Mirror: Islamic Fundamentalism and the Limits of Modern Rationalism |date=1999 |publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton|page=199)), quoted in The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists, by Khaled Abou El Fadl, Harper San Francisco, 2005, p.298</ref> [[Aziz al-Azmeh|Aziz Al-Azmeh]],<ref name=Al-Azmeh>((cite book|last=Al-Azmeh |first=Aziz|title=Islam and Modernites|date=1996|publisher=Verso Press |location=London|pages=77–101)), quoted in The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists, by Khaled Abou El Fadl, Harper San Francisco, 2005, p.298</ref> [[Khaled Abou El Fadl]]).((#tag:ref|"In Milestones he [Qutb] attempted to offer a description of the genuine Islamic society and the true Islamic faith, but in reality, Qutb's book did nothing more than attempt to add an Islamic veneer to a thoroughly fascist ideological construct.... Qutb provided a more detailed vision of the idealistic and utopian Islamic state. In this regard, Qutb, unlike Abd al-Wahhab, was influenced by Western thinkers, particularly the German fascist philosopher [[Carl Schmitt]]. Although Qutb does not once mention Schmidt in his works, a careful reading of Milestones on the Road reveals that many of Qutb's ideas, constructs and phrases are clearly adapted from the works of Schmidt."<ref>((cite book|last= Abou El Fadl  |first= Khaled |title= The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists |url= https://archive.org/details/greattheftwrestl00abou  |url-access= registration  |publisher= Harper San Francisco  |year=2005 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/greattheftwrestl00abou/page/82 82–3]|isbn= 9780060563394 ))</ref>|group=Note))

===Antisemitism===
Qutb was a staunch [[Antisemitism|antisemite]].<ref>
[https://books.google.com/books?id=78p3KEfMPJgC&q=Sayyid+Qutb+Our+Battle+Against+the+Jews ''The Jew Is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths That Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism''] by Tarek Fatah, Random House LLC, 2011, pp. 33–34</ref> Influenced by Islamists like [[Rashid Rida]], Qutb embraced anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and believed in the existence of global Jewish conspiracies.<ref>((Cite book|last=McHugo|first=John |title=A Concise History of the Arabs |date=2013 |publication-place=New York|publisher=The New Press |isbn=978-1-59558-950-7 |pages=207–208))</ref> In 1950, he published a book ''Our Struggle against the Jews'', which forms a central part of today's [[Islam and anti-Semitism|Islamist antisemitism]].<ref>http://www.isgap.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bassam-tibi-online-working-paper-20101.pdf ((Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022))</ref> Blaming the Jews for advocating [[Tanzimat|secularising reforms]] in the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman empire]] and inciting various turmoils that resulted in its [[Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire|dissolution]], Qutb wrote:

<blockquote>"A Jew was behind the incitement of various kinds of tribal arrogance in the last Caliphate; the (fomenting) of revolutions which began with the removal of the shari‘ah from the legislation and substituting for it ‘The Constitution’ during the period of the Sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]]; and the ‘hero’ [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Ataturk]]’s ending of the Caliphate. Then behind the subsequent war declared against the first signs of Islamic revival, from every place on the face of the earth ... stood the Jews."<ref>((Cite book |first=J. |last1=Halverson | first2=H.L. Jr. | last2=Goodall |first3=S. |last3=Corman |title= Master Narratives of Islamist Extremism|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-230-10896-7 |location=New York |pages=145–146))</ref></blockquote>

===View on the harmony of man===
Qutb felt strongly that the world was meant to serve man if understood properly. He wrote:

<blockquote>"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. It 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."<ref>''In the Shade of the Qur'an'', Vol. 1, p. 6</ref></blockquote>

===Jahiliyyah versus freedom in Islam===
This exposure to [[abuse of power]] crucially contributed to the ideas in Qutb's prison-written Islamic manifesto ''Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq'', where he advocated a political system that is the opposite of [[dictatorship]]((emdash))the Sharia, "God's rule on earth".<ref>Qutb, ''Milestones'', pp. 58</ref> Qutb believed that there are only two kinds of societies: Islamic and ''Jahili''. According to Qutb, all the existing Muslim societies are also "jahili societies" since they relegated "the legislative attribute of God to others".<ref>((Cite book|last=Qutb|first=Sayyid|url=https://holybooks.com/milestones-by-syed-qutb-shaheed/|title=Milestones|publisher=Islamic Book Service|year=1964|isbn=81-7231-244-X|pages=66, 75|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815041345/https://holybooks.com/milestones-by-syed-qutb-shaheed/|archive-date=15 August 2020))</ref> He further wrote:

<blockquote>"The Muslim community has long ago vanished from existence and from observation, and the leadership of mankind has long since passed to other ideologies and other nations, other concepts and other systems."<ref>((Cite book|last=Qutb|first=Sayyid|url=https://holybooks.com/milestones-by-syed-qutb-shaheed/|title=Milestones|publisher=Islamic Book Service|year=1964|isbn=81-7231-244-X|pages=4–5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815041345/https://holybooks.com/milestones-by-syed-qutb-shaheed/|archive-date=15 August 2020))</ref></blockquote>

