Milestone by Syed Qutb

Milestone
by Syed Qutb

iii
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1:
The unique Qur'anic generation
Chapter 2:
The nature of the Qur'anic method
Chapter 3:
The Characteristics of the Islamic Society and the Correct method for
its Formation
Chapter 4:
Jihad in the cause of God
Chapter 5:
No God But God: The way of Life of Islam
Chapter 6:
The Universal Law
Chapter 7:
o Islam is the Real Civilization
Chapter 8:
A Muslim's Nationality and his Belief
Chapter 9:
Far-Reaching Changes
Chapter 10:
The faith Triumphant
Chapter 11:
This is the Road

1
Introduction
Mankind today is on the brink of a precipice, not because of the danger
of complete 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 knows that it does not possess anything which will satisfy its own
conscience and justify its existence.
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
2 Qutb 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.
It is essential for mankind to have new leadership!The leadership of mankind by Western man is now on the decline, not
because Western culture has become poor materially or because its economic
and military power has become weak. The period of the Western
system has come to an end primarily because it is deprived of those lifegiving
values which enabled it to be the leader of mankind.
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.
Islam is the only System which possesses these values and this way of
life.
The period of the resurgence of science has also come to an end. This
period, which began with the Renaissance in the sixteenth century after
Christ and reached its zenith in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
does not possess a reviving spirit.
All nationalistic and chauvinistic ideologies which have appeared in
modern times, and all the movements and theories derived from them, have
also lost their vitality. In short, all man-made individual or collective theories
have proved to be failures.
At this crucial and bewildering juncture, the turn of Islam and the Muslim
community has arrived -the turn of Islam, which does not prohibit material
inventions. Indeed, it counts it as an obligation on man from the very
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beginning of time, when God deputed him as His representative on earth,
and regards it under certain conditions a5 worship of God and one of the
purposes of man's creation.
"And when Your Sustainer said to the angels, I am going to make My
representative on earth.," (Qur'an 2:30)
"And I have not created jinns and men except that they worship Me."
(2:143)
Thus the turn of the Muslim community has come to fulfill the task for
mankind which God has enjoined upon it.
"You are the best community raised for the good of mankind. You enjoin
what is good and forbid what is wrong, and you believe in God."
(3:110)
"Thus We have made you a middle community, so that you be witnesses
for mankind as the Messenger is a witness for you." (2:143)
Islam cannot fulfill its role except by taking concrete form in a society,
rather, in a nation; for man does not listen, especially in this age, to an abstract
theory which is not seen materialized in a living society. From this
point of view, we can say that the Muslim community has been extinct for a
few centuries, for this Muslim community does not denote the name of a
land in which Islam resides, nor is it a people whose forefathers lived under
the Islamic system at some earlier time. It is the name of a group of people
whose manners, ideas and concepts, rules and regulations, values and criteria,
are all derived from the Islamic source. The Muslim community with
these characteristics vanished at the moment the laws of God became suspended
on earth.
If Islam is again to play the role of the leader of man- kind, then it is
necessary that the Muslim community be restored to its original form.
It is necessary to revive that Muslim community which is buried under
the debris of the man-made traditions of several generations, and which is
crushed under the weight of those false laws and customs which are not
even remotely related to the Islamic teachings, and which, in spite of all
4 Qutb
this, calls itself the 'world of Islam.'
I am aware that between the attempt at 'revival' and the attainment of
'leadership' there is a great distance, as the Muslim community has long ago
vanished from existence and from observation, and the leadership of ma nkind
has long since passed to other ideologies and other nations, other concepts
and other systems. This was the era during which Europe's genius
created its marvellous works in science, culture, law and material production,
due to which mankind has progressed to great heights of creativity and
material comfort. It is not easy to find fault with the inventors of such marvellous
things, especially since what we call the 'world of Islam' is completely
devoid of all this beauty.
But in spite of all this, it is necessary to revive Islam. The distance between
the revival of Islam and the attainment of world leadership may be
vast, and there may be great difficulties on the way; but the first step must
be taken for the revival of Islam.
If we are to perform our task with insight and wisdom, we must first
know clearly the nature of those qualities on the basis of which the Muslim
community can fulfill its obligation as the leader of the world. This is essential
so that we may not commit any blunders at the very first stage of its
reconstruction and revival.
The Muslim community today is neither capable of nor required to present
before mankind great genius in material inventions, which will make
the world bow its head before its supremacy and thus re-establish once
more its world leadership. Europe's creative mind is far ahead in this area,
and at least for a few centuries to come we cannot expect to compete with
Europe and attain supremacy over it in these fields.
Hence we must have some other quality, that quality which modern
civilization does not possess.
But this does not mean that we should neglect material progress. We
should also give our full attention and effort in this direction, not because at
this stage it is an essential requirement for attaining the leadership of mankind,
but because it is an essential condition for our very existence; and Islam
itself, which elevates man to the position of representative of God on
earth, and which, under certain conditions, considers the responsibilities of
this representative as the worship of God and the purpose of man's creation,
makes material progress obligatory for us.
To attain the leadership of mankind, we must have something to offer
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besides material progress, and this other quality can only be a faith and a
way of life which on the one hand conserves the benefits of modern science
and technology, and on the other fulfills the basic human needs on the same
level of excellence as technology has fulfilled them in the sphere of material
comfort. And then this faith and way of life must take concrete form in
a human society - in other words, In a Muslim society.
If we look at the sources and foundations of modern ways of living, it
becomes clear that the whole world is steeped in Jahiliyyah, [Ignorance of
the Divine guidance] and all the marvellous material comforts and highlevel
inventions do not diminish this ignorance. This Jahiliyyah is based on
rebellion against God's sovereignty on earth. It transfers to man one of the
greatest attributes of God, namely sovereignty, and makes some men lords
over others. It is now not in that simple and primitive form of the ancient
Jahiliyyah, but takes the form of claiming that the right to create values, to
legislate rules of collective behavior, and to choose any way of life rests
with men, without regard to what God has prescribed. The result of this
rebellion against the authority of God is the oppression of His creatures.
Thus the humiliation of the common man under the communist systems
and the exploitation of individuals and nations due to greed for wealth and
imperialism under the capitalist systems are but a corollary of rebellion
against God's authority and the denial of the dignity of man given to him by
God.
In this respect, Islam's way of life is unique, for in systems other that Islam,
some people worship others in some form or or another. Only in the
Islamic way of life do all men become free from the servitude of some men
to others and devote themselves to the worship of God alone, deriving
guidance from Him alone, and bowing before Him alone.
This is where the roads separate, and this is that new concept which we
possess and can present to mankind - this and the way of life which this
concept organizes for all the practical aspects of man's life. This is that vital
message of which mankind does not know. It is not a product of Western
invention nor of European genius, whether eastern or western.
Without doubt, we possess this new thing which is perfect to the highest
degree, a thing which mankind does not know about and is not capable
of 'producing'.
But as we have stated before, the beauty of this new system cannot be
6 Qutb
appreciated unless it takes a concrete form. Hence it is essential that a
community arrange its affairs according to it and show it to the world. In
order to bring this about, we need to initiate the movement of Islamic revival
in some Muslim country. Only such a revivalist movement will eventually
attain to the status of world leadership, whether the distance is near or
far. How is it possible to start the task of reviving Islam?
It is necessary that there should be a vanguard which sets out with this
determination and then keeps walking on the path, marching through the
vast ocean of Jahiliyyah which has encompassed the entire world. During
its course, it should keep itself somewhat aloof from this all-encompassing
Jahiliyyah and should also keep some ties with it.
It is necessary that this vanguard should know the landmarks and the
milestones of the road toward this goal so that they may recognize the starting
place, the nature, the responsibilities and the ultimate purpose of this
long journey. Not only this, but they ought to be aware of their position as
opposed to this Jahiliyyah, which has struck its stakes throughout the earth:
when to co-operate with others and when to separate from them: what characteristics
and qualities they should cultivate, and with what characteristics
and qualities the Jahiliyyah immediately surrounding them is armed; how to
address the people of Jahiliyyah in the language of Islam, and what topics
and problems ought to be discussed; and where and how to obtain guidance
in all these matters.
The milestones will necessarily be determined by the light of the first
source of this faith-the Holy Qur'an -and from its basic teachings, and from
the concept which it created in the minds of the first group of Muslims,
those whom God raised to fulfill His will, those who once changed the
course of human history in the direction ordained by God.
I have written "Milestones" for this vanguard, which I consider to be a
waiting reality about to be materialized. Four chapters [ These chapters are
"The Nature of the Qur'anic Method". "Islamic Concept and Culture", "J ihaad
in the Cause of God", and "Revival of the Muslim Community and its
characteristics.] are taken from my commentary, Fi Jilal al-Qur'an, [ In the
Shades of the Qur'an, a commentary on the Qur'an.] which I have changed
here and there slightly to suit the topic. This introduction and the other
chapters I wrote at various times. In writing these chapters I have set down
the deep truths which I grasped during my meditations over the way of life
presented in the Holy Qur'an. These thoughts may appear random and disconnected,
but one thing is common among them; that is, these thoughts are
milestones on the road,' and it is the nature of signs along the road to be
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disconnected. Taken together, these writings are a first installment of a series,
and with God's help I hope to write some more collections on this
topic.
And the guidance is from God.

9
1
THE UNIQUE QUR'ANIC
GENERATION
The callers to Islam in every country and in every period should give
thought to one particular aspect of the history of Islam, and they should
ponder over it deeply. This is related to the method of inviting people to
Islam and its ways of training.
At one time this Message created a generation - the generation of the
Companions of the Prophet, may God be pleased with them - without comparison
in the history of Islam, even in the entire history of man. After this,
no other generation of this caliber was ever gain to be found. It is true that
we do find some individuals of this caliber here and there in history, but
never again did a great number of such people exist in one region as was
the case during the first period of Islam.
This is an obvious and open truth of history, and we ought to ponder
over it deeply so that we may reach its secrets.
The Qur'an of this Message is still in our hands, and the Hadith of the
Messenger of God - peace be on him, i.e. his guidance in practical affairs,
and the history of his sacred life are also in our hands, as they were in the
hands of the first Muslim community whose equal history could not produce
again. The only difference is the person of the Messenger of God -
peace be on him; but is this the secret?
Had the person of the Prophet - peace be on him - been absolutely essential
for the establishment and fruition of this message, God would not
have made Islam a universal message, ordained it as the religion for the
10 Qutb
whole of mankind, given it the status of the last Divine Message for huma nity,
and made it to be a guide for all the inhabitants of this planet in all their
affairs until the end of time.
God has taken the responsibility for preserving the Holy Qur'an on
Himself because He knows that Islam can be established and can benefit
mankind even after the time of the Prophet - peace be on him. Hence He
called His Prophet - peace be on him - back to His mercy after twenty three
years of messengership and declared this religion to be valid until the end
of time. Therefore the absence of the Messenger of God - peace be on him -
is not the real cause for, nor does it explain, this phenomenon.
We look, therefore, for some other reasons, and for this purpose we
look at that clear spring from which the first generation of Muslims
quenched their thirst. Perhaps something has been mixed with that clear
spring. We should look at the manner in which they received their training.
Perhaps some changes have found their way into it.
The spring from which the Companions of the Prophet - peace be on
him-drank was the Qur'an; only the Qur'an as the Hadith of the Prophet and
his teachings were offspring of this fountainhead. When someone asked the
Mother of the Faithful, Aisha-may God be please- with her,-about the character
of the Prophet-peace be on him,-she answered, "His character was the
Qur'an" [ Al-Nisaa]
The Holy Qur'an was the only source from which they quenched their
thirst, and this was the only mold in which they formed their lives. This was
the only guidance for them, not because there was no civilization or culture
or science or books or schools. Indeed, there was Roman culture, its civilization,
its books and its laws, which even today are considered to be the
foundation of European culture. There was the heritage of Greek culture- its
logic, its philosophy and its arts, which are still a source of inspiration for
Western thought. There was the Persian civilization, its art, its poetry and
its legends, and its religion and system of government. There were many
other civilizations, near or far, such as the Indian and Chinese cultures, and
so on. The Roman and Persian cultures were established to the north and to
the south of the Arabian peninsula, while the Jews and Christians were settled
in the heart of Arabia. Thus we believe that this generation did not
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place sole reliance on the Book of God for the understanding of their religion
because of any ignorance of civilization and culture, but it was all according
to a well thought out plan and method. An example of this purpose
is found in the displeasure expressed by the Messenger of God - peace be
on him -when 'Umar-may God be pleased with him-brought some pages
from the Torah. The Messenger of God-peace be on him-said, "By God, if
even Moses had been alive among you today, he would have no recourse
except to follow me" [Reported by al-Hafidh Abu Yala from Himad, from
al-Shubi, from Jabir.]
It is clear from this incident that the Messenger of God - peace be on
him - deliberately limited the first generation of Muslims, which was undergoing
the initial stages of training, to only one source of guidance, and
that was the Book of God. His intention was that this group should dedicate
itself purely to the Book of God and arrange its lives solely according to its
teachings. That is why the Messenger of God -peace be on him-was displeased
when 'Umar-may God be pleased with him-turned to a source different
from the Qur'an
In fact, the Messenger of God-peace be on him-intended to prepare a
generation pure in heart, pure in mind, pure in understanding. Their training
was to be based on the method prescribed by God Who gave the Qur'an,
purified from the influence of all other sources.
This generation, then, drank solely from this spring and thus attained a
unique distinction in history. In later times it happened that other sources
mingled with it. Other sources used by later generations included Greek
philosophy and logic, ancient Persian legends and their ideas, Jewish scriptures
and traditions, Christian theology, and, in addition to these, fragments
of other religions and civilizations. These mingled with the commentaries
on the Qur'an and with scholastic theology, as they were mingled with jurisprudence
and its principles. Later generations after this generation obtained
their training from this mixed source, and hence the like of this generation
never arose again.
Thus we can say without any reservations that the main reason for the
difference between the first unique and distinguished group of Muslims and
later Muslims is that the purity of the first source of Islamic guidance was
12 Qutb
mixed with various other sources, as we have indicated.
There is another basic cause which has operated in creating this difference.
That difference is in the method of learning of this unique generation.
They of the first generation did not approach the Qur'an for the purpose
of acquiring culture and information, nor for the purpose of taste or enjoyment.
None of them came to the Qur'an to increase his sum total of knowledge
for the sake of knowledge itself or to solve some scientific or legal
problem, or to remove some defect in his understanding. He rather turned to
the Qur'an to find out what the Almighty Creator had prescribed for him
and for the group in which he lived, for his life and for the life of the group.
He approached it to act on what he heard immediately, as a soldier on the
battle- field reads "Today's Bulletin" so that he may know what is to be
done. He did not read many verses of the Qur'an in one session, as he understood
that this would lay an unbearable burden of duties and responsibilities
on his shoulders. At most he would read ten verses, memorize them,
and then act upon them. We know this from a tradition reported by Abdullah
bin Mas'ood .
This understanding-the understanding that instruction is for actionopened
the doors to spiritual fulfillment and to knowledge. If they had read
the Qur'an only for the sake of discussion, learning and information, these
doors would not have opened. Moreover, action became easy, the weight of
responsibilities became light, and the Qur'an became a part of their personalities,
mingling with their lives and characters so that they became living
examples of faith - a faith not hidden in intellects or books, but expressing
itself in a dynamic movement which changed conditions and events and the
course of life.
Indeed, this Qur'an does not open its treasures except to him who accepts
it with this spirit: the spirit of knowing with the intention of acting
upon it. It did not come to be a book of intellectual content, or a book of
literature, or to be considered as a book of stories or history, although it has
all these facets. It came to become a way of life, a way dedicated to God.
Thus, God Most High imparted it to them in a gradual manner, to be read at
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intervals:
"We have revealed this Qur'an little by little so that you may recite it to
people at intervals, and We have revealed it gradually." (17:106)
The Qur'an did not come down all at once; rather it came down accor ding
to the needs of the Islamic society in facing new problems, according to
the growth of ideas and concepts, according to the progress of general social
life, and according to new challenges faced by the Muslim community
in its practical life. One verse or a few verses would be revealed according
to the special circumstances and events, and they would answer questions
which arose in the minds of people, would explain the nature of a particular
situation, and would prescribe a way of dealing with it. These verses would
correct their mistakes, either of understanding or of practice, would bring
them closer to God, and would explain to them the wisdom of the various
aspects of the universe in the light of God's attributes. Thus they clearly
realized that every moment of their lives was under the continuous guidance
and direction of the Almighty Creator and that they were traversing
the path of life under the wings of God's mercy. Because of this sense of
constant relationship with God, their lives were molded according to that
sacred way of life which was being instructed by Him.
Thus, instruction to be translated into action was the method of the first
group of Muslims. The method of later generations was instruction for academic
discussion and enjoyment. And without doubt this is the second major
factor which made later generations different from the first unique generation
of Islam.
A third cause is also operative in the history of Muslims; we ought to
look at it also.
When a person embraced Islam during the time of the Prophet-peace be
on him-he would immediately cut himself off from Jahiliyyah. [The state of
ignorance of the guidance from God.] When he stepped into the circle of
Islam, he would start a new life, separating himself completely from his
past life under ignorance of the Divine Law. He would look upon the deeds
during his life of ignorance with mistrust and fear, with a feeling that these
were impure and could not be tolerated in Islam! With this feeling, he
14 Qutb
would turn toward Islam for new guidance; and if at any time temptations
overpowered him, or the old habits attracted him, or if he became lax in
carrying out the injunctions of Islam, he would become restless with a sense
of guilt and would feel the need to purify himself of what had happened,
and would turn to the Qur'an to mold himself according to its guidance.
Thus, there would be a break between the Muslim's present Islam and
his past Jahiliyyah, and this after a well thought out decision, as a result of
which all his relationships with Jahiliyyah would be cut off and he would
be joined completely to Islam, although there would be some give-and-take
with the polytheists in commercial activity and daily business; yet relationships
of understanding are one thing and daily business is something else.
This renunciation of the jahili environment, its customs and traditions,
its ideas and concepts, proceeded from the replacement of polytheism by
the concept of the Oneness of God, of the jahili view of life and the world
by that of the Islamic view, and from absorption into the new Islamic community
under a new leadership and dedication of all loyalties and commitments
to this new society and new leadership.
This was the parting of the ways and the starting of a new journey, a
journey free from the pressures of the values, concepts and traditions of the
jahili society. The Muslim encountered nothing burdensome except the torture
and oppression; but he had already decided in the depths of his heart
that he would face it with equanimity, and hence no pressure from the jahili
society would have any effect on his continuing steadfastness.
We are also surrounded by Jahiliyyah today, which is of the same nature
as it was during the first period of Islam, perhaps a little deeper. Our
whole environment, people's beliefs and ideas, habits and art, rules and
laws-is Jahiliyyah, even to the extent that what we consider to be Islamic
culture, Islamic sources, Islamic philosophy and Islamic thought are also
constructs of Jahiliyyah!
This is why the true Islamic values never enter our hearts, why our
minds are never illuminated by Islamic concepts, and why no group of people
arises among us who are of the calibre of the first generation of Islam.
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It is therefore necessary-in the way of the Islamic movement-that in the
early stages of our training and education we should remove ourselves from
all the influences of the Jahiliyyah in which we live and from which we
derive benefits. We must return to that pure source from which those people
derived their guidance, the source which is free from any mixing or pollution.
We must return to it to derive from it our concepts of the nature of the
universe, the nature of human existence, and the relationship of these two
with the Perfect, the Real Being, God Most High. From it we must also derive
our concepts of life, our principles of government, politics, economics
and all other aspects of life.
We must return to it with a sense of instruction for obedience and action,
and not for academic discussion and enjoyment. We should return to it
to find out what kind of person it asks us to be, and then be like that. During
this process, we will also discover the artistic beauty in the Qur'an, the marvellous
tales in the Qur'an, the scenes of the Day of Judgment in the Qur'an,
the intuitive logic the Qur'an, and all other such benefits which are sought
in the Qur'an by academic and literary people. We will enjoy all these other
aspects, but these are not the main object of our study. Our primary purpose
is to know what way of life is demanded of us by the Qur'an, the total view
of the universe which the Qur'an wants us to have, what is the nature of our
knowledge of God taught to us by the Qur'an, the kind of morals and manners
which are enjoined by it, and the kind of legal and constitutional system
it asks us to establish in the world.
We must also free ourselves from the clutches of jahili society, jahili
concepts, jahili traditions and jahili leadership. Our mission is not to compromise
with the practices of jahili society, nor can we be loyal to it. Jahili
society, because of its jahili characteristics, is not worthy to be compromised
with. Our aim is first to change ourselves so that we may later
change the society.
Our foremost objective is to change the practices of this society. Our
aim is to change the Jahili system at its very roots -this system which is
fundamentally at variance with Islam and which, with the help of force and
oppression, is keeping us from living the sort of life which is demanded by
our Creator.
16 Qutb
Our first step will be to raise ourselves above the jahili society and all
its values and concepts. We will not change our own values and concepts
either more or less to make a bargain with this jahili society. Never! We
and it are on different roads, and if we take even one step in its company,
we will lose our goal entirely and lose our way as well.
We know that in this we will have difficulties and trials, and we will
have to make great sacrifices. But if we are to walk in the footsteps of the
first generation of Muslims, through whom God established His system and
gave it victory over Jahiliyyah, then we will not be masters of our own
wills.
It is therefore desirable that we should be aware at all times of the nature
of our course of action, of the nature of our position, and the nature of
the road which we must traverse to come out of ignorance, as the distinguished
and unique generation of the Companions of the Prophet - peace be
on him-came out of it.
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2
THE NATURE OF THE QUR'ANIC
METHOD
The Meccan portion of the holy Qur'an, revealed to the Prophet - peace
be on him - over a period of thirteen years, dealt with only one question.
The nature of this question did not change, although the manner of its presentation
varied according to the style of the Qur'an, which refers to this
question in new ways, always as though it had been raised for the first time.
This was the primary question, the greatest question, the fundamental
question of this new religion - a question of faith with two main aspects, the
Divine and the human, and the relationship between them.
This question is addressed to 'the human being' as a human being, and
in this respect the Arab of one era or any other, and the non-Arab, are equal,
whether he belongs to that time or to later times.
This is that human problem which does not change; this is the question
of man's existence in the universe, his ultimate goal, and his position and
relationship to the universe; and the question of the relationship between
him and the Creator of the universe. This aspect of man's life cannot
change, as it relates to his very being.
During the Meccan period, the Qur'an explained to man the secret of
his existence and the secret of the universe surrounding him. It told him
who he is, where he has come from, for what purpose and where he will go
in the end, Who brought him from nonexistence into being, to Whom he
will return, and what his final disposition will be. It also informed him concerning
the nature of the things which he can touch and see and the things
18 Qutb
which he can sense and conceive but which he cannot see, Who created and
administers this marvellous universe, Who alternates night and day, and
Who
renovates and varies things. It also told him how to relate to the Creator,
to the physical world, and to other human beings.
This is that great question upon which man's existence depends and
will continue to depend until the end of time.
And thus the full thirteen years of the Meccan period were spent in explaining
and expounding this fundamental question, that question from
which all other questions and details pertaining to human life are derived.
The Qur'an made this question the only subject of its message during
the Meccan period and never discussed other subsidiary and derived matters.
These subsidiary topics were not mentioned until the All-Knowing
God decided that matters pertaining to faith had been explained fully and
had entered into the hearts of that select group of people who were to esta blish
His religion and were to give it a practical form.
Those who call toward God's Religion and want to establish the way of
life prescribed by this Religion should ponder at length over this significant
fact, that for thirteen years the Qur'an exclusively expounded this faith and
did not deviate from this issue to describe the details of that system which
was to be established on this faith or any laws for the organization of the
Muslim society.
It was God's wisdom that this fundamental question of faith and belief
should be made the central theme of the initial call of the Prophet to his
people. The first message which the Messenger of God-peace be on himbrought
to these people was that they bear witness that "there is no deity
except God" and he devoted his efforts to making known to people Who
their true Sustainer is and that they should worship Him alone.
From the viewpoint of the limited understanding of man, it does not
seem as though this would be the easiest way to reach the hearts of the ArTHE
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abs. They knew their language well and knew the meaning of 'llah' (god),
and they also knew the meaning of 'La ilaha illa Allah' (There is no deity
except God). They knew that 'Uluhiyah' means 'sovereignty,' and they also
realized that ascribing sovereignty only to God meant that the authority
would be taken away from the priests, the leaders of tribes, the wealthy and
the rulers, and would revert to God. It meant that only God's authority
would prevail in the heart and conscience, in matters pertaining to religious
observances and in the affairs of life such as business, the distribution of
wealth and the dispensation of justice - in short, in the souls and bodies of
men. They knew very well that the proclamation, "there is no deity except
'Allah,' was a challenge to that worldly authority which had usurped the
greatest attribute of God, namely, sovereignty. It was a rebellion against all
modes of behavior which have been devised under this usurpation and was
a declaration of war against that authority which legislates laws not permitted
by God. It was no secret to the Arabs-who knew their language very
well and knew the real meaning of the message, "La ilaha illa Allah"-what
its significance was in relation to their traditions, their rule and their power.
Hence they greeted this call -this revolutionary message - with anger, and
fought against it with that vigour which is known to everyone.
Why did this call begin in this manner? And why did the Divine wisdom
decide that this call be confronted in its initial stages with trials?
At the time of the Prophet's call to Messengership, the land and the
wealth of the Arabs was not in the hands of the Arabs but was in the hands
of other people.
In the north, Syria was under the Romans, who appointed local Arab
rulers. Similarly, in the south, Yemen was under the tutelage of the Persian
Empire and was ruled by Arabs under its domination. Arabs were masters
only of Hijaz, Tihama and Najd, which were waterless deserts with a few
oases here and there.
It is also well-known that Muhammed-peace be on him- was called 'al-
Amin as-Sadiq' (The Trustworthy and Truthful') by his people. Fifteen
years before his Messengership began the leaders of the Quraish had made
20 Qutb
him their arbiter in the incident of the placing of the Black Stone and had
been pleased with his decision. His lineage was from the Banu Hashim,
which was the noblest branch of the Quraish. It can therefore be said that
Muhammad-peace be on him-was capable of kindling among his compatriots
the fire of Arab nationalism and would thus have united them. They
would have responded gladly to this call, for they were weary of continual
tribal warfare and blood feuds. He would then have been able to free the
Arab lands from the domination of Roman and Persian imperialism and
would have been able to establish a united Arab state. It can be said that if
the Prophet- peace be on him - had called people in this way, instead of
bearing tortures for thirteen years due to the opposition of the people in authority
in the peninsula, the whole of Arabia would have accepted it.
It can be said that if Arabia had thus been united under his leadership
and the authority had once devolved into his hands, he could have used all
this to make them accept the belief in the Oneness of God, for which purpose
he was sent, and to bring people to submit to their Sustainer after they
had submitted to his own human authority.
But the All-Knowing and All-Wise God did not lead His Prophetpeace
be on him -on this course. He led him to declare openly that there is
no deity but God, and to bear patiently, with his few Companions, whatever
trials came to them.
Why this? Obviously it was not for the sake of subjecting His Prophet -
peace be on him - and the Believers to oppression. Indeed, He knows that
there is no other way. The way is not to free the earth from Roman and Persian
tyranny in order to replace it with Arab tyranny. All tyranny is wicked!
The earth belongs to God and should be purified for God, and it cannot be
purified for Him unless the banner, "No deity except God", is unfurled
across the earth. Man is servant to God alone, and he can remain so only if
he unfurls the banner, "No deity except God,-"La ilaha illa Allah" -as an
Arab with the knowledge of his language understood it: no sovereignty except
God's, no law except from God, and no authority of one man over another,
as the authority in all respects belong to God. The 'grouping' of men
which Islam proclaims is based on this faith alone, the faith in which all
peoples of any race or color-Arabs, Romans or Persians -are equal under
the banner of God.
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And this is the way.
At the time of the Prophet's call to Messengership, Arab society was
devoid of proper distribution of wealth and devoid of justice. A small group
monopolized all wealth and commerce, which increased through usury. The
great majority of the people were poor and hungry. The wealthy were also
regarded as noble and distinguished, and the common people were not only
deprived of wealth but also of dignity and honor.
It can be said that Muhammad - peace be on him - was capable of starting
a social movement, declaring war against the class of nobles and the
wealthy, taking away their wealth and distributing it among the poor.
It can be said that had the Prophet-peace be on him- started such a
movement, Arab society would have been divided into two classes, the
great majority supporting the new movement because they were sick of the
tyranny of wealth, nobility and power and a small minority's possessing
these things, instead of the Prophet's having to confront the society with the
Message of the Oneness of God, which remained beyond the reach of all
except a few noble souls.
It can be said that after the majority had joined his movement and had
given him the leadership, and after he had gained control of the minority of
the rich, Muhammad - peace be on him -could then have used his position
and power to impose the belief in the Oneness of God, for which task God
had appointed him as His Prophet. Thus, first making human beings bow
before his authority, he could have made them bow before the True God.
But the All-Knowing, the All-Wise God did not lead him to this course.
God knew that this was not the way. He knew that true social justice
can come to a society only after all affairs have been submitted to the laws
of God and the society as a whole is willing to accept the just division of
wealth prescribed by Him, and every individual of the society, whether he
be a giver or a taker, firmly believes that this system has been legislated by
God Almighty, by obeying which he will not only prosper in this world but
will be rewarded in the next. The society should not be in such a condition
that some are driven by greed while others are burning with envy, that all
22 Qutb
the affairs of the society are decided by the sword and the gun, fear and
threats, that the hearts of the population are desolate and their spirits are
broken, as is the case under systems which are based on any authority other
than God's.
At the time of the Prophet's call to Messengership, the moral level of
Arabia was extremely low from every point of view. Only a few primitive
tribal customs prevailed.
Oppression was the rule of the day, as the famous poet Zuhair Selma
has described:
"One who does not defend himself with weapons will perish,
And one who does not oppress will be oppressed'.
Another famous saying of the Days of Ignorance points to this:
"Help your brother, whether he is the oppressor or being oppressed" .
Drinking and gambling were traditions of the society and people were
proud of these habits. All the poetry of the Days of Ignorance revolves
around the theme of wine and gaming. Turfah Abed says:
"If there had not been three things for a young man's enjoyment,
Then I would not have cared for anything except some food.
One of them is my excelling others in the drinking of wine which is
so potent that if you add water to it, it bubbles.
Drinking and entertainment and spending
Have been my life, and still are.
At last the time has come when the whole tribe has abandoned me,
As if I were a camel with a terrible itch".
Fornication was rampant in various forms and was considered something
to be proud of, as is the case among all jahili societies, old or new.
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'Aisha-may God be pleased with her -describes the condition of society of
the Days of Ignorance in the following words:
"There were four kinds of marria ges during Jahiliyyah. One was as we
have it today; that is, a man would ask a person for the hand of his daughter
or his ward in marriage, would pay the marriage-gift, and would marry her.
The second type was that a man would tell his wife, in between her menstrual
periods, to call such and such man and become pregnant by him. He
would stay away from her and would not touch her until the signs of pregnancy
appeared. If he then wished, he would have intercourse with her. He
adopted this method to obtain a son of high lineage. A third form of marriage
was polyandry. A group of men, less than ten, would come to a
woman and have sexual intercourse with her. If she became pregnant and
then gave birth to a child, and a few nights passed after childbirth, she
would call them. No one could refuse this call. When they would all gather,
she would tell them, 'You know the result. I have given birth to a child.'
Then she would point to one of them and would say, 'This is his child.' The
child would then be named after that person and would be considered his,
and he could not deny this. A fourth form of marriage was that many men
would go to a woman, and she was willing to accept any. Actually, these
were prostitutes and would place a flag in front of their doors as a sign.
Anyone who wished would go to them. If such a woman became pregnant,
after the delivery many people would gather by her and would call an expert
in recognizing resemblances. To whomever he would ascribe the
child's paternity, the child would be considered his and he could not refuse
it." [7 Bukhari, in the Book of Marriage.]
It can be said that Muhammad-peace be on him-was capable of starting
a movement of moral reform for the establishment of moral standards, for
the purification of the society, and for self-evaluation. As is the case with
every reformer, he would have found some upright and straight people who
were also unhappy about the moral degeneration of their society. These
people would certainly have come to him to join his reformist movement.
Thus, one can say that if the Prophet-peace be on him- had chosen this
course, he would have easily gathered a sizeable group. Because of their
moral purity and spiritual fortitude, this group of people, more than others,
would have accepted the belief in the Oneness of God would have carried
24 Qutb
the responsibilities pertaining to it. Thus the Prophet's call, "There is no
deity except God," would have been spared the vigourous opposition which
it encountered.
But God Most High knew that this way is not the way. He knew that
morality can only be built on faith, a faith which provides criteria, creates
values, defines the authority from which these criteria and values are to be
derived, and prescribes the reward of the one who accepts this authority and
the punishment of those who deviate or oppose. Without this kind of belief
or the concept of a higher authority, all valued remain unstable, and similarly
morals based on them remain unstable - without accounting, without
authority, without reward!
When, after hard work, belief became firm and the authority to which
this belief refers was acknowledged, when people recognized their Sustainer
and worshipped Him alone, when they became independent not only
of other human beings but also of their own desires, and when "La ilaha illa
Allah" became imprinted on their hearts-then God, through this faith and
through the Believers, provided everything which was needed. God's earth
became free of 'Romans and Persians,' not so that the authority of 'Arabs'
might prevail, but only so that God's authority might be established and that
the earth might be cleared of all the rebels against Him, whether they were
Roman, Persian or Arab.
The society was freed from all oppression, and the Islamic system was
established in which justic e was God's justice and in which weighing was
by God's balance. The banner of social justice was raised in the name of
One God, and the name of the banner was Islam. No other name was added
to it, and "La ilaha illa Allah" was written on it.
Morals were elevated, hear.s and souls were purified, and with the exception
of a very few cases, there was no occasion even to enforce the limits
and punishments which God has prescribed; for now conscience was the
law-enforcer, and the pleasure of God, the hope of Divine reward, and the
fear of God's anger took the place of police and punishments.
Mankind was uplifted in its social order, in its morals, in all of its life,
to a zenith of perfection which had never been attained before and which
cannot be attained afterwards except through Islam.