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 orders to be followed ("what the Almighty Creator had prescribed for him"), as a source of "instruction for obedience and action".<ref>Qutb, ''Milestones'', p. 21</ref>
* Rather than support rule by a pious few, (whether a dictator(s) or democratically elected),((#tag:ref|"assemblies of men which have absolute power to legislate laws" is un-Islamic as well<ref>Qutb, ''Milestones'', p. 82</ref>|group=Note)) Qutb believed in what one observer has called "a kind of anarcho-Islam".<ref name="Irwin"/> Since Muslims would need neither judges nor police to obey divine sharia law ("As soon as a command is given, the heads are bowed, and nothing more is required for its implementation except to hear it."),<ref>Qutb, ''Milestones'', p.32</ref> there would be no rulers, no "servitude to other men", which is an un-Islamic violation of God's sovereignty (''Hakamiyya'') over all of creation.<ref>[[Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq#Freedom|Freedom in Milestones]]</ref><ref>Qutb, ''Milestones'', pp. 85, 32</ref> 
* The way to bring about this freedom was for a revolutionary vanguard((#tag:ref|Though Qutb's program for a vanguard to lead a revolutionary bears some resemblance to [[Vladimir Lenin|Vladimir Lenin's]] Communist Party, he loathed all Western ideologies, socialism being no exception. "Islam ... is the only Divine way of life ... those who deviate from this system and want some other system, whether it be based on nationalism ... class struggle, or similar corrupt theories are truly enemies of mankind!<ref>''Milestones'', p.51</ref>|group=Note)) to fight ''jahiliyyah'' with a twofold approach: preaching, and using "physical power and jihad" to "abolish" the organizations and authorities of the ''Jahili'' system"
* The vanguard movement would grow with [[Dawah|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.<ref name="Qutb, 2003 pp. 63, 69"/>

Qutb emphasized that this struggle would be anything but easy. True Islam would transform every aspect of society, eliminating everything non-Muslim.<ref>''Milestones'', pp. 130, 134</ref> 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.'' Qutb's revolutionary claims of the Islamic World being upon "''Jahiliyya''" and absence of "pure Islam" in the modern era set him apart from his Islamist predecessors. For mainstream Islamist ideologues like [[Hassan al-Banna|Hasan al Banna]], [[Abul A'la Maududi|Abul A'la Mawdudi]] and [[Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi|Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi]], both society and state were Islamic despite the influence of "''Jahili'' culture" of the West.<ref>((Cite book|last=Calvert|first=John|title=Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism|publisher=C. Hurst & co. (Publishers) Ltd.|year=2018|isbn=978-1-84904-949-8|location= London|pages=257–258, 220))</ref>

==Criticisms and defense==
Although his work has motivated and mobilized some Muslims,<ref>((Cite web|url=http://web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/milestones/freshlook.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417045424/http://web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/milestones/freshlook.htm|url-status=dead|title=major architects and "strategists" of contemporary Islamic revival|archivedate=17 April 2009|accessdate=19 October 2022))</ref> 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, attack societies, and the "institutions and traditions" of the Muslim((emdash))but according to Qutb ''jahili''((emdash))world.<ref name="Qutbism#Takfir">[[Qutbism#Takfirism]]</ref> The [[ulama]] 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'').<ref>Kepel, ''Jihad'', 1986, p. 58</ref>

Moderate 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.<ref>[[Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq#Sharia]]</ref><ref>Abou El Fadl, ''The Great Theft'' (2005), p. 1982</ref> 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.<ref>Meddeb, ''Malady of Islam'' (2003), p. 104</ref>

Conservative criticism went further, condemning Qutb's Islamist/reformist ideas proposed in his earlier works in the 1950s such as "Social Justice in Islam"((snd))like [[social justice]] and redistributive economics,<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.hizmetbooks.org/Religion_Reformers_in_Islam/ref-51.htm |title=Reformer Sayyid Qutb Exposes His Socialistic Ideas |access-date=2015-02-26 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223214453/http://www.hizmetbooks.org/Religion_Reformers_in_Islam/ref-51.htm |archive-date=23 February 2007))</ref><ref>((cite web |url=http://www.hizmetbooks.org/Religion_Reformers_in_Islam/ref-52.htm |title=Reformer Sayyid Qutb Advises That Government Should Confiscate Individual Property |access-date=2015-02-26 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223214505/http://www.hizmetbooks.org/Religion_Reformers_in_Islam/ref-52.htm |archive-date=23 February 2007))</ref><ref>((cite web |url=http://www.hizmetbooks.org/Religion_Reformers_in_Islam/ref-50.htm |title=Reformer Sayyid Qutb Interprets the Zakat of Islam Erroneously |access-date=2015-02-26 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224043106/http://www.hizmetbooks.org/Religion_Reformers_in_Islam/ref-50.htm |archive-date=24 February 2007))</ref> banning of slavery,<ref name=slavery>((cite web|title=Author of Saudi Curriculums Advocates Slavery|url=http://www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=132&sid=2|publisher=SIA News|access-date=27 May 2014|archive-url=https://swap.stanford.edu/20090418061718/http://www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=132&sid=2|archive-date=18 April 2009|url-status=dead))</ref><ref name=fanatic>((cite web|title=Taming a Neo-Qutubite Fanatic Part 1|url=http://abdurrahman.org/innovation/thequtbisuroori_d.pdf|publisher=salafi publications, abdurrahman.org|access-date=27 May 2014|page=24|quote=Questioner: ... one of the contemporary writers is of the view that this religion, at its inception, was compelled to accept the institution of slavery ... [but] ... that the intent of the Legislator [i.e. God] is to gradually end this institution of slavery. So what is your view on this? <br /> Shaikh Salih alFawzaan: These are words of falsehood (baatil) ... despite that many of the writers and thinkers – and we do not say scholars – repeat these words. Rather we say that they are thinkers (mufakkireen), just as they call them.  And it is unfortunate, that they also call them 'Du'at' (callers). And this (type of statement) is found in the tafsir of Sayyid Qutb in Dhilaal ul-Qura'aan. He says 'Islam does not affirm slavery, but it only allowed it to remain out of fear that the people may turn to despotism, that they may disapprove of its abolition since they had been accustomed to it. Hence Islaam has allowed ti to continue out of courtesy to the people.' ... These words are falsehood and (constitute) deviation (ilhaad)  ... This is deviation and a false accusation against Islaam. And if it had not been for the excuse of ignorance [because] we excuse them on account of (their) ignorance so we do not say that they are Unbelievers because they are ignorant and are blind followers .... Otherwise, these statements are very dangerous and if a person said them deliberately he would become apostate and leave Islaam. ..." Source: Cassette Recording dated 4/8/1416 and subsequently verified by the Sahikh himself with a few minor alterations to the wording.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527211742/http://abdurrahman.org/innovation/thequtbisuroori_d.pdf|archive-date=27 May 2014))</ref> – as "western" and ''[[bid‘ah]]'' or innovative (innovations to Islam being forbidden). 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<ref>Moussalli, Ahmad S., ''Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: the Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb'' by Ahmad S. Moussalli, American University of Beirut, 1992 p. 223</ref>), declaring unlawful what Allah has made lawful,<ref>Cassette: "Sharh Kitaab Masaa’il ul-Jaahiliyyah", 2nd cassette, 2nd side.</ref><ref>Baraa’ah Ulamaa il-Ummah of Isaam bin Sinaanee (a compilation of the sayings of the scholars on the deviations of Sayyid Qutb)</ref> assorted mistakes in ''[[aqeedah]]'' (belief) and ''[[Glossary of Islam#M|manhaj]]'' (methodology).<ref>Abdullaah ad-Dawaish, 'al-Mawrid az-Zalaal fit -Tanbeeh alaa Akhtaa az-Zilaal'</ref> Qutb has also come under fire from the moderate factions of the Muslim Brotherhood represented by scholars such as [[Yusuf al-Qaradawi|Yusuf al-Qaradwi]] who staunchly critiqued Qutb's ideas on ''jahiliyya'' as ''[[Takfiri]]'' extremism.<ref>((Cite book |last=A. Gergez |first=Fawaz |title=Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East |publisher=Princeton Universirty Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-691-16788-6 |location= Princeton, New Jersey  |pages=147–148 |chapter=4: The Birth of the Deep State and Modern Radical Islamism))</ref>

=== Defense ===
((See also|Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt|Hamoud al-Aqla al-Shu'aybi))

In spite of opposition from its moderate factions, the mainstream of Muslim Brotherhood that adheres to Hassan al-Banna's school of thought continues to extoll Qutb as "''al-Shahid al-Hayy''" (the living martyr). The Muslim Brotherhood also has militant [[Qutbism|Qutbist]] factions under its umbrella that continues to popularise Qutb's works like ''Milestones'' that inspire revolutionary action. Although the establishment Banni factions favour gradualist approach to establish [[Islamic state]]s through mainstream political participation, they also strongly defend Qutb's legacy to shore up support from their conservative base. This has also been described as an implicit strategy of covert support to the Qutbist project of immediate "''Jihad bi-l-Sayf''"(Jihad through the sword) against contemporary regimes; while Muslim Brotherhood focuses on long term [[Islamization]] strategy through education, mobilization and execution. Despite internal tensions within the group, Qutbist ideologues continue to exert inordinate influence in various echelons of the Muslim Brotherhood and have become a vehicle for popularising Qutb's [[Jihadism|Jihadist]] ideas amongst the masses.<ref>((Cite book |last=A. Gerges |first=Fawaz |title=Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-691-16788-6 |location= Princeton, New Jersey |pages=141–149 |chapter=4: The Birth of the Deep State and Modern Radical Islamism))</ref>

[[Saudi Arabia]]n Islamic scholar [[Hamoud al-Aqla al-Shu'aybi|Hamud ibn Uqla Ash-Shu'aybi]], the leader of the [[Hamoud al-Aqla al-Shu'aybi#Al-Shuebi School|Shu'aybi school]], wrote an influential treatise "''A Word of Truth on Sayyid Qutb''" in defending Sayyid Qutb from his theological opponents. Praising Qutb as a "''[[Mujaddid]]''", ibn Uqla accused Qutb's opponents of having double-standards in their criticism. He extolled Qutb as a martyr who upheld ''Tawhid'' and defended sharia in the face of tyrants. The treatise would become popular amongst contemporary [[Salafi jihadism|Salafi-Jihadist]] movements. Defending Qutb, Ibn Uqla wrote:

<blockquote>"Sayyid (may God have mercy upon him) was considered in his era as a science amongst the knowledge of the people ((sic|wh|o's)) curriculum was to fight the oppressors and declare them as disbelievers. He was also one of the unique preachers who called on people to worship their Lord and who preached the unification of all laws to none other than Allah. He did not bow down under the enemies of Allah and His Prophet, like Jamal Abdel-Nasser and his likes ... no one was happier by his death than those ... The targeting of Sayyid Qutb (may God have mercy upon him) wasn't just due to his personality ... the goal of his stabbing wasn’t his downfall ... what still worries his enemies and their followers is his curriculum (''manhaj'') which they fear will spread amongst the children of the Muslims."<ref>((Cite web|last=Ibn Uqla Ash-Shu'aybi|first=Hamud|date=16 August 2000|title=A Word of Truth on Sayyid Qutb|url=https://adviceforparadise.com/articles/2000/08/16/word-truth-sayyid-qutb/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226164351/https://adviceforparadise.com/articles/2000/08/16/word-truth-sayyid-qutb/|archive-date=26 February 2021|website=Adviceforparadise))</ref></blockquote>