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All this was possible because those who established this religion in the
form of a state, a system and laws and regulations had first established it in
their hearts and lives in the form of faith, character, worship and human
relationships. They had been promised only one thing for the establishment
of this religion - not victory or power, not even that this religion would be
established by their hands, not related to anything of this world:-one promise,
that of the Garden. That was the only promise given to them for all their
striving, for all the trials which they had endured, for their steadfastness in
the face of the opposition of the forces of Jahiliyyah to that call, "There is
no deity except God," which is abhorrent to those who are in power in any
age and place.
When God tried them and they proved steadfast, relinquishing their
own personal desires, and when God Most High knew that they were not
waiting for any reward in this world, now were they desirous to see the victory
of this message and the establishment of this Religion on earth by their
hands, when their hearts became free of pride of lineage, of nationality, of
country, of tribe, of household-in short, when God Most High saw them to
be morally pure-then He granted them the great trust, the conscious assumption
of being God's representative on earth. Since they were pure in
faith, the requirement for which is that God's sovereignty alone extend over
hearts and consciences in human relationships and morals, in lives and possessions,
in modes and manners, God Most High knew that they would be
true guardians of the political authority, which would be entrusted to them
so that they would establish the Divine law and the Divine justice. He knew
they would not use it to benefit their own selves or their families or tribe or
nation, but would dedicate this authority purely to the service of God's religion
and laws, as they knew that the true source of authority is God alone
and that they were only trustees.
If the call of Islam had not started in this manner, discarding all banners
other than "There is no deity except God," and if it had not taken that path
which apparently was difficult and trying but which in reality was easy and
blessed, then it would not have been possible to establish this blessed system
with this high standard.
Had this call come in its initial stages as a national call or a social
26 Qutb
movement or a reformist attempt, or had it attached other labels to the call
of "La ilaha illa Allah," then this blessed system would never have been for
the sake of God alone.
The Meccan period of the Qur'an has this glorious attribute that it imprints
2'There is no deity except God" on hearts and minds, and teaches
Muslims to adopt this method and no other-in spite of the fact that it appears
difficult-and to persist in this method.
The Qur'an concentrated all its teaching on the question of faith alone,
not mentioning the details of the system which is to be based on it or the
laws which are to regulate its affairs. The people who invite others to this
Religion ought to ponder over this.
Indeed, it is the nature of this Religion which requires this particular
method, as this Religion stands entirely on belief in the Oneness of God,
and all its institutions and laws are derived from this great principle. A simile
for this Religion is a strong, tall tree whose shade spreads far and wide
and whose branches reach toward the sky. Such a tree would naturally put
its roots deep down into the earth and spread them over a wide area, in proportion
to its size. The case of this Religion is similar. Its system extends
into all aspects of life; it discusses all minor or major affairs of mankind; it
orders man's life- not only in this world but also in the world to come; it
gives information about the Unseen as well as about the visible world; it not
only deals with material things but also purifies intentions and ideas. It is
thus like a tall, strong, wide-spreading tree; clearly its roots must go down
deep and be in proportion to its size.
This aspect of the nature of Islam defines the way it is to be founded
and organized: by implanting belief and strengthening it so that it seeps into
the depths of the human soul. This is essential for its correct development,
for only through this method can a relationship be secured between that part
of the tree of religion which reaches upward and the roots which are in the
depths of the earth.
When belief in "La ilaha illa Allah" penetrates into the deep recesses of
the heart, it also penetrates through the whole system of life, which is a
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practical interpretation of this faith. By this means, those who believe are
already pleased with the system which this faith uniquely determines and
submit in principle to all the laws and injunctions and details even before
they are declared. Indeed, the spirit of submission is the first requirement of
the faith. Through this spirit of submission the believers learn the Islamic
regulations and laws with eagerness and pleasure. As soon as a command is
given, the heads 32
are bowed, and nothing more is required for its implementation except
to hear it. In this manner, drinking was forbidden, usury was prohibited, and
gambling was proscribed, and all the habits of the Days of Ignorance were
abolished-abolished by a few verses of the Qur'an or by a few words from
the lips of the Prophet- peace be on him. Compare this with the efforts of
secular governments. At every stage they have to rely on legislation, administrative
institutions, police and military power, propaganda and the press,
and yet they can at most control what is done publicly, and society remains
full of illegal and forbidden things. [ Refer to Fi Thilal al-Qur'an (In the
Shade of the Qur'an), Vol. 5, pp. 78-85, to see how God forbade the drinking
of alcohol. Then refer to Sayed Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi's book, The Loss
to the World Due to the Decline of Muslims, quoting Abul 'Ala Maududi's
Tanqihat to see how the United States failed in its efforts to prohibit alc ohol.]
Another aspect of this religion ought to be considered. This is a practical
religion; it has come to order the practical affairs of life. Thus it faces
the question of practical conditions and determines whether to keep them,
modify them or change them completely. Its legislation is therefore concerned
only with those conditions which actually exist in that particular
society which has already accepted the sovereignty of God.
Islam is not a 'theory' based on 'assumptions;' rather it is a way of life'
working with 'actuality,' Thus it is first necessary that a Muslim community
come into existence which believes that "There is no deity except God,"
which commits itself to obey none but God, denying all other authority, and
which challenges the legality of any law which is not based on this belief.
28 Qutb
Only when such a society comes into being, faces various practical
problems, and needs a system of law, then Islam initiates the constitution of
law and injunctions, rules and regulations. It addresses only those people
who in principle have already submitted themselves to its authority and
have repudiated all other rules and regulations.
It is necessary that the believers in this faith be autonomous and have
power in their own society, so that they may be able to implement this system
and give currency to all its laws. Moreover, power is also needed to
legislate laws according to the needs of the group as these present themselves
in its day-to-day affairs.
In Mecca the Muslims were not autonomous, nor did they have any influence
in the socie ty. Their practical life had not taken a permanent form
so that they could have organized themselves according to the Divine Law
(al-Sharitah); hence no regulations and laws were revealed to them by God.
They were taught only belief and those moral princip les which follow from
this belief after it penetrates the mind. Later, when an autonomous state
came into existence in Medina, general laws were revealed and that system
came into existence which satisfies the needs of a Muslim community, and
the power of the state was behind its enforcement.
God Most High did not desire that all laws and regulations be revealed
during the Meccan period so that Muslims would have a ready-made system
to be applied as soon as they reached Medina; this is out of character
for this religion. Islam is more practical than this and has more foresight; it
does not find solution to hypothetical problems. It first looks at the prevailing
conditions, and if it finds a viable society which, according to its form,
conditions or temperament, is a Muslim society, which has submitted itself
to the law of God and is weary of laws emanating from other sources, then
indeed this religion provides a method for the legislation of laws according
to the needs of such a society.
People who demand from Islam that it provide theories, and that it provide
a completed constitution for its system, and that it provide laws, while
they observe that there is not a single society on earth which has rejected
man-made systems and agreed to enforce the Shari'ah, in addition to having
political power for such enforcement, show that they are ignorant of the
character of this religion and the way it operates in life. They are also ignoTHE
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rant of the purpose for which God revealed His religion.
What these people want is that Islam change its character, its method
and its history and be reduced to the level of ordinary human theories and
laws. They want a short-cut solution to satisfy their immediate desires,
which are simply a product of the defeatist mentality in their spirits in the
face of valueless, man-made laws. They want Islam to become a mere collection
of abstractions and theories, the subject of whose application is nonexistent
conditions. But the course prescribed by God for this religion is the
same as it was earlier. First, belief ought to be imprinted on hearts and rule
over consciences - that belief which demands that people should not bow
before anyone except God or derive laws from any other source. Then,
when such a group of people is ready and also gains practical control of
society, various laws will be legislated according to the practical needs of
that society.
This is what God has intended for this religion. It cannot be other than
what God intends, no matter what people desire.
The callers to Islam should understand that when they invite people
toward the revival of religion, they should invite them to accept Islam's
fundamental belief- even though these people call themselves Muslims or
their birth certificates register them as Muslims. The people ought to know
that Islam means to accept the creed "La ilaha illa Allah" in its deepest
sense, which is this: that every aspect of life should be under the sovereignty
of God, and those who rebel against God's sovereignty and usurp it
for themselves should be opposed; that this belief should be accepted by
their hearts and minds and should be applied in their ways of living and in
their practices.
When the revival of this religion starts among a people, this aspect of it
must have first priority. The first Islamic call was based on it; thirteen complete
years of the Meccan period of the Qur'an were devoted to this Message.
When a group of people enters this religion in the true sense, only
then can it be considered a 'Muslim group.' Only such a group has the capability
of giving a concrete form to the Islamic system in its social life, because
such a group has agreed to base its entire life on Islam and to obey
God in all aspects of life.
30 Qutb
Thus, when such a society actually comes into being and the basic
teachings of Islam are its guide, it will proceed to formulate laws and regulations
for the existing practical needs according to the general teachings of
Islam. This is the correct order for bringing about a practical, realistic and
wise Islamic system.
Some sincere people who do not understand the real character of our
religion are in a hurry. They have not understood that this is the way prescribed
by the All-Knowing and All-Wise God. They say that if people are
taught Islam's fundamentals and the Islamic laws, then the way for inviting
them to Islam will become easy and people will automatically become
sympathetic to Islam.
This is their wishful thinking, due to their impatience. This is akin to
the idea which could have been presented to the Prophet himself- peace be
on him -and which we have described in earlier pages; that is, that if the
Prophet-peace be on him - had started his call with nationalism, or economic
revolution, or a reformist movement, his way would have become
easier.
It is essential that hearts be exclusively devoted to God alone, accepting
His law with full submission and rejecting all other laws - from the very
beginning, even before the details are shown to attract them.
The love of the Divine Law al-Shari'ah should be a consequence of
pure submission to God and of freedom from servitude to anyone else, and
not because it is superior to other systems in such and such details.
No doubt the Shari'ah is best since it comes from God; the laws of His
creatures can hardly be compared to the laws given by the Creator. But this
point is not the basis of the Islamic call. The basis of the message is that one
should accept the Shari'ah without any question and reject all other laws in
any shape or form. This is Islam. There is no other meaning of Islam. One
who is attracted to this basic Islam has already resolved this problem; he
will not require any persuasion through showing its beauty and superiority.
This is one of the realities of the faith.
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Next, we ought to discuss how the Qur'an solved the problem of belief
and faith during the thirteen years of Meccan life. The Qur'an did not present
this in the form of a theory or a theology, nor did it present it in the
style which is common to our scholastic writings on the subject of the Oneness
of God.
None of this; The Qur'an always appeals to human nature and draws
our attention to the signs of God which are within man's soul itself and are
all around him. It liberates human nature from superstitions, polishes man's
native intelligence to the utmost degree, and opens up windows to the world
and makes man appreciate the intricate processes of God's nature.
This is a general aspect. A particular aspect is that the Qur'an, on the
basis of this belief, started a struggle in actual life against false ideas and
traditions under which human nature had become helpless. To confront
these special circumstances, it would not have been desirable to present
Islam in the form of a theory. It took the form of a direct confrontation, with
a determination to rend the curtains which had fallen on the hearts and
minds of people and to break into pieces all those walls which were standing
between man and the truth. Similarly, intellectual argumentation, based
on verbal logic which was the hallmark of the scholastic theology of later
times, was not a proper style for it. The Qur'an was struggling against the
entire human environment as it existed. It was addressing itself to the whole
of humanity which was drowned under the vast ocean of corruption. The
style of theology would have been useless for it because, although Islamic
belief is a belief, its main program is in the practical sphere of life; it does
not remain circumscribed in theoretical discussions and the speculations of
theology.
The Qur'an on the one hand constructs faith in the hearts of the Muslim
community and on the other attacks the surrounding Jahiliyyah through this
community, while struggling to remove all the jahili influences which are
found in the ideas, practices and morals of the Muslim community. The
construction of Islamic belief occurred under these stormy conditions, and
not in the form of a theology or theory or scholastic argument. It was rather
as an active, organic and vital movement, the concrete representation of
which was the Muslim community. The growth of the Muslim community,
32 Qutb
including its ideas, morals, education and training, was due to its belief. The
evolution of this movement was wholly the practical manifestation of the
evolution of its beliefs, and this is the true method of Islam which reflects
its nature and its spirit.
The bearers of the Islamic message should keep in mind this dynamic
method of Islam which we have described above. They ought to know that
the stage of the construction of belief, which spread over the long period of
Meccan life in this fashion, was not separate from the stage of practical organization,
under which an Islamic community came into existence. It was
not a stage of teaching and learning 'the theory'! It was a single stage in
which, at the same time, the seed of faith was implanted and a community
was organized, giving a practical structure to the Islamic teachings. Hence
in the future, whenever there are attempts at the revival of Islam, this comprehensive
method should be adopted.
Thus the stage of constructing the faith should be long, and it should be
gradual. Every step should be taken with firmness. This stage should not be
spent in teaching the theory of beliefs but in translating the belief into a living
reality. First it should be implanted in the hearts of men; it should materialize
in a dynamic social system whose internal and external growth reflects
the evolution of the belief. It ought to be a dynamic movement which
challenges Jahiliyyah both in theory and in practice, so that it becomes a
living faith which grows while struggling against the surrounding forces.
It is an error and what an error! - to think that Islam can evolve in the
form of an abstract theory limited to intellectual learning and cultural
knowledge. Beware of this danger, beware!
The Qur'an did not come down at once but took thirteen years to construct
and strengthen the structure of faith. Had God wanted, He would
have revealed the entire Qur'an at once and then left the Companions to
learn it for a period of approximately thirteen years so that the Believers
would master the 'Islamic theory'
But God Most High did not choose this method; He wanted something
else. He wanted to lay the foundations of a community, a movement and a
belief simultaneously. He wanted the community and the movement to be
founded on belief, while with the dynamic progress of the community the
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faith also grew. He wanted faith to grow with the progress of the community,
while the practical life of the community was at the same time a mirror
of the faith. God Most High knew that men and societies are not founded
overnight, but that it takes as much time to construct and develop a faith as
it takes to organize a community, so that as the faith is completed, simultaneously
a strong community also comes into existence which is the true
representation and practical interpretation of the faith.
This is the character of our religion, and the Meccan period of the
Qur'an testifies to it. We should be aware of this character and should not
try to change it by being impatient or falling under the influence of a defeatist
mentality in the presence of valueless, man-made theories. Through this
particular quality of Islam, the first Muslim community came into existence,
and in the future, whenever a Muslim community is to be created in
the world, it can be created only by this method and in relation to this character.
We should be aware that any attempt to change the living faith of Islam,
which is intended to penetrate into the veins And arteries of a vital
society and to be a concrete organized movement, into purely theoretical
teachings and academic discussions, is an attempt to show the superiority of
the 'Islamic theory' over the valueless and useless theories formulated by
man, and is not only erroneous but also dangerous.
The requirement of Islamic belief is that it take shape in living souls, in
an active organization, and in a viable community. It should take the form
of a movement struggling against the jahili environment while also trying to
remove the influences of jahili society in its followers, because they were
people of Jahiliyyah before the faith entered their souls, and he influence of
Jahiliyyah might have remained in their hearts and minds as well as in their
lives. Islamic belief has a much wider range of action than simply academic
discussions, as it not only addresses itself to hearts and minds but also includes
practices and morals.
The Divine attributes, the universe, life, man, are all included in the Islamic
concept, which is not only very comprehensive and perfect but also
34 Qutb
realistic and constructive. Islam, because of its very nature, abhors being
reduced to pure thought-this being against its nature and also against its
ultimate aim-and loves to appear personified in human beings, in a living
organization and in a practical movement. Its method is to grow through the
agency of living persons and through a dynamic movement and an active
organization in such a way that its theory comes to fruition at the same time
as its practical applications. It never remains an abstract theory but develops
side-by-side with practice.
As for the idea that we should first perfect Islam as a theory, bringing it
about later in the world of action, this is an error and is dangerous, being
against the nature of Islam, its purpose and its structural elements.
God Most High Says:
"We have revealed this Qur'an little by little so that you may recite it to
people at intervals, and We have revealed it gradually" (17:106)
Gradualness and teaching at intervals is desired, so that a 'living community'
based on its beliefs may come into existence, and not merely a 'theory.'
The message-bearers of Islam should fully understand that this is a Divine
religion and that its method, which is harmonious with its nature, is
also based on Divine guidance. It is not possible to establish this religion
without following its particular method.
One should also understand that this religion has come to change not
only the beliefs and practices of people but also the method of bringing
about these changes in beliefs and practices. This religion constructs beliefs
together with forming a community; it also develops its system of thought
while it spends its energy in enforcing its practical aspects. Thus the esta blishment
of its particular system of thought, its particular beliefs and its particular
way of living does not require different methods but is fulfilled simultaneously.
From the above explanation we know that this religion has a particular
method of action. Now we ought to know that this method is eternal. It is
not related to any particular stage or to any special conditions and environTHE
NATURE OF THE QUR'ANIC METHOD 35
SIME journal (majalla.org)
ment peculiar to the first Muslim community. Indeed, this religion cannot
be established-at any time-except through this method.
Islam's function is to change people's beliefs and actions as well as their
outlook and way of thinking. Its method is Divinely-ordained and is entirely
different from all the valueless methods of short-sighted human beings.
We cannot receive the Divine guidance or live according to it unless we
adopt the Divinely-ordained method, the method which God intended for
reforming human thought and practice.