Influential Salafi scholar [[Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani|Muhammad Nasir Al-Din al-Albani]] (d. 1999) would soften his previous critique of Sayyid Qutb, stating:

<blockquote>"Yes, Sayyid Qutb must be refuted, but with composure, and dispassionately ... But that does not mean that we must show him hostility, or forget that he has certain merits. The important thing is that he is a Muslim and an Islamic writer ... who was killed for the sake of ''[[Dawah|da‘wa]]'', and that those who killed him are the enemies of God."<ref>((Cite book|last1=Meijer|first1=Roel|title=Global Salafism: Islam's New Religious Movement|last2=Lacroix|first2=Stéphane|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-933343-1|location=New York|page=72|chapter=Between Revolution and Apoliticism: Nasir al-Din al-Albani and his Impact on the Shaping of Contemporary Salafism))</ref></blockquote>

==Legacy==
Alongside notable Islamists like Abul A'la Mawdudi, Hasan al-Banna, and [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]; Sayyid Qutb is considered one of the most influential Muslim thinkers or activists of the modern era, not only for his ideas but also for what many see as his martyr's death.<ref name="islamonline.net"/><ref name="Sayyid Qutb by Ahmed El-Kadi, MD"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>Sivan, Emmanuel, ''Radical Islam : Medieval Theology and Modern Politics'', Yale University, 1985</ref><ref>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=%22acquired+the+status+of+shahid%22&btnG=&safe=active "Muslim extremism in Egypt: the prophet and pharaoh", p. 59] "... The iniquitous prince, who had usurped God's sovereignty and made himself the object of worship of his subjects, had the Islamicist theoretician hanged on 29 August 1966. Sayyid Qutb thereby acquired the status of shahid, or martyr, in the eyes of his admirers."</ref> Qutb has been designated as ''[[Shahid|Shaheed]]'', or martyr.<ref>((Cite book|last=Abdo|first=Geneive|title=No God But God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2000|isbn=0-19-512540-1|location=New York|pages=53))</ref> To fellow [[militant Islamist]]s across the world, Qutb's execution in a Muslim country symbolised the depths of depravity the governments in Muslim world had sunk into. Within Egypt itself, the martyrdom of Sayyid Qutb give birth to a new generation of militant Islamists calling for the implementation of ''sharia''; such as [[Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj|Abdus Salam Faraj]], [[Omar Abdel-Rahman|'Umar Abdul Rahman]], [[Shukri Mustafa]], etc.<ref name="Qutb 2006 17">((Cite book|last=Qutb|first=Sayyid|title=Milestones|publisher=Maktabah Booksellers and Publishers|year=2006|isbn=0-9548665-1-7|editor-last=al-Mehri|editor-first=A.B.|location=Birmingham, England|page=17))</ref> According to authors [[Daniel Benjamin]] and Steven Simon, "it was Sayyid Qutb who fused together the core elements of modern Islamism: the [[Khawarij|Kharijites]]' [[takfir]], [[ibn Taymiyya]]'s [[fatwa]]s and policy prescriptions, [[Rashid Rida]]'s [[Salafism]], Maududi's concept of the contemporary ''jahiliyya'' and Hassan al-Banna's political activism."<ref>''The Age of Sacred Terror'' by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, p. 62</ref>

Qutb's written works are still widely available and have been translated into many Western languages. His 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).((citation needed|date=August 2007)) For Qutb, the Qur'an was seen as the final arbiter in all matters relating to faith, while his main goal in writing the book, ''In the Shade of the Qur’an'', was to restore the centrality of faith in the consciousness and imagination of Muslims, and to kindle a cognitive revolution that would bring about a political and social process that will lead to the renewal of the Islamic tradition.<ref>Shahrough Akhavi, ''The Dialectic in Contemporary Egyptian Social Thought: The Scripturalist and Modernist Discourses of Sayyid Qutb and Hasan Hanafi'', Cambridge University Press, [[International Journal of Middle East Studies]], Vol. 29, No. 3, 2007 p. 379; ((cite journal |last=Akhavi |first=Shahrough |title=The Dialectic in Contemporary Egyptian Social Thought: The Scripturalist and Modernist Discourses of Sayyid Qutb and Hasan Hanafi |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=377–401 |jstor=164586 |year=1997|doi=10.1017/S0020743800064825 |s2cid=161798476 |url=https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=poli_facpub ))</ref>

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.((citation needed|date=August 2007)) Qutb's theoretical work on Islamic advocacy, social justice and education, has left a significant mark not only on the Muslim Brotherhood, but also Muslim scholars from all backgrounds : like the founder of the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, [[Mustafa al-Siba'i]], as well as the Indonesian Sunni scholar [[Hamka]] and the Iraqi Shia scholar [[Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr]].<ref>John Calvert, ''Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism'', Oxford University Press (2009), p. 165</ref> [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar|Hekmatyar]], one of the most influential Afghan Islamists, says that he precisely turned Islamist in 1966, after hearing the death of Qutb on radio.<ref>Gilles Dorronsoro, ''Revolution Unending: Afghanistan, 1979 to the Present'', C. Hurst & Co. Publishers (2005), p. 75</ref> [[Ali al-Tamimi]], considered "arguably the first American born activist [[Salafi]] preacher",<ref>Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, ''Salafism in America: History, Evolution, Radicalization'', october 2018, p. 67. Report for the George Washington University Program on Extremism. [https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/Salafism%20in%20America.pdf Link].</ref> has Qutb as one of his main intellectual influences. While [[Qutbism|Qutbist]] works remain popular amongst the Arab youth and political dissidents; the majority of [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Islamism|Islamists]] currently view Qutb's proposals as outdated, impractical and prone to extremism.<ref>((Cite book |last=Abdo |first=Geneive |title=No God But God: Egy[t and the Triumph of Islam  |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-19-512540-1 |location=New York |pages=13))</ref>

His influence isn't limited to Sunnis either, as the current [[Supreme Leader of Iran]], [[Ali Khamenei]], translated his work into [[Persian language|Persian]].<ref>[[Baqer Moin]], ''Khomeini : Life of the Ayatollah'', [[I.B.Tauris]] (1999), p. 246</ref> Having been translated into Persian from the 50s and 60s onward, and for his definitive influence on the [[Islamic revolution of Iran]], a critical conference entitled ''Re-reading and Re-viewing the Views of Sayyid Quṭb'', held in [[Tehran]] during 15–16 February 2015, has been described as "a vivid example of the living legacy of Sayyid Quṭb in today’s Iran."<ref>Yusuf Ünal, "Sayyid Quṭb in Iran: Translating the Islamist Ideologue in the Islamic Republic" in ''Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies'', Vol. 1, No. 2 (November 2016), p. 51</ref>

===Al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad===
((See also|Al-Qaeda|Egyptian Islamic Jihad))
[[File:Anwar al-Awlaki sitting on couch, lightened.jpg|left|thumb|160px|[[Anwar al-Awlaki]]]]
[[File:Osama bin Laden portrait.jpg|thumb|left|160px|[[Osama bin Laden]], founder and first leader of [[al-Qaeda]].]]

Qutb had influence on Islamic insurgent/terror groups in Egypt<ref name="Qutbism#Takfir"/> and elsewhere. His influence on [[al-Qaeda]] was felt through his writing, his followers and especially through his brother, [[Muhammad Qutb]], who moved to [[Saudi Arabia]] following his release from prison in Egypt and became a professor of [[Islamic Studies]] and edited, published and promoted his brother Sayyid's work.<ref>Kepel, ''War for Muslim Minds'', (2004) pp. 174–75</ref><ref>Kepel, ''Jihad'', (2002), p. 51</ref>

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]]<ref>Sageman, Marc, ''Understanding Terror Networks'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004, p. 63</ref> and later a mentor of [[Osama bin Laden]] and the second [[Emir]] of Al-Qaeda.<ref>((cite web|url=http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/qutb_milest_influence_obl.html|title=How Did Sayyid Qutb Influence Osama bin Laden?|access-date=26 February 2015))</ref> 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((emdash))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."<ref>Wright, ''Looming Tower'', 2006, pp. 36–7</ref> Zawahiri paid homage to Qutb in his work ''Knights under the Prophet's Banner.''<ref>((cite web|url=http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/milestones_qutb.html#footnote_24|title=Sayyid_Qutbs_Milestones|access-date=26 February 2015))</ref> Acclaiming Qutb, Al-Zawahiri wrote:

<blockquote>"Sayyid Qutb underscored the importance of ''Tawheed'' (monotheism) in Islam, and that the battle between it and its enemies is at its core an ideological difference over the issue of the oneness of God. It is the issue of who has the power: God and his Shari’ah (Islamic law) or man-made, materialistic laws. Although ... Qutb ... was oppressed and tortured by Nasser’s regime ... (his) influence on young Muslims was paramount. (Sayyid) Qutb’s message was, and still is, to believe in the oneness of God and the supremacy of the divine path. This message fanned the fire of Islamic revolution against the enemies of Islam at home and abroad. The chapters of his revolution are renewing one day after another".<ref name="Qutb 2006 17"/></blockquote>

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."<ref>Wright, ''Looming Tower'', 2006, p. 79</ref>

While imprisoned in Yemen, [[Anwar al-Awlaki]] became influenced by the works of Qutb.<ref name="NYT: path to terror">((cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/world/09awlaki.html?pagewanted=5&hp|title=Imam's Path From Condemning Terror to Preaching Jihad|author1=Scott Shane |author2=Souad Mekhennet |author3=Robert F. Worth  |name-list-style=amp |date=8 May 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=13 May 2010))</ref> 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."<ref name="NYT: path to terror" /> On the other hand, associate professor of history at Creighton University, [[John Calvert (scholar)|John Calvert]], states that "the al-Qaeda threat" has "monopolized and distorted our understanding" of Qutb's "real contribution to contemporary Islamism."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y9pMAgAAQBAJ&dq=Qutb%27s+%22real+contribution+to+contemporary+Islamism.%22&pg=PA7 ''Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism''] By John Calvert</ref>

=== Influence on the 1979 Iranian Revolution ===
Qutb was an important source of influence to Ruhollah Khomeini and other Iranian Shia intellectuals leading up to the 1979 Iranian Revolution. In 1984, the Islamic Republic of Iran under Khomeini honoured Qutb's "martyrdom" by issuing an iconic postage stamp showing him behind bars. Qutb's works were translated by Iranian Islamists into Persian and enjoyed remarkable popularity both before and after the revolution. Prominent figures such as current Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his brother [[Mohammad Khamenei|Muhammad Ali Khamenei]], Aḥmad Aram, [[Hadi Khosroshahi]], etc. translated Qutb's works into Persian.<ref>Unal, Yusuf (November 2016). "Sayyid Quṭb in Iran: Translating the Islamist Ideologue in the Islamic Republic". ''Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies''. Indiana University Press. '''1''' (2): 35–60. ((doi|10.2979/jims.1.2.04)). [[JSTOR (identifier)|JSTOR]] 10.2979/jims.1.2.04. [[S2CID (identifier)|S2CID]] 157443230 – via JSTOR.</ref><ref>Calvert, John (2018). ''Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism''.  London: C. Hurst & co. (Publishers) ltd. p. 3. ((ISBN|978-1-84904-949-8)).</ref>