When we try to make Islam into a 'theory' to be studied, We remove the
Divine method and Divine outlook from its character, and we reduce it to
the level of a man-made system bf thought, as if the Divine method were
inferior to man's methods, and as if we wanted to elevate the system of
thought and action ordained by God to the level of the systems of His creatures!
This point of view is extremely dangerous, and this defeatism is ruinous.
The function of this Divine system which is given to us-we, who are
the callers to Islam - is to provide a certain style of thinking, purified from
all those jahili styles and ways of thinking which are current in the world
and which have poisoned our culture by depriving us of our own mind. If
we try to change this religion in a way which is alien to its nature and which
is borrowed from the ways of the predominant Jahiliyyah, we will deprive it
of the function it has come to perform for humanity. We will deprive ourselves
of the opportunity of getting rid of the yoke of the jahili ways current
in our time, which dominate our minds.
This aspect of the situation is full of danger, and the resulting loss will
be disastrous.
The ways of thought and action for the founding of the Islamic system
36 Qutb
are not less important or less necessary than this Islamic belief and way of
life, nor are they separate from each other. Although it may seem very attractive
to us to keep expounding on the beauties of the Islamic beliefs and
system, we should not forget this fact: that Islam can never become a practical
way of life or a dynamic movement through these means. We should
also realize that this way of presenting Islam does not benefit anyone except
those who are working for the Islamic movement, and even this group can
benefit from it only to such an extent as corresponds with its stage of development.
I therefore repeat that Islamic belief should at once materialize into a
practical movement, and from the very instant this comes into being, the
movement should become a real representation and an accurate mirror of its
belief.
I will also repeat that this is the method which is natural to the Divinely
revealed religion of Islam, and that this method is the most superior and
lasting and is extremely effective. It is closer to human nature that all those
methods which present Islam to people in the form of a complete and fixed
theory, before these people have engaged in a practical movement and before
this has become a living reality in their hearts, growing step by step in
translating this theory into actuality.
If this is the correct method for the fundamentals of Islamic belief, it is
even more correct with respect to the particulars of the organizational structure
and its legal details.
The Jahiliyyah which has surrounded us, and which weighs heavily on
the minds of some sincere workers for Islam who become impatient and
want to see all the stages of the Islamic system come into existence very
rapidly, has raised a very delicate question indeed. It asks them: What are
the details of the system to which you are calling? How much research have
you done? How many articles have you prepa red and how many subjects
have you written about? Have you constituted its jurisprudence on new
principles?-as if nothing were lacking for the enforcement of the Islamic
Law except research in jurisprudence (Fiqh) and its details, as if everyone
had agreed upon the sovereignty of God and were willing to submit to His
THE NATURE OF THE QUR'ANIC METHOD 37
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laws, as if the only factor remaining were the non-existence of Mujtahidin [
Those Muslims whose knowledge of Islamic sources of law is so deep that
they can with validity exercise independent judgment in matters pertaining
to legal details.] who would supply a modernised version of Islamic jurisprudence.
This is a vulgar joke on Islam, and every person who has any
respect for this religion should raise himself above it.
By these tactics, Jahiliyyah wants to find an excuse to reject the Divine
system and to perpetuate the slavery of one man over another. It desires to
turn away the power of Muslims from the work of establishing the Divinely-
ordained way of life in order that they may not go beyond the stage
of belief to the stage of a dynamic movement. It wants to distort the very
nature of this method - the method in which Islamic belief matures through
the struggle of its movement, in which the details of the Islamic system develop
through practical striving, and in which laws are disseminated to
solve practical problems and actual difficulties.
It is the duty of Muslims to expose these tactics and reduce them to
dust, to reject this ridiculous proposal of the "reconstruction of Islamic law'
for a society which is neither willing to submit to the law of God nor expresses
any weariness with laws emanating from sources other than God.
Such talk is a way of diverting attention from real and earnest work, and is
a method through which the workers for Islam can be made to waste their
time in building castles in the air. Thus it is their duty to expose these
treacherous tactics.
It is their duty to adopt the method of the Islamic movement which is
harmonious with this religion. This method is the source of power for this
religion, as well as a source of power for them.
Islam and the method of revival of Islam are both equally important;
there is no difference between them. Any other method, however attractive
it may be, cannot bring about the establishment of Islam. Other methods
can work for the establishment of man-made systems, but are incapable of
establishing our system. Thus it is as necessary to follow this particular
method for the establishment of Islam as it is to obey the way of life it outlines
and to believe in its articles of faith.
38 Qutb
"Indeed, this Qur'an leads to a way which is straight." (17:9)
39
3
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
ISLAMIC SOCIETY AND THE
CORRECT METHOD FOR ITS
FORMATION
The message of Islam brought by the Messenger of God, Muhammad -
peace be on him -was the last link in the long chain of invitations toward
God by the noble Prophets. Throughout history, this message has remained
the same: that human beings should recognise that their true Sustainer and
Lord is One God, that they should submit to Him Alone, and that the lordship
of man be eliminated. Except for a few people here and there in history,
mankind as a whole has never denied the existence of God and His
sovereignty over the universe; it has rather erred in comprehending the real
attributes of God, or in taking other gods besides God as His associates.
This association with God has been either in belief and worship, or in accepting
the sovereignty of others besides God. Both of these aspects are
Shirk [Shirk is an Arabic word which refers to ascribing the attributes,
power or authority of God to others besides Him and/or worshipping others
besides Him.] in the sense that they take human beings away from the religion
of God, which was brought by the Prophets. After each Prophet, there
was a period during which people understood this religion, but then gradually
later generations forgot it and returned to Jahiliyyah. They started again
on the way of Shirk, sometimes in their belief and worship and sometimes
in their submission to the authority of others, and sometimes in both.
Throughout every period of human history the call toward God has had
one nature. Its purpose is 'Islam', which means to bring human beings into
submission to God, to free them from servitude to other human beings so
40 Qutb
that they may devote themselves to the One True God, to deliver them from
the clutches of human lordship and man-made laws, value systems and traditions
so that they will acknowledge the sovereignty and authority of the
One True God and follow His law in all spheres of life. The Islam of Muhammad
- peace be on him-came for this purpose, as well as the messages
of the earlier Prophets. The entire universe is under the authority of God,
and man, being a small part of it, necessarily obeys the physical laws governing
the universe. It is also necessary that the same authority be acknowledged
as the law-giver for human life. Man should not cut himself off from
this authority to develop a separate system and a separate scheme of life.
The growth of a human being, his conditions of health and disease, and his
life and death are under the scheme of those natural laws which come from
God; even in the consequences of his voluntary actions he is helpless before
the universal laws. Man cannot change the practice of God in the laws prevailing
in the universe. It is therefore desirable that he should also follow
Islam in those aspects of his life in which he is given a choice and should
make the Divine Law the arbiter in all matters of life so that there may be
harmony between man and the rest of the universe. [See Towards Understanding
Islam, by A. A. Maududi, for an explanation of this point.]
Jahiliyyah, on the other hand, is one man's lordship over another, and in
this respect it is against the system of the universe and brings the involuntary
aspect of human life into conflict with its voluntary aspect. This was
that Jahiliyyah which confronted every Prophet of God, including the last
Prophet-peace be on Him-in their call toward submission to One God. This
Jahiliyyah is not an abstract theory; in fact, under certain circumstances it
has no theory at all. It always takes the form of a living movement in a society
which has its own leadership, its own concepts and values, and its
own traditions, habits and feelings. It is an organized society and there is a
close cooperation and loyalty between its individuals, and it is always ready
and alive to defend its existence consciously or unconsciously. It crushes all
elements which seem to be dangerous to its personality.
When Jahiliyyah takes the form, not of a 'theory' but of an active
movement in this fashion, then any attempt to abolish this Jahiliyyah and to
bring people back to God which presents Islam merely as a theory will be
undesirable, rather useless. Jahiliyyah controls the practical world, and for
its support there is a living and active organization. In this situation, mere
theoretical efforts to fight it cannot even be equal, much less superior, to it.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY 41
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When the purpose is to abolish the existing system and to replace it with a
new system which in its character' principles and all its general and partic ular
aspects, is different from the controlling jahili system, then it stands to
reason that this new system should also come into the battlefield as an organized
movement and a viable group. It should come into the battlefield
with a determination that its strategy, its social organization, and the relationship
between its individuals should be firmer and more powerful than
the existing jahili system.
The theoretical foundation of Islam, in every period of history, has been
to witness "La ilaha illa Allah"-"There is no deity except God" - which
means to bear witness that the only true deity is God, that He is the Sustainer,
that He is the Ruler of the universe, and that He is the Real Sovereign;
to believe in Him in one's heart, to worship Him Alone, and to put
into practice His laws. Without this complete acceptance of "La ilaha illa
Allah", which differentiates the one who says he is a Muslim from a non-
Muslim, there cannot be any practical significance to this utterance, nor will
it have any weight according to Islamic law.
Theoretically, to establish it means that people should de- vote their entire
lives in submission to God, should not decide any affair on their own,
but must refer to God's injunctions concerning it and follow them. We
know of God's guidance through only one source, that is, through the Messenger
of God-peace be on him. Thus, in the second part of the Islamic
creed, we bear witness 'Wa ashhadu anna Muhammadar Rasul Allah" -
"And I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God".
It is therefore necessary that Islam's theoretical foundation-beliefmaterialize
in the form of an organized and active group from the very beginning.
It is necessary that this group separate itself from the jahili society,
becoming independent and distinct from the active and organized jahili society
whose aim is to block Islam. The center of this new group should be a
new leadership, the leadership which first came in the person of the
Prophet-peace be on him- himself, and after him was delegated to those
who strove for bringing people back to God's sovereignty, His authority and
His laws. A person who bears witness that there is no deity except God and
that Muhammad is God's Messenger should cut off his relationship of lo yalty
from the jahili society, which he has forsaken, and from jahili leader42
Qutb
ship, whether it be in the guise of priests, magicians or astrologers, or in the
form of political, socia l or economic leadership, as was the case of the
Quraish in the time of the Prophet-peace be on him. He will have to give
his complete loyalty to the new Islamic movement and to the Muslim leadership.
This decisive step must be taken at the very moment a person says, "La
ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadar Rasul Allah" with his tongue. The Muslim
society cannot come into existence without this. It cannot come into existence
simply as a creed in the hearts of individual Muslims, however numerous
they may be, unless they become an active, harmonious and cooperative
group, distinct by itself, whose different elements, like the limbs of a
human body, work together for its formation, its strengthening, its expansion,
and for its defense against all those elements which attack its system,
working under a leadership which is independent of the jahili leadership,
which organizes its various efforts into one harmonious purpose, and which
prepares for the strengthening and widening of their Islamic character and
directs them to abolish the influences of their opponent, the jahili life.
Islam was founded in this manner. It was founded on a creed which, although
concise, included the whole of life. This creed immediately brought
into action a viable and dynamic group of people who became independent
and separate from the jahili society, immediately challenging it; it never
came as an abstract theory devoid of practical existence. And, in the future
it can be brought about only in this manner. There is no other way for the
revival of Islam in the shade of Jahiliyyah, in whatever age or country it
appears, except to follow its natural character and to develop it into a
movement and an organic system.
When Islam, according to the method described above, starts a Muslim
community on this basis, forms it into an active group, and makes this faith
the sole basis for the relationship between the individuals of this group, its
ultimate aim is to awaken the 'humanity of man', to develop it, to make it
powerful and strong, and to make it the most dominant factor among all the
aspects found in man's being. It seeks to implement this purpose through its
teachings, its rules, its laws and injunctions.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY 43
SIME journal (majalla.org)
Some human characteristics are common with those of animals, even
with those of inorganic matter. This has misled the exponents of 'scientific
Jahiliyyah' to consider man to be nothing more than an animal, or even than
inorganic matter! But in spite of the characteristics which man shares with
animals and inorganic matter, man possesses certain other characteristics
which distinguish him and make him a unique creation. Even the exponents
of 'scientific ignorance' were forced to admit this, the evidence of observational
facts choking them; but even then, their admission of this fact is neither
sincere nor unequivocal. [Foremost among the modern Darwinists is
Julian Huxley.]
In this respect the service rendered by Islam's pure way of life has pr oduced
concrete and valuable results. Islam based the Islamic society on the
association of belief alone, instead of the low associations based on race
and color, language and country, regional and national interests. Instead of
stressing those traits which are common to both man and animal, it promoted
man's human qualities, nurtured them and made them the dominant
factor. Among the concrete and brilliant results of this attitude was that the
Islamic society became an open and all-inclusive community in which people
of various races, nations, languages and colors were members, there
remaining no trace of these low animalistic traits. The rivers of higher talents
and various abilities of all races of mankind flowed into this vast ocean
and mixed in it. Their intermingling gave rise to a high level of civilization
in a very short span of time, dazzling the whole world, and compounding
the essences of all the human capabilities, ideas and wisdom of that period,
in spite of the fact in those times travel was difficult and the means of
communication were slow.
In this great Islamic society Arabs, Persians, Syrians, Egyptians, Moroccans,
Turks, Chinese, Indians, Romans, Greeks, Indonesians, Africans
were gathered together- in short, peoples of all nations and all races. Their
various characteristics were united, and with mutual cooperation, harmony
and unity they took part in the construction of the Islamic community and
Islamic culture. This marvellous civilization was not an 'Arabic civilization',
even for a single day; it was purely an 'Islamic civilization'. It was
never a 'nationality' but always a community of belief'.
Thus they all came together on an equal footing in the relationship of
44 Qutb
love, with their minds set upon a single goal; thus they used their best abilities,
developed the qualities of their race to the fullest, and brought the essence
of their personal, national and historical experiences for the development
of this one community, to which they all belonged on an equal footing
and in which their common bond was through their relationship to their
Sustainer. In this community their 'humanity' developed without any hindrance.
These are characteristics which were never achieved by any other
group of people in the entire history of mankind!
The most distinguished and best known society in ancient history is
considered to be the Roman Empire. Peoples of various races, languages
and temperaments came together in this society, but all this was not based
on 'human relation- ship' nor was any sublime faith the uniting factor
among them; rather their society was ordered on a class system, the class of
'nobles' and the class of 'slaves', throughout the Empire. Moreover, the Roman
race - in general - had the leadership and the other races were considered
its subjects. Hence this society could not achieve that height which
was achieved by the Islamic society and did not bring those blessings which
were brought by the Islamic society.
Various societies have also appeared in modern times. For example,
consider the British Empire. It is like the Roman society to which it is an
heir. It is based on national greed, in which the British nation has the leadership
and exploits those colonies annexed by the Empire. The same is true
of other European empires. The Spanish and Portuguese Empires in their
times, and the French Empire, all are equal in respect to oppression and
exploitation. Communism also wanted to establish a new type of society,
demolishing the walls of race and color, nation and geographical region, but
it is not based on 'human relationship' but on a 'class system'. Thus the
communist society is like the Roman society with a reversal of emphasis;
there nobles had distinction, while here the proleteriat has distinction. The
underlying emotion of this class is hatred and envy of other classes. Such a
selfish and vengeful society cannot but excite base emotions in its individuals.
The very basis of it is laid down in exciting animalistic characteristics,
and in developing and strengthening them. Thus, in its view, the most fundamental
needs of a human being are those which are common with the
animals, that is, 'food, shelter and sex. From its point of view, the whole of
human history is nothing but a struggle for food!
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY 45
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Islam, then, is the only Divine way of life which brings out the noblest
human characteristics, developing and using them for the construction of
human society. Islam has remained unique in this respect to this day. Those
who deviate from this system and want some other system, whether it be
based on nationalism, color and race, class struggle, or similar corrupt the ories,
are truly enemies of mankind! They do not want man to develop those
noble characteristics which have been given to him by his Creator nor do
they wish to see a human society benefit from the harmonious blending of
all those capabilities, experiences and characteristics which have been developed
among the various races of mankind.
God Most High says about such people:
"Say: Shall We tell you who will be the greatest losers in their deeds?
Those whose effort goes astray in the present life, while they think that they
are doing good deeds. Those are they who disbelieve in the signs of their
Lord and in the encounter with Him. Their works have failed, and on the
Day of Resurrection We shall not assign to them any value. That is their
payment-Hell-for that they were unbelievers and took My signs and My
Messengers in mockery." (18:103- 106)
God Almighty speaks the truth.

47
4
JIHAD IN THE CAUSE OF GOD
The great scholar Ibn Qayyim, in his book Zad al-Mitad, has a chapter
entitled "The Prophet's Treatment of the Unbelievers and the Hypocrites
from the Beginning of His Messengership Until His Death." In this chapter,
this scholar has summed up the nature of Islamic Jihaad.
"The first revelation from God which came to the Prophet - peace be on
him - was 'Iqraa, bisme Rabbika alladhee ...'('Read, in the name of Your
Sustainer, Who created ...'). This was the beginning of the Prophethood.
God commanded the Prophet - peace be on him - to recite this in his heart.
The commandment to preach had not yet come. Then God revealed 'Ya
ayyuha al-Muddathir, qum fandhir' ('O you who are enwrapped in your
mantle, arise and warn'). Thus, the revelation of 'Iqraa' was his appointment
to Prophet-hood, while 'Ya ayyuha al-muddathir' was his appointment to
Messengership. Later God commanded the Prophet-peace be on him-to
warn his near relatives, then his people, then the Arabs who were around
them, then all of Arabia, and finally the whole world. Thus for thirteen
years after the beginning of his Messengership, he called people to God
through preaching, without fighting or Jizyah, [A tax levied by Muslims on
non-Muslim men in areas governed by Muslims, in lieu of military service.]
and was commanded to restrain himself and to practice patience and forbearance.