Although interest in Qutb's works had peaked during the years immediately following the [[Iranian Revolution|Iranian revolution]], Iranian intellectuals have become gradually opposed to Qutb and his militant ideas over the course of time. One source of criticism has been from the Iranian [[Shia Islam|Shi'ite]] clergy who considered Qutb's ideas as being Sunni influenced and charged him with heresy due to sectarian reasons. Clerics such as Abū Faḍl Raẓavī Ardakānī, Sayyid Ibrāhīm Mīlānī, [[Morteza Motahhari|Morteza Mutahhiri]], etc. wrote several treatises opposing the ideas of Qutb, his anti-clerical rhetoric and condemned those who spread his works in Iran.<ref>Unal, Yusuf (November 2016). "Sayyid Quṭb in Iran: Translating the Islamist Ideologue in the Islamic Republic". ''Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies''. Indiana University Press. '''1''' (2): 48–50. ((doi|10.2979/jims.1.2.04)). [[JSTOR (identifier)|JSTOR]] 10.2979/jims.1.2.04. [[S2CID (identifier)|S2CID]] 157443230 – via JSTOR.</ref>

In 2015, a youth organisation named "Kanoon Youth Thought Center" conducted a conference on Qutb's thought in [[Tehran]]. The conference was attended by major religious leaders and intellectuals of the Iranian revolution. Most of the participants expressed negative views on Qutb; considering him as a proponent of extremist ideas. Dr. Ali Akbar Alikhani, associate professor at [[University of Tehran|Tehran University]], argued that the [[Qutbism|Qutbist]] "binary worldview" that divided entire societies into ''[[Jahiliyyah|Jahili]]'' (ignorant) and ''[[Tawhid]]i'' (monotheistic), Qutb's allegedly pessimistic view of justice, etc. generated vicious hatred against [[Kafir|non-Muslims]]; culminating in the brutalities of terrorist groups such as the [[Islamic State]] (IS). Shi'ite scholar Ahmad Rahdar criticised Qutb's call to uncompromising militant action as serving the intellectual basis for [[Jihadism|Jihadist]] groups like Al-Qaeda, IS, etc. Historian [[Musa Najafi]] downplayed the role of Qutb's ideas in Iranian revolution and argued that revolutionary symbolism was inherent in Shi'ite scholarly tradition; which was channeled by Khomeini and his followers. Najafi characterised Qutb as a reactionary and sectarian scholar whose superficial and brisk solutions were always oriented towards mass ''[[Takfir]]'' (excommunication) and religious extremism. Although some non-clerical intellectuals continued attempts to defend him, Sayyid Qutb is viewed negatively amongst contemporary [[Khomeinism|Khomeinist]] scholars in [[Iran]].<ref>Unal, Yusuf (November 2016). "Sayyid Quṭb in Iran: Translating the Islamist Ideologue in the Islamic Republic". ''Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies''. Indiana University Press. '''1''' (2): 50–55. ((doi|10.2979/jims.1.2.04)). [[JSTOR (identifier)|JSTOR]] 10.2979/jims.1.2.04. [[S2CID (identifier)|S2CID]] 157443230 – via JSTOR.</ref>

=== Recognition in ''9/11 Commission Report'' ===
Chapter 2 of the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'' (2004), "The Foundation of the New Terrorism," cites Qutb for influencing [[Osama bin Laden]]'s worldview in these terms:

<blockquote>"[Qutb] dismissed Western achievements as entirely material, arguing that 'nothing will satisfy its own conscience and justify its existence.'[n. 12] 
<ref>Content of n. 12: Sayyid Qutb, Milestones (American Trust Publications, 1990). Qutb found sin everywhere, even in rural midwestern churches. Qutb's views were best set out in Sayyid Qutb, "The America I Have Seen" (1949), reprinted in Kamal Abdel-Malek, ed., ''America in an Arab Mirror: Images of America in Arabic Travel Literature: An Anthology'' (Palgrave, 2000).  [http://www.pdx.edu/sites/www.pdx.edu.sociologyofislam/files/media_assets/The%20America%20I%20Have%20Seen%20Sayyid%20Qutb%20Ustad.pdf PDF] ((webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102052508/http://www.pdx.edu/sites/www.pdx.edu.sociologyofislam/files/media_assets/The%20America%20I%20Have%20Seen%20Sayyid%20Qutb%20Ustad.pdf |date=2 January 2015 )) from Portland State University.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>"Three basic themes emerge from Qutb's writings. First, he claimed that the world was beset with barbarism, licentiousness, and unbelief (a condition he called jahiliyya, the religious term for the period of ignorance prior to the revelations given to the Prophet Mohammed). Qutb argued that humans can choose only between Islam and jahiliyya. Second, he warned that more people, including Muslims, were attracted to jahiliyya and its material comforts than to his view of Islam; jahiliyya could therefore triumph over Islam. Third, no middle ground exists in what Qutb conceived as a struggle between God and Satan. All Muslim – as he defined them – therefore must take up arms in this fight. Any Muslim who rejects his ideas is just one more nonbeliever worthy of destruction."<ref>[http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf The ''9/11 Commission Report''] (2004), Authorized Edition, pp. 50, 466 (n. 12).</ref></blockquote>

==Works==
((unreferenced section|date=August 2017))
'''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), 1932
* ''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
* "The America I Have Seen," 1949, reprinted in Kamal Abdel-Malek, ed., 2000, ''America in an Arab Mirror: Images of America in Arabic Travel Literature: An Anthology'', Palgrave. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150102052508/http://www.pdx.edu/sites/www.pdx.edu.sociologyofislam/files/media_assets/The%20America%20I%20Have%20Seen%20Sayyid%20Qutb%20Ustad.pdf PDF] from Portland State University.