Then he was commanded to migrate, and later permission was
given to fight. Then he was commanded to fight those who fought him, and
to restrain himself from those who did not make war with him. Later he
was commanded to fight the polytheists until God's religion was fully established.
After the command for Jihaad came, the non-believers were divided
into three categories: one, those with whom there was peace; two, the pe o48
Qutb
ple with whom the Muslims were at war; and three, the Dhimmies. [Literally
meaning 'responsibility', Dhimmies refers to the non-Muslim peoples
residing in a Muslim state for whose protection and rights the Muslim government
was responsible.] It was commanded that as long as the nonbelievers
with whom he had a peace treaty met their obligations, he should
fulfill the articles of the treaty, but if they broke this treaty, then they should
be given notice of having broken it; until then, no war should be declared. If
they persisted, then he should fight with them. When the chapter entitled
'Bratt' was revealed, the details of treatment of these three kinds of nonbelievers
were described. It was also explained that war should be declared
against those from among the 'People of the Book' [16 Christians and Jews]
who declare open enmity, until they agree to pay Jizyah or accept Islam.
Concerning the polytheists and the hypocrites, it was commanded in this
chapter that Jihaad be declared against them and that they be treated
harshly. The Prophet-peace be on him-carried on Jihaad against the polytheists
by fighting and against the hypocrites by preaching and argument. In
the same chapter, it was commanded that the treaties with the polytheists be
brought to an end at the period of their expiration. In this respect, the people
with whom there were treaties were divided into three categories: The first,
those who broke the treaty and did not fulfill its terms. He was ordered to
fight against them; he fought with them and was victorious. The second
were those with whom the treaty was made for a stated term; they had not
broken this treaty nor helped anyone against the Prophet - peace be on him -
Concerning them, God ordered that these treaties be completed to their full
term. The third kind were those with whom there was neither a treaty nor
were they fighting against the Prophet-peace be on him-, or those with
whom no term of expiration was stated. Concerning these, it was commanded
that they be given four months' notice of expiration, at the end of
which they should be considered open enemies and fought with. Thus,
those who broke the treaty were fought against, and those who did not have
any treaty or had an indeterminate period of expiration were given four
months period of grace, and terms were kept with those with whom the
treaty was due to expire. All the latter people embraced Islam even before
the term expired, and the non-Muslims of the state paid Jizyah. Thus, after
the revelation of the chapter 'Bratt', the unbelievers were of three kinds:
adversaries in war, people with treaties, and Dhimmies. The people with
treaties eventually became Muslims, so there were only two kinds left: people
at war and Dhimmies. The people at war were always afraid of him.
Now the people of the whole world were of three kinds: One, the Muslims
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who believed in him; two, those with whom he had peace and three, the
opponents who kept fighting him. As far as the hypocrites were concerned,
God commanded the Prophet -peace be on him -to accept their appearances
and leave their intentions to God, and carry on Jihaad against them by argument
and persuasion. He was commanded not to pray at their funerals
nor to pray at their graves, nor should he ask forgiveness from God for
them, as their affair was with God. So this was the practice of the Prophetpeace
be on him- concerning his enemies among the non-believers and the
hypocrites. '
In this description we find a summary of the stages of Islamic Jihaad
presented in an excellent manner. In this L summary we find all the distinctive
and far-reaching characteristics of the dynamic movement of the true
religion; we should ponder over them for deep study. Here, however, we
will confine ourselves to a few explanatory remarks.
First, the method of this religion is very practical. This movement treats
people as they actually are and uses resources Which are in accordance
with practical conditions. Since this movement comes into conflict with the
Jahiliyyah which prevails over ideas and beliefs, and which has a practical
system of life and a political and material authority behind it, the Islamic
movement had to produce parallel resources to confront this Jahiliyyah.
This movement uses the methods of preaching and persuasion for reforming
ideas and beliefs and it uses physical power and Jihaad for abolishing
the
organizations and authorities of the Jahili system which prevents people
from reforming their ideas and beliefs but forces them to obey their erroneous
ways and make them serve human lords instead of the Almighty Lord.
This movement does not confine itself to mere preaching to confront physical
power, as it also does not use compulsion for changing the ideas of pe ople.
These two principles are equally important in the method of this religion.
Its purpose is to free those people who wish to be freed from
enslavement to men so that they may serve God alone.
The second aspect of this religion is that it is a practical movement
which progresses stage by stage, and at every stage it provides resources
according to the practical needs of the situation and prepares the ground for
50 Qutb
the next one. It does not face practical problems with abstract theories, nor
does it confront various stages with unchangeable means. Those who talk
about Jihaad in Islam and quote Qur'anic verses do not take into account
this aspect, nor do they understand the nature of the various stages through
which this movement develops, or the relationship of the verses revealed at
various occasions with each stage. Thus, when they speak about Jihaad,
they speak clumsily and mix up the various stages, distorting the whole
concept of Jihaad and deriving from the Qur'anic verses final principles and
generalities for which there is no justification. This is because they regard
every verse of the Qur'an as if it were the final principle of this religion.
This group of thinkers, who are a product of the sorry state of the present
Muslim generation, have nothing but the label of Islam and have laid down
their spiritual and rational arms in defeat. They say, "Islam has prescribed
only defensive war"! and think that they have done some good for their religion
by depriving it of its method, which is to abolish all injustice from
the earth, to bring people to the worship of God alone, and to bring them
out of servitude to others into the servants of the Lord . Islam does not force
people to accept its belief, but it wants to provide a free environment in
which they will have the choice of beliefs. What it wants is to abolish those
oppressive political systems under which people are prevented from expressing
their freedom to choose whatever beliefs they want, and after that
it gives them complete freedom to decide whether they will accept Islam or
not.
A third aspect of this religion is that the new resources or methods
which it uses during its progressive movement do not take it away from its
fundamental principles and aims. From the very first day, whether the
Prophet-peace be on him- addressed his near relatives, or the Quraish, or
the Arabs, or the entire world, his call was one and the same. He called
them to the submission to One God and rejection of the lordship of other
men. On this principle there is no com- promise nor any flexibility. To attain
this purpose, it proceeds according to a plan, which has a few stages,
and every stage has its new resources, as we have described earlier
A fourth aspect is that Islam provides a le gal basis for the relationship
of the Muslim community with other groups, as is clear from the quotation
from Zad al-Mitad. This legal formulation is based on the principle that
Islam - that is, submission to God-is a universal Message which the whole
of mankind should accept or make peace with. No political system or mateJIHAD
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rial power should put hindrances in the way of preaching Islam. It should
leave every individual free to accept or reject it, and if someone wants to
accept it, it should not prevent him or fight against him. If someone does
this, then it is the duty of Islam to fight him until either he is killed or until
he declares his submission.
When writers with defeatist and apologetic mentalities write about "Jihaad
in Islam," trying to remove this 'blot' from Islam, then they are mixing
up two things: first, that this f religion forbids the imposition of its belief by
force, as is clear from the verse, "There is no compulsion in religion"(
2:256), while on the other hand it tries to annihilate all those political
and material powers which stand between people and Islam, which force
one people to bow before another people and prevent them from accepting
the sovereignty of God. These two principles have no relation to one another
nor is there room to mix them. In spite of this, these defeatist-type
people try to mix the two aspects and want to confine Jihaad to what today
is called 'defensive war'. The Islamic Jihaad has no relationship to modern
warfare, either in its causes or in the way in which it is conducted. The
causes of Islamic Jihaad should be sought in the very nature of Islam and its
role in the world, in its high principles, which have been given to it by God
and for the implementation of which God appointed the Prophet-peace be
on him-as His Messenger and declared him to be the last of all prophets and
messengers.
This religion is really a universal declaration of the freedom of man
from servitude to other men and from servitude to his own desires, which is
also a form of human servitude; it is a declaration that sovereignty belongs
to God alone and that He is the Lord of all the worlds. It means a challenge
to all kinds and forms of systems which are based on the concept of the
sovereignty of man; in other words, where man has usurped the Divine attribute.
Any system in which the final decisions are referred to human beings,
and in which the sources of all authority are human, deifies human
beings by designating others than God as lords over men. This declaration
means that the usurped authority of God be returned to Him and the usur pers
be thrown out-those who by themselves devise laws for others to follow,
thus elevating themselves to the status of lords and reducing others to the
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status of slaves. In short, to proclaim the authority and sovereignty of God
means to eliminate all human kingship and to announce the rule of the Sustainer
of the universe over the entire earth. In the words of the Qur'an:
"He alone is God in the heavens and in the earth." (43:84)
"The command belongs to God alone. He commands you not to worship
anyone except Him. This is the right way of life." (12: 40)
"Say: O People of the Book, come to what is common between us: that
we will not worship anyone except God, and will not associate anything
with Him, and will not take lords from among ourselves besides God; and if
they turn away then tell them to bear witness that we are those who have
submitted to God." (2: 64)
The way to establish God's rule on earth is not that some consecrated
people - the priests - be given the authority to rule, as was the case with the
rule of the Church, nor that some spokesmen of God become rulers, as is
the case in a 'theocracy'. To establish God's rule means that His laws be
enforced and that the final decision in all affairs be according to these laws.
The establishing of the dominion of God on earth, the abolishing of the
dominion of man, the taking away of sovereignty from the usurper to revert
it to God, and the bringing about of the enforcement of the Divine Law
(Shari'ah) and the abolition of man-made laws cannot be achieved only
through preaching. Those who have usurped the authority of God and are
oppressing God's creatures are not going to give up their power merely
through preaching; if it had been so, the task of establishing God's religion
in the world would have been very easy for the Prophets of God! This is
contrary to the evidence from the history of the Prophets and the story of
the struggle of the true religion, spread over generations.
This universal declaration of the freedom of man on the earth from
every authority except that of God, and the declaration that sovereignty is
God's alone and that He is the Lord of the universe, is not merely a theoretical,
philosophical and passive proclamation. It is a positive, practical and
dynamic message with a view to bringing about the implementation of the
Shari'ah of God and actually freeing people from their servitude to other
men to bring them into the service of God, the One without associates. This
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cannot be attained unless both 'preaching' and 'the movement' are used. This
is so because appropriate means are needed to meet any and every practical
situation.
Because this religion proclaims the freedom of man on the earth from
all authority except that of God, it is confronted in every period of human
history-yesterday, today, or tomorrow - with obstacles of beliefs and concepts,
physical power, and the obstacles of political, social, economic, racial
and class structures. In addition, corrupted beliefs and superstitions become
mixed with this religion, working side by side with it and taking root in
peoples' hearts.
If through 'preaching' beliefs and ideas are confronted, through 'the
movement' material obstacles are tackled. Foremost among these is that
political power which rests on a complex yet interrelated ideological, racial,
class, social and economic support. Thus these two-preaching and the
movement - united, confront 'the human situation' with all the necessary
methods. For the achievement of the freedom of man on earth - of all mankind
throughout the earth - it is necessary that these two methods should
work side by side. This is a very important point and cannot be over- emphasized
.
This religion is not merely a declaration of the freedom of the Arabs,
nor is its message confined to the Arabs. It addresses itself to the whole of
mankind, and its sphere of work is the whole earth. God is the Sustainer not
merely of the Arabs, nor is His providence limited to those who believe in
the faith of Islam. God is the Sustainer of the whole world. This religion
wants to bring back the whole world to its Sustainer and free it from servitude
to anyone other than God. In the sight of Islam, the real servitude is
following laws devised by someone, and this is that servitude which in Islam
is reserved for God alone. Anyone who serves someone other than God
in this sense is outside God's religion, although he may claim to profess this
religion. The Prophet- peace be on him - clearly stated that, according to the
Shari'ah, 'to obey' is 'to worship'. Taking this meaning of worship, when the
Jews and Christians 'disobeyed' God, they became like those who 'associate
others with God'.
Tirmidhi has reported on the authority of 'Adi bin Hatim that when the
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Prophet's message reached him, he ran away to Syria (he had accepted
Christianity before the Prophet's time), but his sister and some of the people
of his tribe became prisoners of war. The Prophet-peace be on him- treated
his sister kindly and gave her some gifts. She went back to her brother and
invited him to Islam, and advised him to visit the Prophet - peace be on
him. 'Adi agreed to this. The people were very anxious to see him come to
Medina. When he came into the presence of the Prophet, he was wearing a
silver cross. The Prophet - peace be on him-was reciting the verse. "They
(the People of the Book) have taken their rabbis and priests as lords other
than God". 'Adi reports: "I said, 'They do not worship their priests." God's
Messenger replied, "Whatever their priests and rabbis call permissible, they
accept as permissible; whatever they declare as forbidden, they consider as
forbidden, and thus they worship them."
This explanation of the above verse by the Prophet-peace be on him -
makes it clear that obedience to laws and judgments is a sort of worship,
and anyone who does this is considered out of this religion. It is taking
some men as lords over others, while this religion has come to annihilate
such practices, and it declares that all the people of the earth should become
free of servitude to anyone other than God.
If the actual life of human beings is found to be different from this declaration
of freedom, then it becomes incumbent upon Islam to enter the
field with preaching as well as the movement, and to strike hard at all those
political powers which force people to bow before them and which rule
over them, unmindful of the commandments of God, and which prevent
people from listening to the preaching and accepting the belief if they wish
to do so. After annihilating the tyrannical force, whether it be in a political
or a racial form, or in the form of class distinctions within the same race,
Islam establishes a new social, economic and political system, in which the
concept of the freedom of man is applied in practice.
It is not the intention of Islam to force its beliefs on people, but Islam is
not merely 'belief'. As we have pointed out, Islam is a declaration of the
freedom of man from servitude to other men. Thus it strives from the beginning
to abolish all those systems and governments which are based on
the rule of man over men and the servitude of one human being to another.
When Islam releases people from this political pressure and presents to
them its spiritual message, appealing to their reason, it gives them complete
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freedom to accept or not to accept its beliefs. However, this freedom does
not mean that they can make their desires their gods, or that they can
choose to remain in the servitude of other human beings, making some men
lords over others. Whatever system is to be established in the world ought
to be on the authority of God, deriving its laws from Him alone. Then every
individual is free, under the protection of this universal system, to adopt any
belief he wishes to adopt. This is the only way in which 'the religion' can be
purified for God alone. The word 'religion' includes more than belief; 'religion'
actually means a way of life, and in Islam this is based on belief. But in
an Islamic system there is room for all kinds of people to follow their own
beliefs, while obeying the laws of the country which are themselves based
on the Divine authority.
Anyone who understands this particular character of this religion will
also understand the place of Jihaad bis saif (striving through fighting),
which is to clear the way for striving through preaching in the application
of the Islamic movement. He will understand that Islam is not a 'defensive
movement' in the narrow sense which today is technically called a 'defensive
war.' This narrow meaning is ascribed to it by those who are under the
pressure of circumstances and are defeated by the wily attacks of the orie ntalists,
who distort the concept of Islamic Jihaad. It was a movement to
wipe out tyranny and to introduce true freedom to mankind, using resources
according to the actual human situation, and it had definite stages, for each
of which it utilized new methods.
If we insist on calling Islamic Jihaad a defensive movement, then we
must change the meaning of the word 'defense' and mean by it 'the defense
of man' against all those elements which limit his freedom. These elements
take the form of beliefs and concepts, as well as of political systems, based
on economic, racial or class distinctions. When Islam first came into existence,
the world was full of such systems, and the present-day Jahiliyyah
also has various kinds of such systems.
When we take this broad meaning of the word 'defense', we understand
the true character of Islam, and that it is a universal proclamation of the
freedom of man from servitude to other men, the establishment of the sovereignty
of God and His Lordship throughout the world, the end of man's
arrogance and selfishness, and the implementation of the rule of the Divine
56 Qutb
Shari'ah in human affairs.
As to persons who attempt to defend the concept of Islamic Jihaad by
interpreting it in the narrow sense of the current concept of defensive war,
and who do research to prove that the baules fought in Islamic Jihaad were
all for the defense of the homeland of Islam - some of them considering the
homeland of Islam to be just the Arabian peninsula -against the aggression
of neighboring powers, they lack understanding of the nature of Islam and
its primary aim. Such an attempt is nothing but a product of a mind defeated
by the present difficult conditions and by the attacks of the treacherous
orientalists on the Islamic Jihaad.
Can anyone say that if Abu Bakr, 'Umar or 'Othman had been satisfied
that the Roman and Persian powers were not going to attack the Arabian
peninsula, they would not have striven to spread the message of Islam
throughout the world? How could the message of Islam have spread when
it faced such material obstacles as the political system of the state, the
socio-economic system based on races and classes, and behind all these, the
military power of the government?
It would be naive to assume that a call is raised to free the whole of
humankind throughout the earth, and it is confined to preaching and exposition.
Indeed, it strives through preaching and exposition when there is freedom
of communication and when people are free from all these influences,
as "There is no compulsion in religion; but when the above - mentioned obstacles
and practical difficulties are put in its way, it has no recourse but to
remove them by force so that when it is addressed to peoples' hearts and
minds they are free to accept or reject it with an open mind.
Since the objective of the message of Islam is a decisive declaration of
man's freedom, not merely on the philosophical plane but also in the actual
conditions of life, it must employ Jihaad. It is immaterial whether the homeland
of Islam - in the true Islamic sense, Dar ul-Islam - is in a condition of
peace or whether it is threatened by its neighbors. When Islam strives for
peace, its objective is not that superficial peace which requires that only that
part of the earth where the followers of Islam are residing remain secure.
The peace which Islam desires is that the religion (i.e. the Law of the society)
be purified for God, that the obedie nce of all people be for God alone,
and that some people should not be lords over others. After the period of
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the Prophet - peace be on him - only the final stages of the movement of
Jihaad are to be followed; the initial or middle stages are not applicable.
They have ended, and as Ibn Qayyim states, "Thus, after the revelation of
the chapter 'Bratt', the unbelievers were of three kinds: adversaries in war,
people with treaties, and Dhimmies. The people with treaties eventually
became Muslims, so there were only two kinds left: people at war and
Dhimmies. The people at war were always afraid of him. Now the people
of the whole world were of three kinds: one, the Muslims who believed in
him: two, those with whom he had peace (and from the previous sentence
we understand that they were Dhimmies); and three, the opponents who
kept fighting him."
These are the logical positions consonant with the character and purposes
of this religion, and not what is understood by the people who are
defeated by present conditions and by the attacks of the treacherous orie ntalists.
God held back Muslims from fighting in Mecca and in the early period
of their migration to Medina, and told them, "Restrain your hands, and establish
regular prayers, and pay Zakat". Next, they were permitted to fight:
"Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made, because
they are oppressed, and God is able to help them. These are the people who
were expelled from their homes without cause. The next stage came when
the Muslims were commanded to fight those who fight them: "Fight in the
cause of God against those who fight you." And finally, war was declared
against all the polytheists: "And fight against all the polytheists, as they all
fight against you;" "Fight against those among the People of the Book who
do not believe in God and the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and
His Messenger have forbidden, and who do not consider the true religion as
their religion, until they are subdued and pay Jizyah." Thus, according to
the explanation by Imam Ibn Qayyim, the Muslims were first restrained
from fighting; then they were permitted to fight; then they were commanded
to fight against the aggressors; and finally they were commanded
to fight against all the polytheists.
With these verses from the Qur'an and with many Traditions of the
Prophet - peace be on him - in praise of Jihaad, and with the entire history
of Islam, which is full of Jihaad, the heart of every Muslim rejects that ex58
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planation of lihaad invented by those people whose minds have accepted
defeat under unfavorable conditions and under the attacks on Islamic Jihaad
by the shrewd orientalists.
What kind of a man is it who, after listening to the commandment of
God and the Traditions of the Prophet - peace be on him-and after reading
about the events which occurred during the Islamic Jihaad, still thinks that it
is a temporary injunction related to transient conditions and that it is concerned
only with the defense of the borders?
In the verse giving permission to fight, God has informed the Believers
that the life of this world is such that checking one group of people by another
is the law of God, so that the earth may be cleansed of corruption.
"Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made, because
they are oppressed, and God is able to help them. These are the people who
were expelled from their homes without cause, except that they said that
our Lord is God. Had God not checked one people by another, then surely
synagogues and churches and mosques would have been pulled down,
where the name of God is remembered often." Thus, this struggle is not a
temporary phase but an eternal state - an eternal state, as truth and falsehood
cannot co-exist on this earth. Whenever Islam stood up with the universal
declaration that God's Lordship should be established over the entire
earth and that men should become free from servitude to other men, the
usurpers of God's authority on earth have struck out against it fiercely and
have never tolerated it. It became incumbent upon Islam to strike back and
release man throughout the earth from the grip of these usurpers. The ete rnal
struggle for the freedom of man will continue until the religion is pur ified
for God.
The command to refrain from fighting during the Meccan period was a
temporary stage in a long journey. The same reason was operative during
the early days of Hijra, but after these early stages, the reason for Jihaad
was not merely to defend Medina. Indeed, its defense was necessary, but
this was not the ultimate aim. The aim was to protect the resources and the
center of the movement - the movement for freeing mankind and demolishing
the obstacles which prevented mankind from attaining this freedom.
The reasons for refraining from fighting during the Meccan period are
easily understood. In Mecca preaching was permitted. The Messenger -
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peace be on him - was under the protection of the Banu Hashim and hence
he had the opportunity to declare his message openly; he had the freedom to
speak to individuals as to groups and to appeal to their hearts and minds.
There was no organized political power which could prevent him from
preaching and prevent people from listening. At this stage there was no
need for the use of force. Besides this, there were other reasons and I have
detailed these reasons in my commentary, In the Shades of the Qur'an, in
explanation of the verse, "Have you seen the people to whom it was said,
'Restrain your hands, and establish regular prayers, and pay Zakat?" (3:77)
It may be useful to reproduce 65 parts of this explanation here.
"A reason for prohibiting the use of force during the Meccan period
may have been that this was a stage of training and preparation in a partic ular
environment, for a particular nation and under particular conditions. Under
these circumstances, an important factor in training and preparation was
to train the individual Arab to be patient under oppression to himself or to
those he loved, to conquer his pride, and not to make personal revenge or
revenge for one's dear ones the purpose of one's life. Training was also
needed so that he could learn control of his nerves, not lose his temper at
the first provocation as was his temperament - nor get excited at the first
impulse, but so that he could develop dignity and composure in his temperament
and in his action. He was to be trained to follow the discipline of
a community which is under the direction of a leader, and to refer to this
leader in every matter and to obey his injunctions even though they might
be against his habit or taste The aim was to develop individuals of high
character who would constitute the Muslim community, who would follow
the directions of the leader, and who would be civilized and progressive,
free of wild habits and tribalism.
"Another reason for it may have been that the Quraish were proud of
their lineage and honor, and in such an environment only persuasion could
be most appealing and effective. At this stage, fighting would have resulted
in kindling the fires of revenge - There was already much tribal warfare
based on blood feuds, such as the wars of Dahis, Gabra and Basus, which
continued for years and annihilated tribe after tribe. If blood feuds were to
become associated in their minds with Islam, then this impression would
never have been removed. consequently, Islam, instead of being a call toward
the true religion, would have become an unending sequence of tribal
60 Qutb
feuds and its basic teachings would have been forgotten at the very beginning.
"Another reason may have been to avoid sowing the seed of discord
and bloodshed in every household. At that time, there was no organized
government which was torturing and persecuting the Believers; the Believer
was persecuted, tortured and 'taught a lesson by his own patrons. Under
these circumstances, permission to fight would have meant that every house
would have become a battlefield. The people would have said 'So, this is
Islam'! In fact, this was said about Islam, even though fighting was not
permitted. During the season when the people of Arabia came to Mecca for
pilgrimage and commerce, the Quraish would have gone to them and would
have said, 'Muhammad is not only dividing his nation and his tribe; he is
even dividing sons from fathers! What kind of a thing is this which incites
the son to kill his father, the slave to kill his master, in every house and in
every locality?"
"Another reason may have been that God knew that a great majority of
those who persecuted and tortured the early Muslims would one day become
the loyal soldiers of Islam, even its great leaders. Was not 'Umar Ibn
al-Khattab one of them?
"Another reason may have been that the sense of honor of the Arabs,
especially in a tribal framework, comes to the help of the person who is
persecuted yet does not concede defeat, especially if the persecuted are
honored by the people. Several such incidents can be quoted to support this
thesis. When Abu Bakr, who was an honorable man, left Mecca in order to
migrate to some other place, Ibn al-Daghna could not bear it and restrained
him from leaving because he considered it a disgrace to the Arabs; he offered
Abu Bakr his own protection. The best example of such an incident is
the tearing up of the contract under which the Banu Hashim were confined
to the Valley of Abu Talib when the period of their hunger and privation
seemed unreasonably long. This chivalry was a peculiarity of the Arabs,
while in ancient 'civilizations' which were accustomed to seeing people
humiliated, those who suffered and were persecuted were laughed at, ridiculed
and treated with contempt, and the oppressor and the tyrant were respected.
"Another reason may have been that the Muslims were few in number
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and they lived only in Mecca, as the message of Islam had not reached
other parts of Arabia or had reached only as hearsay. Other tribes considered
it as a domestic quarrel of the Quraish; they were watching for the outcome
of this struggle. Under these circumstances, if fighting had been allowed,
this limited warfare would have resulted in the complete
annihilation of the Muslims; even if they had killed a great number of their
opponents, they would still have been completely annihilated. Idolatry
would have continued and the dawn of the Islamic system would never
have arrived and would never have reached its zenith, while Islam is revealed
to be a practical way of life for all mankind".
In the early Medinite period fighting was also prohibited. The reason
for this was that the Prophet - peace be on him- had signed a pact with the
Jews of Medina and with the unbelieving Arabs in and around Medina, an
action which was necessary at this stage.
First, there was an open opportunity for preaching and persuasion.
There was no political power to circumscribe this freedom; the whole population
accepted the new Muslim state and agreed upon the leadership of the
Prophet-peace be on him-in all political maners. In the pact it was agreed by
all parties that no one would make a treaty of peace or declare war or esta blish
relations with any outsider without the express permission of the
Prophet - peace be on him. Thus, the real power in Medina was in the hands
of Muslim leadership. The doors were also open for preaching Islam and
there was freedom of belief.
Secondly, at this stage the Prophet-peace be on him - wanted to conserve
all his efforts to combat the Quraish, whose relentless opposition was
a great obstacle in spreading Islam to other tribes which were waiting to see
the final outcome of the struggle between the two groups of the Quraish.
That is why the Prophet - peace be on him - hastened to send scouting parties
in various directions. The first such party was commanded by Hamza
bin Abdul Muttalib, and it went out during the month of Ramadan, only six
months after the Immigration.
After this, there were other scouting parties, one during the ninth month
after Hijra, the next in the thirteenth month the third sixteen months after
Hijra, and in the seventeenth month he sent a party under the leadership of
62 Qutb
Abdullah bin Jahash. This party encountered some resistance and some
blood was shed. This occurred during the month of Rajab, which was considered
a sacred month. The following verse of Chapter Baqara refers to it:
"They ask you about fighting in the sacred months. Say: Fighting in
them is a great sin, but to prevent people from the way of God, and to reject
God, and to stop people from visiting the Sacred Mosque, and to expel
people from their homes are a much greater sin, and oppression is worse
than killing." (2:217)
During Ramadan of the same year, the Battle of Badr took place, and in
Chapter Anfal this battle was reviewed.
If this stage of the Islamic movement is viewed in proper perspective,
then there is no room to say that the basic aim of the Islamic movement was
'defensive' in the narrow sense which some people ascribe to it today, defeated
by the attacks of the treacherous orientalists!
Those who look for causes of a defensive nature in the history of the
expansion of Islam are caught by the aggressive attacks of the orientalists at
a time when Muslims possess neither glory nor do they possess Islam.
However, by God's grace, there are those who are standing firm on the issue
that Islam is a universal declaration of the freedom of man on the earth
from every authority except God's authority, and that the religion ought to
be purified for God; and they keep writing concerning, the Islamic Jihaad.
But the Islamic movement does not need any arguments taken from the
literature, as it stands on the clear verses of the Qur'an:
"They ought to fight in the way of God who have sold the life of this
world for the life of the Hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of God
and is killed or becomes victorious, to him shall We give a great reward.
Why should not you fight in the way of God for those men, women and
children who have been oppressed because they are weak and who call 'Our
Lord! Take us out of this place whose people are oppressors, and raise for
us an ally, and send for us a helper'. Those who believe fight in the cause of
God, while those who do not believe fight in the cause of tyranny. Then
fight against the friends of Satan. Indeed, the strategy of Satan is weak." (3:
74-76)
"Say to the unbelievers that if they refrain, then whatever they have
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done before will be forgiven them; but if they turn back, then they know
what happened to earlier nations. And fight against them until there is no
oppression and the religion is wholly for God. But if they refrain, then God
is watching over their actions. But if they do not, then know that God is
your Ally and He is your Helper." (8: 38-40)
"Fight against those among the People of the Book who do not believe
in God and the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His messenger
have forbidden, and who do not consider the true religion as their way of
life, until they are subdued and pay Jizyah. The Jews say: 'Ezra is the Son
of God', and the Christians say: 'The Messiah is the Son of God'. These are
mere sayings from their mouths, following those who preceded them and
disbelieved. God will assail them; how they are perverted! They have taken
their rabbis and priests as lords other that God, and the Messiah, son of
Mary; and they were commanded to worship none but One God. There is
no deity but He, glory be to Hlm above what they associate with Him! They
desire to extinguish God's light with their mouths, and God intends to perfect
His light, although the unbelievers may be in opposition" (9: 29-32)
The reasons for Jihaad which have been described in the above verses
are these: to establish God's authority in the earth; to arrange human affairs
according to the true guidance provided by God; to abolish all the Satanic
forces and Satanic systems of life; to end the lordship of one man over others
since all men are creatures of God and no one has the authority to make
them his servants or to make arbitrary laws for them. These reasons are sufficient
for proclaiming Jihaad. However, one should always keep in mind
that there is no compulsion in religion; that is, once the people are free from
the lordship of men, the law governing civil affairs will be purely that of
God, while no one will be forced to change his beliefs and accept Islam.
The Jihaad of Islam is to secure complete freedom for every man
throughout the world by releasing him from servitude to other human beings
so that he may serve his God, Who IS One and Who has no associates.
This is in itself a sufficient reason for Jihaad. These were the only reasons
in the hearts of Muslim warriors. If they had been asked the question "Why
are you fighting?" none would have answered, "My country is in danger; I
am fighting for its defense" or "The Persians and the Romans have come
upon us", or, "We want to extend our dominion and want more spoils'.'
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They would have answered the same as Rabati bin 'Amer, Huzaifa bin
Muhsin and Mughira bin Shtuba answered the Persian general Rustum
when he asked them one by one during three successive days preceding the
battle of Qadisiyyah, "For what purpose have you come?" Their answer
was the same: "God has sent us to bring anyone who wishes from servitude
to men into the service of God alone, from the narrowness of this world into
the vastness of this world and the Here- after, and from the tyranny of religions
into the justice of Islam. God raised a Messenger for this purpose to
teach His creatures His way. If anyone accepts this way of life, we turn
back and give his country back to him, and we fight with those who rebel
until we are martyred or become victorious" .
These are the reasons inherent in the very nature of this religion. Similarly,
its proclamation of universal freedom, its practical way of combatting
actual human conditions with appropriate methods, its developing new resources
at various stages, is also inherent in its message from the very beginning-
and not because of any threat of aggression against Islamic lands
or against the Muslims residing in them. The reason for Jihaad exists in the
nature of its message and in the actual conditions it finds in human societies,
and not merely in the necessity for defense, which may be temporary
and of limited extent. A Muslim fights with his wealth and his person "in
the way of God" for the sake of these values in which neither personal gain
nor greed is a motive for him.
Before a Muslim steps into the battlefield, he has already fought a great
battle within himself against Satan-against his own desires and ambitions,
his personal interests and inclinations, the interests of his family and of his
nation; against which is not from Islam; against every obstacle which
comes into the way of worshipping God and the implementation of the Divine
authority on earth, returning this authority to God and taking it away
from the rebellious usurpers.
Those who say that Islamic Jihaad was merely for the defense of the
'homeland of Islam' diminish the greatness of the Islamic way of life and
consider it less important than their 'homeland'. This is not the Islamic point
of view, and their view is a creation of the modern age and is completely
alien to Islamic consciousness. What is acceptable to Islamic consciousness
is its belief, the way of life which this belief prescribes, and the society
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which lives according to this way of life. The soil of the homeland has in
itself no value or weight. From the Islamic point of view, the only value
which the soil can achieve is because on that soil God's authority is esta blished
and God's guidance is followed; and thus it becomes a fortress for the
belief, a place for its way of life to be entitled the 'homeland of Islam', a
center for the movement for the total freedom of man.
Of course, in that case the defense of the 'homeland of Islam' is the defense
of the Islamic beliefs, the Islamic way of life, and the Islamic community.
However, its defense is not the ultimate objective of the Islamic
movement of Jihaad but is a means of establishing the Divine authority
within it so that it becomes the headquarters for the movement of Islam,
which is then to be carried throughout the earth to the whole of mankind, as
the object of this religion is all humanity and its sphere of action is the
whole earth.
As we have described earlier, there are many practical obstacles in establishing
God's rule on earth, such as the power of the state, the social system
and traditions and, in general, the whole human environment. Islam
uses force only to remove these obstacles so that there may not remain any
wall between Islam and individual human beings, and so that it may address
their hearts and minds after releasing them from these material obstacles,
and then leave them free to choose to accept or reject it.
We ought not to be deceived or embarrassed by the attacks of the orie ntalists
on the origin of Jihaad, nor lose self- confidence under the pressure
of present conditions and the weight of the great powers of the world to
such an extent that we try to find reasons for Islamic Jihaad outside the nature
of this religion, and try to show that it was a defensive measure under
temporary conditions. The need for Jihaad remains, and will continue to
remain, whether these conditions exist or not!
In pondering over historical events, we should not neglect the aspects
inherent in the nature of this religion, its declaration of universal freedom,
and its practical method. We ought not to confuse these with temporary
needs of defense.