'''Theoretical'''
* ''Al-Adala al-Ijtima'iyya fi'l-Islam'' (Social Justice in Islam), 1949
* ''Ma'rakat 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|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-Tasawwur 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|Ma'alim fi'l-Tariq]] (Signposts on the Road, or Milestones), 1964<ref>http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/MILESTONES.pdf ((Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022))</ref> (Reviewed<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.yvonneridley.org/mediaitem.php?id=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704030618/http://www.yvonneridley.org/mediaitem.php?id=1 |archive-date=2007-07-04 |title=Yvonne Ridley's Site|date=4 July 2007|accessdate=19 October 2022))</ref> by [[Yvonne Ridley]])
* Basic Principles of Islamic Worldview
* The Islamic Concept and Its Characteristics
* Islam and universal peace

'''Co-authored with others'''
* ''Al-Atyaf al-'Arba'ah'' (The Four Ghosts), 1945. Written with his siblings : [[Muhammad Qutb|Muhammad]], Aminah and Hamidah
* ''Rawdah al-Atfal'', n.d. Children's book written with [[Amīnah al-Saʿīd|Amīnah Saʻīd]] (1914–1995), a journalist and feminist, and Yūsuf Murād (1902-1966), a psychoanalyst who popularized [[Freud]] in Egypt and the Arab world.<ref>((Cite news|url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/opinion/lie-down-couch-arabic-freud|title=Lie down on a couch with the Arabic Freud|first=Usman|last=Butt|date=10 October 2017|work=[[The New Arab]]|accessdate=19 October 2022))</ref>
* ''Al Jadid fi al-'Arabiyyah'' (The New [Approach to] Arabic Language), n.d. A textbook on [[Arabic language]]
* ''Al Jadid fi al-Mahfuzât'' (The New [Approach to] Arabic Literature), n.d. A textbook on [[Arabic literature]]

==See also==
((Portal|Egypt|Islam|Biography|Politics))
* [[Fi zilal al-Qur'an]]
* [[Islam and antisemitism]]
* [[Taqiuddin al-Nabhani]]
* [[Theocracy]]
* ''[[The Power of Nightmares]]''

==Notes==
((reflist|group=Note))

==References==
((Reflist|colwidth=30em))

===Bibliography===
* Valentine, Simon Ross, "Sayyid Qutb: Terrorism & the Origins of Militant Islam", ''American Chronicle'', December 2008.
* ((cite web|title=The Lives of Hassan elBanna & Syed Qutb |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/24877498/The-Lives-of-Hasan-Al-Banna-and-Syed-Qutb |publisher=none given |access-date=10 March 2021 ))
* ''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
* ((cite book|author=Abou El Fadl, Khalid| title=The Great Theft|url=https://archive.org/details/greattheftwrestl00abou|url-access=registration| publisher=Harper San Francisco|year=2005|isbn=978-0-06-056339-4))
* ((cite book|author=Berman, Paul|title=Terror and Liberalism|url=https://archive.org/details/terrorliberalism00berm|url-access=registration| publisher=W. W. Norton|year=2003|isbn=978-0-393-05775-1))
* ((cite book|author=Burke, Jason|title=Al Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam|url=https://archive.org/details/alqaedatruestory0000burk|url-access=registration|publisher=Penguin| year=2004|isbn=978-0-14-101912-3))
* Calvert, John (2000), "'The World is an Undutiful Boy!': Sayyid Qutb's American Experience," ''Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations'', Vol. II, No.1, pp.&nbsp;87–103:98.
* ((cite book|author=Calvert, John| title=Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism| publisher=Hurst & Co / Columbia University Press|year=2010))
* Curtis, Adam (2005). ''[[The Power of Nightmares]]: The Rise of the Politics of Fear''. [[BBC]].
* ((cite book|author=Damir-Geilsdorf, Sabine|title=Der islamische Wegbereiter Sayyid Qutb und seine Rezeption|publisher=Würzburg|year=2003))
* ((cite book|author=Haddad, Yvonne Y.|year=1983|title=Voices of the Islamic Revolution|chapter=Sayyid Qutb: ideologue of Islamic revival|editor=Esposito, J.))
* ((cite book|author=Kepel, Gilles|title=The Prophet and Pharaoh: Muslim Extremism in Egypt|others=Jon Rothschild (trans.)|publisher=Al Saqi|year=1985|isbn=978-0-86356-118-4))
* ((cite book|author=Kepel, Gilles|title=The War for Muslim Minds: Islam and the West|others=Pascale Ghazaleh (trans.)|publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-674-01575-3|url=https://archive.org/details/warformuslimmind00kepe))
* ((cite book|author=Kepel, Gilles|title=Jihad: the trail of political Islam|others=Anthony F. Roberts (trans.)|publisher=Al Saqi|year=2002|isbn=978-0-674-00877-9|url=https://archive.org/details/jihad00gill_0))
* 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.
* ((cite book|author=Meddeb, Abelwahab|title=The Malady of Islam|others=Pierre Joris and Ann Reid (translators)|publisher=Basic Books|year=2003|isbn=978-0-465-04435-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/maladyofislam0000medd))
* ((cite book|author=Moussalli, Ahmad S.|title=Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: the Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb|publisher=American University of Beirut|year=1992))
* ((cite journal |last = Mura|first = Andrea|year = 2014|title = The Inclusive Dynamics of Islamic Universalism: From the Vantage Point of Sayyid Qutb's Critical Philosophy|journal = Comparative Philosophy|volume = 5|issue = 1|pages = 29–54|issn = 2151-6014|doi = 10.31979/2151-6014(2014).050106|doi-access = free))
* ((cite book|first=Andrea|last=Mura|title=The Symbolic Scenarios of Islamism: A Study in Islamic Political Thought|url=https://www.routledge.com/products/9781472443892|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|place=London))
* ((cite book|author=Soffar, Mohamed |year=2004|title= The Political Theory of Sayyid Qutb: A Genealogy of Discourse|publisher=Berlin: Verlag Dr. Koester, 1st ed.))
* ((cite book|author=Qutb, Sayyid|title=Milestones|publisher=Kazi Publications|year=2003|isbn=978-1-56744-494-0))
* ((cite book|author=Qutb, Sayyid|title=A Child From the Village|publisher=Syracuse University Press|editor1=J. Calvert|editor2=W. Shepard|others=Calvert, John; Shepard, William (trans.)|year=2003|isbn=978-0-8156-0805-9|url=https://archive.org/details/childfromvillage0000qutb))
* ((cite book|author=Qutb, Sayyid|title=Social justice in Islam|publisher=Islamic Publications International|others=John B. Hardie; revised by Hamid Algar (trans.)|year=2000|isbn=978-1-889999-11-1|url=https://archive.org/details/socialjusticeini00qutb))
* [[Giedrė Šabasevičiūtė|Šabaseviciute, Giedre]] (2021). ''Sayyid Qutb: An Intellectual Biography''. Syracuse University Press.
* ((cite book|author=Shepard, William E.|title=Sayyid Qutb and Islamic Activism. A Translation and Critical Analysis of "Social Justice in Islam"|publisher=Leiden|year=1996))
* ((cite book|author=Sivan, Emmanuel|title=Radical Islam : Medieval Theology and Modern Politics|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1985))
* ((cite book|author=Wright, Lawrence|title=The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11|publisher=Knopf|year=2006|isbn=978-0-375-41486-2|title-link=The Looming Tower|author-link=Lawrence Wright))