No doubt this religion must defend itself against aggressors. Its very
66 Qutb
existence in the form of a general declaration of the universal Lordship of
God and of the freedom of man from servitude to any being other than God,
and its organizing a movement under a new leadership other than the existing
jahili leadership, and its creating a distinct and permanent society based
on the Divine authority and submission to One God, is sufficient cause for
the surrounding jahili society, which is based on human authority in some
form or another, to rise against it for its own preservation and for the suppression
of Islam. Clearly, under these conditions, the newly- organized
Islamic community will have to prepare itself for defense. These conditions
inevitably occur and come into existence simultaneously with the advent of
Islam in any society. There is no question of Islam's liking or disliking such
a situation, as the struggle is imposed upon Islam; this is a natural struggle
between two systems which cannot co-exist for long. This is a fact which
cannot be denied, and hence Islam has no choice but to defend itself against
aggression.
But there is another fact which is much more important than this fact. It
is in the very nature of Islam to take initiative for freeing the human beings
throughout the earth from servitude to anyone other than God; and so it
cannot be restricted within any geographic or racial limits, leaving all mankind
on the whole earth in evil, in chaos and in servitude to lords other than
God.
It may happen that the enemies of Islam may consider it expedient not
to take any action against Islam, if Islam leaves them alone in their geographical
boundaries to continue the lordship of some men over others and
does not extend its message and its declaration of universal freedom within
their domain. But Islam cannot agree to this unless they submit to its authority
by paying Jizyah, which will be a guarantee that they have opened
their doors for the preaching of Islam and will not put any obstacle in its
way through the power of the state.
This is the character of this religion and this is its function, as it is a
declaration of the Lordship of God and the freedom of man from servitude
to anyone other than God, for all people.
There is a great difference between this concept of Islam and the other,
which considers it confined to geographical and racial limits, and does not
take any action except out of fear of aggression. In the latter case, all its
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inherent dynamism is lost.
To understand the dynamism of Islam with clarity and depth, it IS necessary
to remember that Islam is a way of life for man prescribed by God. It
is not a man-made system, nor an ideology of a group of people, nor a way
of life peculiar to a given race. We cannot talk about external reasons for
Jihaad unless we overlook this great truth and unless we forget that the fundamental
question here is the sovereignty of God and the obedience of His
creatures; it is impossible for a person to remember this great truth and still
search for other reasons for Islamic Jihaad.
The true estimate of the difference between the concept that war was
forced upon Islam by Jahiliyyah because its very nature demanded that jahili
societies would attack it, and the concept that Islam takes the initiative
and enters into this struggle, cannot be made in the early stages of its
movement.
In the early stages of the Islamic movement it is difficult to discriminate
between these two concepts, because in either case Islam will have to
do battle. However, in the final stages, when the initial battles are won, the
two concepts make a great difference-a great difference in understanding
the purposes and the significance of the Islamic message. And here lies the
danger.
There is also a great difference in the idea that Islam is a Divinelyordained
way of life and in the idea that it is a geographically-bounded system.
According to the first idea, Islam came into this world to establish
God's rule on God's earth, to invite all people toward the worship of God,
and to make a concrete reality of its message in the form of a Muslim
community in which individuals are free from servitude to men and have
gathered together under servitude to God and follow only the Shari'ah of
God. This Islam has a right to remove all those obstacles which are in its
path so that it may address human reason and intuition with no interference
and opposition from political systems. According to the second idea, Islam
is merely a national system which has a right to take up arms only when its
homeland is attacked.
In the case of either concept, Islam has to strive and to struggle; but its
68 Qutb
purposes and its results are entirely different, both conceptually and practically.
Indeed, Islam has the right to take the initiative. Islam is not a heritage
of any particular race or country; this is God's religion and it is for the
whole world. It has the right to destroy all obstacles in the form of institutions
and traditions which limit man's freedom of choice. It does not attack
individuals nor does it force them to accept its beliefs; it attacks institutions
and traditions to release human beings from their poisonous influences,
which distort human nature and which curtail human freedom.
It is the right of Islam to release mankind from servitude to human beings
so that they may serve God alone, to give practical meaning to its declaration
that God is the true Lord of all and that all men are free under Him.
According to the Islamic concept and in actuality, God's rule on earth can
be established only through the Islamic system, as it is the only system ordained
by God for all human beings, whether they be rulers or ruled, black
or white, poor or rich, ignorant or learned. Its law is uniform for all, and all
human beings are equally responsible within it. In all other systems, human
beings obey other human beings and follow man-made laws. Legislation is
a Divine attribute; any person who concedes this right to such a claimant,
whether he considers him Divine or not, has accepted him as Divine.
Islam is not merely a belief, so that it is enough merely to preach it. Islam,
which is a way of life, takes practical steps to organize a movement for
freeing man. Other societies do not give it any opportunity to organize its
followers according to its own method, and hence it is the duty of Islam to
annihilate all such systems, as they are obstacles in the way of universal
freedom. Only in this manner can the way of life be wholly dedicated to
God, so that neither any human authority nor the question of servitude remains,
as is the case in all other systems which are based on man's servitude
to man. Those of our contemporary Muslim scholars who are defeated by
the pressure of current conditions and the attacks of treacherous orientalists
do not subscribe to this characteristic of Islam. The orientalists have painted
a picture of Islam as a violent movement which imposed its belief upon
people by the sword. These vicious orientalists know very well that this is
not true, but by this method they try to distort the true motives of Islamic
Jihaad. But our Muslim scholars, these defeated people, search for reasons
of defensive with which to negate this accusation. They are ignorant of the
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nature of Islam and of its function, and that it has a right to take the initiative
for human freedom.
These research scholars, with their defeated mentality, have adopted the
Western concept of 'religion', which is merely a name for 'belief' in the
heart, having no relation to the practical affairs of life, and therefore they
conceive of religious war as a war to impose belief on peoples' hearts.
But this is not the case with Islam, as Islam is the way of life ordained
by God for all mankind, and this way establishes the Lordship of God
alone-that is, the sovereignty of God - and orders practical life in all its
daily details. Jihaad in Islam is simply a name for striving to make this system
of life dominant in the world. As far as belief is concerned, it clearly
depends upon personal opinion, under the protection of a general system in
which all obstacles to freedom of personal belief have been removed.
Clearly this is an entirely different matter and throws a completely new
light on the Islamic Jihaad.
Thus, wherever an Islamic community exists which is a concrete example
of the Divinely-ordained system of life, it has a God-given right to
step forward and take control of the political authority so that it may esta blish
the Divine system on earth, while it leaves the matter of belief to individual
conscience. When God restrained Muslims from Jihaad for a certain
period, it was a question of strategy rather than of principle; this was a matter
pertaining to the requirements of the movement and not to belief. Only
in the light of this explanation can we understand those verses of the Holy
Qur'an which are concerned with the various stages of this movement. In
reading these verses, we should always keep in mind that one of their
meanings is related to the particular stages of the development of Islam,
while there is another general meaning which is related to the unchangeable
and eternal message of Islam. We should not confuse these two aspects.

71
5
NO GOD BUT GOD: THE WAY OF LIFE
IN ISLAM
'La llaha illa Allah"-"There is no deity except Allah" - is the first part
the Islamic declaration of faith, meaning that there is no one to be worshipped
except God; "Muhammadar Rasul Allah" - "Muhammad is the
Messenger of God; - is the second part, meaning that this worship is to
be carried out according to the teaching of the Prophet - peace be on him.
A believing Muslim is one into whose heart this declaration has
penetrated completely, as the other pillars of Islam and articles of faith
are derivatives of it. Thus, belief in angels and God's Books and God's
Messengers and the life hereafter and al-Qadr (the measurement of good
and evil), and al-Salat (prayers), al-Siyam (fasting), al-Zakat (poor-due)
and al-Hajj (pilgrimage), and the limits set by God of permissable and
forbidden things, human affairs, laws, Islamic moral teachings, and so
on, are all based on the foundation of worship of God, and the source of
all these teachings is the person of the Prophet- peace be on him -through
whom God has revealed to us.
A Muslim community is that which is a practical interpretation of the
declaration of faith and all its characteristic s; and the society which does
not translate into practice this faith and its characteristics is not Muslim.
Thus the declaration of faith provides the foundation for a complete
system of life for the Muslim community in all its details. This way of
life cannot come into being without securing this foundation first. Similarly,
if the system of life is constructed on some other foundation, or if
other sources are mixed with this foundation, then that community can72
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not be considered Islamic. God says:
"The command belongs to God alone. He commands you not to worship
anyone except Him. This is the right way of life." (12:40)
"Whoever obeys the Prophet obeys God" ( 4:80 )
This concise and decisive declaration guides us in the basic questions
of our religio n and in its practical movement. First, it guides us to the
nature of the Muslim community; second, it shows us the method of constructing
such a community; third, it tells us how to confront jahili societies;
and fourth, it determines the method by which Islam changes the
conditions of human life. All these problems have always been and will
remain of great importance in the various stages of the Islamic movement.
The distinctive feature of a Muslim community is this: that in all its
affairs it is based on worship of God alone. The declaration of faith expresses
this principle and determines its character; in beliefs, in devotional
acts, and in rules and regulations this declaration takes a concrete
form.
A person who does not believe in the oneness of God does not worship
God alone.
"Allah commands you not to take two gods. God is only One; hence
fear Me. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him and
follows His way. Will you the fear anyone other than God?" (16: 51-52)
Anyone who performs devotional acts before someone other than
God - in addition to Him or exclusively - does not worship God alone.
"Say, my Salat (prayers), my acts of devotion, my life and my death,
are for the Sustainer of the Worlds; He has no associate. I have been
commanded this, and I am the foremost to be among the submitters." (6:
162-163)
Anyone who derives laws from a source other than God, in a way
other than what He taught us through the Prophet -peace be on him-does
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not worship God alone.
"Are there associates of God who have made permissible for them in
their religion that which God has not permitted?" (42:21)
"Whatever the Prophet gives you, accept it, and whatever he prohibits
you, refrain from it." (59:7)
This is the Muslim society. In this society, the beliefs and ideas of
individuals, their devotional acts and religious observances, and their
social system and their laws, are all based on submission to God alone. If
this attitude is eliminated from any of these aspects, the whole of Islam is
eliminated, as the first pillar of Islam-that is, the declaration, 'there is no
deity except God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God' - becomes
eliminated.
Thus, and only thus, can this group become a Muslim group and the
community which it organizes be Muslim. Before adopting this purity of
attitude no group can be a Muslim group, and before organizing its system
of life on this principle no society can be a Muslim society. The reason
for this is that the first principle on which Islam is based, that is "La
ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadar Rasul Allah", is not established in respect
to both its parts.
It is necessary, therefore, before thinking of establishing the Islamic
social system and organizing a Muslim community, that one should give
attention to purifying the hearts of people from the worship of anyone
other than God, in the way we have described above. Only those whose
hearts are so purified will come together to make a group, and only such
a group of people, whose beliefs and concepts, whose devotional acts
and laws, are completely free of servitude to anyone other than God can
start a Muslim community. Anyone who wants to live an Islamic life will
automatically enter into this community, and his belief, his acts of worship
and the laws which he follows, will also be purified for God alone.
In other words, he will be an embodiment of "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadar
Rasul Allah".
This was the manner in which the first Muslim group was formed
which eventually developed into the first Muslim community. This is the
only way in which any Muslim group is started and a Muslim community
74 Qutb
comes into being.
A Muslim community can come into existence only when individuals
and groups of people reject servitude to anyone except God-in addition
to Him or exclusively-and come into submission to God, Who has
no associates, and decide that they will organize their scheme or life on
the basis of this submission. From this a new community is born, emerging
from within the old jahili society, which immediately confronts it
with a new belief and a new way of life based on this belief, presenting a
concrete embodiment of the creed, "There is no deity except God, and
Muhammad is the Messenger of God".
The old jahili society may become submerged into the new Islamic
society or it may not, and it may make peace with the Muslim society or
may fight it. However, history tells us that the jahili society chooses to
fight and not to make peace, attacking the vanguard of Islam at its very
inception, whether it be a few individuals or whether it be groups, and
even after this vanguard has become a well-established community.
From Noah to Muhammad -peace be on them-without exception, this has
been the course of events at every Islamic
It is clear, then, that a Muslim community cannot be formed or continue
to exist until it attains sufficient power to confront the existing jahili
society. This power must be at all levels; that is to say, the power of
belief and concept, the power of training and moral character, the power
to organize and sustain a community, and such physical power as is necessary,
if not to dominate, at least to hold itself against the onslaught of
the Jahili society.
But what is the jahili society, and by what method does Islam confront
it?
The jahili society is any society other than the Muslim society; and if
we want a more specific definition, we may say that any society is a jahili
society which does not dedicate itself to submission to God alone, in
its beliefs and ideas in its observances of worship, and in its le gal regulations.
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According to this definition, all the societies existing in the world today
are jahili.
Included among these is the communist society, first because it denies
the existence of God Most High and believes that the universe was
created by 'matter' or by 'nature', while all man's activities and his history
has been created by 'economics or 'the means of production'; second, because
the way of life it adopts is based on submission to the Communist
Party and not to God. A proof of this is that in all communist countries
the Communist Party has full control and leadership Furthermore, the
practical consequence of this ideology is that the basic needs of human
beings are considered identical with those of animals, that is food and
drink, clothing, shelter and sex. It deprives people of their spiritual
needs, which differentiate human beings from animals. Foremost among
these is belief in God and the freedom to adopt and to proclaim this faith.
Similarly, it deprives people of their freedom to express individuality,
which is a very special human characteristic. The individuality of a person
is expressed in various ways, such as private property, the choice of
work and the attainment of specialization in work, and expression in
various art forms; and it distinguishes him from animals or from machines.
The communist ideology and the communist system reduces the
human being to the level of an animal or even to the level of a machine.
All idolatrous societies are also among the jahili societies. Such societies
are found in India, Japan, the Philippines and Africa. Their Jahili
character consists first of the fact that they believe in other gods besides
God, in addition to Him or without Him; second, they have constructed
an elaborate system of devotional acts to propitiate these deities. Similarly,
the laws and regulations which they follow are derived from
sources other than God and His Law, whether these sources be priests or
astrologers or magicians, the elders of the nation, or the secular institutions
which formulate laws without regard to the Law of God, and which
attain absolute authority in the name of the nation or a party or on some
other basis, while absolute authority belongs to God alone, and this can
be brought into action only in the way shown to us by the Prophets of
God.
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All Jewish and Christian societies today are also jahili societies.
They have distorted the original beliefs and ascribe certain attributes of
God to other beings. This association with God has taken many forms,
such as the Sonship of God or the Trinity, sometimes it is expressed in a
concept of God which is remote from the true reality of God.
"The Jews say: Ezra is the Son of God', and the Christians say: "the
Messiah is the Son of God.' These are mere sayings from their mouths,
following those who preceded them and disbelieved. God will assail
them; how they are perverted." (9:30)
"They rejected the truth who said; 'God is the third of three'. Indeed,
God is but One God. If they do not desist from what they say, the disbelievers
among them will be met with a painful chastisement' (5:73)
"The Jews have said: 'God's hand is limited in what it can do. Limited
are their hands, and they are cursed for what they have said. Indeed,
His hands are open; he expends how He wills." (5 :64)
"The Jews and Christians say: 'We are God's children and His favorites.'
Say: 'Why then does He punish you for your offences? In fact, you
are people just like others." (5:18)
These societies are Jahili also because their forms of worship their
customs and manners are derived from their false and distorted beliefs.
They are also jahili societies because their institutions and their laws are
not based on submission to God alone. They neither accept the rule of
God nor do they consider God's commandments as the only valid basis of
all laws; on the contrary, they have established assemblies of men which
have absolute power to legislate laws, thus usurping the right which belongs
to God alone. At the time of Revelation, the Qur'an classified them
among those who associate others with God, as they had given their
priests and rabbis the authority to devise laws in whatever way they
pleased.
'They have taken their rabbis and priests as lords other than God, and
the Messiah, son of Mary; and they were commanded to worship none
but One God. There is no god but He, glory be to Him above what they
associate with Him!" (5:31)
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These people did not consider their priests or rabbis as divine, nor
did they worship them; but they gave them the authority to make laws,
obeying laws which were made by them not permitted by God. If at that
time the Qur'an called them associaters of others with God and rejectors
of truth then today they are also the same, because today this authority IS
not in the hands of priests and rabbis but in the hands of individuals chosen
from among themselves.
Lastly, all the existing so-called 'Muslim' societies are also jahili societies.
We classify them among jahili societies not because they believe in
other deities besides God or because they worship anyone other than
God, but because their way of life is not based on submission to God
alone. Although they believe In the Unity of God, still they have relegated
the legislative attribute of God to others and submit to this authority,
and from this authority they derive their systems, their traditions and
customs, their laws, their values and standards, and almost every practice
of life. God Most High says concerning rulers:
"Those who do not judge according to what God has revealed are
unbelievers." and concerning the ruled: (5:44)
"Have you not seen those who assert that they believe in what has
been sent down to you and what was sent down before you, desiring to
take their disputes to idols, while you were commanded to reject them?"