==External links==
((Wikiquote))
((Commonscat))
* Ahmed Bouzid, [http://hdl.handle.net/10919/30478 ''Man, Society, And Knowledge In The Islamist Discourse Of Sayyid Qutb''] ''Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University'' (April, 1998)
* [[Martin Amis]], [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/10/september11.politicsphilosophyandsociety ''The Age of Horrorism''] ''The Observer'' (10 September 2006)
* [[Paul Berman]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20031005151059/http://members.cox.net/slsturgi3/PhilosopherOfIslamicTerror.htm The Philosopher of Islamic Terror] ''New York Times Magazine'' (23 March 2003).
* Robert Irwin, [https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,584478,00.html Is this the man who inspired Bin Laden?] ''The Guardian'' (1 November 2001).
* Daniel Brogan, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070206155400/http://www.5280.com/issues/2003/0306/feature.php?pageID=269 Al Qaeda's Greeley Roots] ''5280 Magazine'' (June 2003).
* Sayyid Qutb, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20100813111858/http://web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/milestones/hold/index_2.htm Milestones]''.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070603183745/http://www.islamistwatch.org/texts/qutb/Milestones/ ''Milestones'' (alternate translation)]
* [http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/milestones_qutb.html ''Sayyid Qtub's Milestones'']
* Sayyid Qutb, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20051220161840/http://www.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/tafsir/syed_qutb/ In the Shade of the Qur'an]''. Source 1 ''[http://www.kalamullah.com/shade-of-the-quran.html In the Shade of the Qur'an]''. Source 2
* Sayyid Qetb ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20040405071544/http://www.geocities.com/abyassin/Qutb1.html This Religion of Islam]''.
* Hisham Sabrin, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100122043249/http://www.disinfo.com/2010/01/qutb-between-terror-and-tragedy/ Qutb: Between Terror and Tragedy] ''Disinformation.com'' (21 January 2010)
* David Von Drehle, [https://swap.stanford.edu/20090419041809/http%3A//www.smithsonianmag.com/history%2Darchaeology/presence%2Dfeb06.html A Lesson In Hate] ''Smithsonian Magazine''
* [http://patrickpoole.blogspot.com/2005/10/alexis-carrel-and-sayyid-qutb.html Alexis Carrel and Sayyid Qutb]
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1131544 Religion scholar Karen Armstrong discusses Sayyid Qutb] from [[NPR]]'s ''Fresh Air from WHYY'' (17 October 2001).
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1253796 Sayyid Qutb's America] from [[NPR]]'s ''All Things Considered'' (6 May 2003).
* [http://www.hizmetbooks.org/Religion_Reformers_in_Islam Religion Reformers In Islam]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030825031001/http://pages.prodigy.net/thomasn528/blog/2003_08_17_newsarcv.html#106125889084239517 Sayyid Qutb's French connection]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070713230602/http://www.muslimedia.com/archives/features99/qutb.htm Remembering Sayyid Qutb, an Islamic intellectual and leader of rare insight and integrity]
* [http://www.almizaanpubs.com/sayyid_qutb.html Major scholars on Sayyid Qutb]((dead link|date=April 2017))
* [http://www.islamtimes.org/vdcf.ydjiw6dc17raw.html Biography and Activities of Sayyid Qutb]
* [https://archive.today/20130817173416/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/presence-feb06.html?c=y&page=2 A Lesson In Hate: How an Egyptian student came to study 1950s America and left determined to wage holy war By David Von Drehle, Smithsonian magazine, February 2006]

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