(4:65)
"But no, by your Lord, they have not believed until they make you
judge regarding their disputes, and then do not find any resentment in
their hearts against your verdict, but submit in full submission." (4:65)
Before this, God accused the Jews and Christians of committing
Shirk, (association of other gods with God) and of unbelief, and of taking
priests and rabbis as lords in addition to God, only because they had
given certain rights and privileges to their priests and rabbis, which today
those who call themselves 'Muslims' have given to some people among
78 Qutb
themselves. This action of the Jews and Christians was considered by
God in the same category of Shirk as that of the Christians' making Jesus
into the Son of God and worshipping him. The latter is a rebellion
against the Oneness of God, while the former is a rebellion against His
prescribed way of life and a denial of "There is no other diety except
God".
Among Muslim societies, some openly declare their 'secularism' and
negate all their relationships with the religion; some others pay respect to
the religion only with their mouths, but in their social life they have
completely abandoned it. They say that they do not believe in the 'Unseen'
and want to construct their social system on the basis of 'science', as
science and the Unseen are contradictory! This claim of theirs is mere
ignorance, and only ignorant people can talk like this. [Refer to the discussion
in Volume 7 of Fi-Thilal in explanation of the verse: "He has the
keys to the Unseen; no one knows it except Him".] There are some other
societies which have given the authority of legislation to others besides
God; they make whatever laws they please and then say, "This is the
Shari'ah of God". All these societies are the same in one respect, that
none of them is based on submission to God alone.
After explaining these facts, the position of Islam in relation to all
these jahili societies can be described in one sentence: it considers all
these societies unIslamic and illegal.
Islam does not look at the labels or titles which these societies have
adopted; they all have one thing in common, and that is that their way of
life is not based on complete submission to God alone. In this respect
they share the same characteristic with a polytheistic society, the characteristic
of Jahiliyyah.
We have now come to the last of the points mentioned in the beginning
of this chapter, and that point concerns the method which Islam
adopts - today, tomorrow or in the remote future-in confronting actual
human conditions. This method has been described in our discussion on
the nature of the Muslim society, which is, in summary, that a Muslim
society bases all its decisions on submission to God alone.
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After defining this nature, we can immediately answer the following
question: What is the principle on which human life ought to be based:-
God's religion and its system of life, or some man-made system?
Islam answers this question in a clear cut and unambiguous manner:
The only principle on which the totality of human life is to be based is
God's religion and its system of life. If this principle is absent, the very
first pillar of Islam - that is, bearing witness to- "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadar
Rasul Allah"-will not be established nor its real influence felt.
Unless this principle is accepted without any question and followed faithfully,
the complete submission to God as taught by the Messenger of
God - peace be on him - cannot be fulfilled.
"Whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it; whatever he forbids
you, refrain from it." (59:7)
Furthermore, Islam asks: "Do you know better, or does God?" and
then answers it: "God knows and, you do not know", and "You have
been given only a little of the (true) knowledge".
The One Who knows, Who has created man, and Who is his Sustainer
must be the Ruler, and His religion ought to be the way of life, and
man should return to Him for guidance. As far as man-made theories and
religions are concerned, they become outmoded and distorted, as they are
based on the knowledge of men-those who do not know, and to whom
only a little of the true knowledge is given.
God's religion is not a maze nor is its way of life a fluid thing, as the
second part of the declaration of faith, "Muhammad is the Messenger of
God", clearly limits it. It is bounded by those principles which have
come from the Messenger of God - peace be on him. If there is a clear
text available from the Qur'an or from him, then that will be decisive and
there will be no room for Ijtihad (using one's judgement). If no such clear
judgement is available, then the time comes for Ijtihad - and that according
to well-defined principles which are consistent with God's religion
and not merely following opinions or desires.
80 Qutb
"If you have difference of opinion concerning somethin g, refer to
God and His Messenger." (4:59)
The principles of Ijtihad and deduction are well known and there is
no vagueness or looseness in them. No one is allowed to devise a law
and say that it is according to the Law of God unless it is declared that
God is the Legislator, and that the source of authority is God Himself and
not some nation or party or individual, and a sincere attempt is made to
find out the will of God through reference to His Book and the teachings
of His Messenger-peace be on him. But this right cannot be delegated to
a person or persons who want to establish authority by taking the name
of God, as was the case in Europe under the guise of 'the Church'. There
is no 'Church' in Islam; no one can speak in the name of God except His
Messenger-peace be on him. There are clear injunctions which define the
limits of the Divine Law, the Shari'ah.
"Al-din lil-waq'i" ("the religion is for living") is a statement which is
quite misunderstood and which is being used in a wrong sense. Certainly
this religion is for living, but for what kind of life? This religion is for a
life which is based on its principles, which is developed according to its
methods. This life is completely harmonious with human nature and satisfies
all human needs, needs whic h are determined only by the One Who
creates and Who knows His creatures:
"Does He Who created not know His creatures? He is the All-Subtle,
the All-Aware." (67:14)
It is not the function of religion to provide justification whatever
kind of life someone is leading and to bring an authority which he can
use to justify his actions. Religion is to be a criterion, to approve what is
good and to discard what is evil. If the whole system of life is against the
religion, then its function is to abolish this system and to construct a new
one. This is the meaning, according to Islam, of the saying "religion is
for living"; one ought to understand this with its correct meaning.
The question may be asked, "Is not the good of mankind the criterion
for solving actual problems?" But again we will raise the question which
Islam raises itself, and which it answers; that is, "Do you know better, or
God?" and, "God knows, and you do not know."
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The good of mankind is inherent in the Divine Laws sent down by
God to the Prophet- peace be on him-which have come to us through his
life. If at any time men think that their good is in going against what God
has legislated, then first of all, they are deluded in their thinking.
"they follow but speculation and their own desires, although guidance
has come to them from their Sustainer. Or shall man have whatever
he fancies? And to God belongs the first and the last." (53: 23-25)
Second, they are unbelievers. It is not possible for a person to declare
that in his opinion good lies in going against what God has legislated,
and simultaneously be a follower of this religion, or be considered its
scholar, even for a single moment.

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THE UNIVERSAL LAW
Islam constructs its foundation of belief and action on the principle
of total submission to God alone. Its beliefs, forms of worship and rules
of life are uniformly an expression of this submission and are a practical
interpretation of the declaration that there is no deity except God. The
details of life are derived from the practice of the Messenger of God -
peace be on him-and are a practical consequence of the declaration that
Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
Islam builds its entire structure in such a way that these two parts of
the declaration determine its system and its characteristics. When Islam
builds its structure in this manner, giving it a separate and unique position
among all other systems known to man, then Islam actually becomes
harmonious with the universal law, which is operative not only in human
existence but throughout the whole universe as well.
According to the Islamic concept, the whole universe has been created
by God. The universe came into existence when God willed it, and
then He ordained certain natural laws which it follows and according to
which all its various parts operate harmoniously:
"When We wish to bring something into existence, We say to it, 'Be',
and there it is." (16:40)
"And He created everything, and measured it in due proportion."
(25:2)
Behind this universe there is a Will which administers it, a Power
which moves it, a Law which regulates it. This Power keeps a balance
between the various parts of the universe and controls their motions; thus
84 Qutb
they neither collide with each other nor is there any disturbance in their
system, nor do their regular motions come to a sudden stop, nor do they
become disorganized. This will continue as long as the Divine will
wishes it to continue. The whole universe is obedient to God's Will, His
Power and His Authority; it is not possible for it to disobey the Divine
Will and its ordained law for a single moment. Due to this obedience and
submission, the universe continues to go on in a harmonious fashion, and
no destruction or dispersion or disturbance can enter into it unless God
wills it.
"Indeed, your Sustainer is God, Who created the heavens and the
earth in six periods and then established Himself upon the throne of sovereignty.
He causes the night to cover up the day and the day to follow
the night. The sun and the moon and the stars are controlle d by His
command, The creation and the command are for Him alone. Glorious is
God, the Sustainer of the worlds." (7:54)
Man is a part of the universe; the laws which govern human nature
are no different from the laws governing the universe. God is the Creator
of the universe as well as of man. Man's body is made of earthly material,
yet God has bestowed upon him certain characteristics which make
him more than the earth from which he is made; God provides him according
to a measure. In his bodily functions man involuntarily follows
the same laws of nature as other creatures. His creation is according to
the will of God rather than of his father and mother. The father and
mother are able to come together; yet they are not able to transform a
sperm into a human being. Man is born according to the method of development
and the method of birth which God has prescribed for him; he
breathes God's air in the quantity and fashion prescribed by God; he has
feelings and understanding, he experiences pain, becomes hungry and
thirsty, eats and drinks - in short, he has to live according to the laws of
God and he has no choice in the matter. In this respect there is no difference
between him and other inanimate or animate objects of the universe.
All unconditionally submit to the Will of God and to the laws of His
creation.
He Who has created the universe and man, and Who made man obeTHE
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dient to the laws which also govern the universe, has also prescribed a
Shari'ah for his voluntary actions. If man follows this law, then his life is
in harmony with his own nature. From this point of view, this Shari'ah is
also a part of that universal law which governs the entire universe, including
the physical and biological aspects of man.
Each word of God, whether it is an injunction or a prohibition, a
promise or an admonition, a rule or guidance, is a part of the universal
law and is as accurate and true as any of the laws known as the "laws of
nature" -the Divinely- ordained laws for the universe-which we find to be
operative every moment according to what God has prescribed for them
from the dawn of creation.
Thus the Shari'ah which God has given to man to organize his life is
also a universal law, as it is related to the general law of the universe and
is harmonious with it. This obedience to the Shari'ah becomes a necessity
for human beings so that their lives may become harmonious and in tune
with the rest of the universe; not only this, but the only way in which
harmony can be brought about between the physical laws which are operative
in the biological life of a man and the moral laws which govern
his voluntary actions is solely through obedience to the Shari'ah. Only in
this way does man's personality, internal and external, become integrated.
Man cannot understand all the la ws of the universe, nor can he comprehend
the unity of this system; he cannot even understand the laws
which govern his own person, from which he cannot deviate by a hair's
breadth. Thus he is incapable of making laws for a system of life which
can be in complete harmony with the universe or which can even harmonize
his physical needs with his external behavior. This capability belongs
solely to the Creator of the universe and of men, Who not only
controls the universe but also human affairs, and Who implements a uniform
law according to His will.
This obedience to the Shari'ah of God is necessary for the sake of
this harmony, even more necessary than the establishment of the Islamic
belief, as no individual or group of individuals can be truly Muslim until
they wholly submit to God alone in the manner taught by the Messenger
86 Qutb
of God- peace be on him, thus testifying by their actions that there is no
deity except God and that Muhammad is God's Messenger.
Total harmony between human life and the law of the universe is entirely
beneficial for mankind, as this is the only guarantee against any
kind of discord in life. Only in this state will they be at peace with themselves
and at peace with the universe, living in accord with its laws and
its movements. In the same way, they will have peace of mind, as their
actions will agree with their true natural demands, with no conflict between
the two. Indeed, the Shari'ah of God harmonizes the external behavior
of man with his internal nature in an easy way. When a man
makes peace with his own nature, peace and cooperation among individuals
follow automatically, as they all live together under one system,
which is a part of the general system of the universe.
Thus, blessings fall on all mankind, as this way leads in an easy
manner to the knowledge of the secrets of nature, its hidden forces, and
the treasures concealed in the expanses of the universe. Man uses these
for the benefit of all mankind, under the guidance of the Shari'ah of God,
without any conflict or competit ion.
In contrast to the Shari'ah of God are men's whims:
"Had the truth followed their opinions, the heavens and the earth and
whosoever is in them would surely have been corrupted." (23:71)
From this we come to know that the truth is one and not many. It is
the foundation of this religion, the heavens and earth are based upon it,
all the affairs of this world and of the next are settled by it, man will be
accountable to God on the basis of it, and those who deviate from the
truth are punished by it, and people will be judged by God according to
it. Truth is indivisible, and it is the name of that general law which God
has ordained for all affairs; and everything in existence either follows it
or is punished by it.
"We have sent to you a Book which speaks about you; do you not
then use your reason? Many a wicked town have We destroyed and have
replaced them with other people. When they felt Our Might approaching,
they started to run. (It was said to them), 'Do not run; return to the luxury
that you gloated in and to your homes; maybe you shall be questioned' .
They said: 'Woe upon us! We have been evil-doers'. So they did not
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stop crying until We made them stubble, silent and still. We did not create
the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them as a sport.
Had We desired to adopt it for Us as a diversion, We would have taken it
to Us from Ourselves, had We done so. Nay, but We held the truth
against falsehood, and it prevails over it, and behold! falsehood vanishes
away. Then woe to you for what you ascribe (to God). To Him belongs
whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth, and those who are with Him
do not be- come too proud to worship Him; neither do they grow weary
of glorifying Him by night and by day and never failing." (21: 10-20)
Human nature in its depths has full awareness of this truth. Man's
form and body, and the organization of the vast universe around him,
reminds him that this universe is based on truth, and truth is its essence,
and it is related to a central law which sustains it. Thus, there is no disturbance
in it, no conflict between its parts; it does not move at random,
nor does it depend on chance, nor is it devoid of an overall plan; neither
is it a sport in the hands of human caprices, but runs smoothly on a precise,
detailed and prescribed course. Conflict begins when man deviates
from the truth which is hidden in the depths of his own nature, under the
influence of his desires, and when he follows laws based on his own
opinions instead of following God's commandments. Instead of submitting
to his True Master along with the rest of the universe, he rebels and
revolts.
When this conflict between man and his own nature, and man and
the universe, spreads to human groups, nations and races, then all the
forces and resources of the universe are utilized not for the benefit of all
mankind, but for its destruction and for violence against others.
It becomes clear from the above discussion that the purpose of the
establishment of God's law on earth is not merely for the sake of the next
world. This world and the next world are not two separate entities, but
are stages complementary to each other. The law given by God not only
harmonizes these two stages but also harmonizes human life with the
general law of the universe. Thus, when harmony between human life
and the universe ensues, its results are not postponed for the next world
but are operative even in this world. However, they will reach their perfection
in the Hereafter.
88 Qutb
This, then, is the foundation of the Islamic concept of the universe
and of human life as a part of this universe. By its very nature, this concept
is different from all other concepts known to mankind. This is why
this concept implies certain responsibilities and obligations which are not
found in other concepts of life.
According to this concept, obedience to the Shari'ah of God is actually
a consequence of the need to harmonize human life with that law
which is operative within man himself and in the rest of the universe.
This need demands that the law which governs the social affairs of human
beings should be in accordance with the general law of the universe;
it demands that man submit to God alone, with the rest of the universe,
and that no man should claim lordship over others.
A suggestion of this need for harmony which we have been talking
about is found in the conversation between Abraham- peace be on him -
the father of the Muslim community, and Nimrod. This man was a tyrant
and claimed absolute sovereignty over his subjects; yet he did not claim
sovereignty over the heavens, the planets and stars. When the Prophet
Abraham - peace be on him - put forward the argument that He Who has
authority over the universe is the only One to have authority over human
beings too, he became speechless:
"Have you considered the case of the man who argued with Abraham
concerning his Sustainer, because God had given him rule over a country?
When Abraham said: My Lord is He Who gives life and Who gives
death,' he replied: 'I give life and I give death.' Abraham said: 'Indeed,
God brings out the sun from the east. Then do you bring it out from the
west?' Then the unbeliever became speechless. And God does not guide
the evil-doing people". (2: 258)
"Do they seek a religion other than the religion of God, while whatever
is in the heavens and the earth submits to Him willingly, and will
return to Him?" (3:83)
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ISLAM IS THE REAL CIVILIZATION
Islam knows only two kinds of societies, the Islamic and the jahili.
The Islamic society is that which follows Islam in belief and ways of
worship, in law and organization, in morals and manners. The jahili society
is that which does not follow Islam and in which neither the Islamic
belief and concepts, nor Islamic values or standards, Islamic laws and
regulations, or Isla mic morals and manners are cared for.
The Islamic society is not one in which people call themselves 'Muslims'
but in which the Islamic law has no status, even though prayer, fasting
and Hajj are regularly observed; and the Islamic society is not one in
which people invent their own version of Islam, other than what God and
His Messenger-peace be on him-have prescribed and explained, and call
it, for example, 'progressive Islam'.
Jahili society appears in various forms, all of them ignorant of the
Divine guidance.
Sometimes it takes the form of a society in which belief in God is
denied and human history is explained in terms of intellectual materia lism,
and 'scientific socialism' becomes its system.
Sometimes it appears in the form of a society in which God's existence
is not denied, but His domain is restricted to the heavens and His
rule on earth is suspended. Neither the Shari'ah nor the values prescribed
by God and ordained by Him as eternal and invariable find any place in
this scheme of life. In this society, people are permitted to go to
mosques, churches and synagogues; yet it does not tolerate people's demanding
that the Shari'ah of God be applied in their daily affairs. Thus,
such a society denies or suspends God's sovereignty on earth, while God
90 Qutb
says plainly:
"It is He Who is Sovereign in the heavens and Sovereign in the
earth." (43:84)
Because of this behavior, such a society does not follow the religion
of God as defined by Him:
"The command belongs to God alone. He commands you not to worship
anyone except Him. This is the right way of life." (12:40)
Because of this, such a society is to be counted among jahili societies,
although it may proclaim belief in God and permit people to observe
their devotions in mosques, churches and synagogues.
The Islamic society is, by its very nature, the only civilized society,
and the jahili societies, in all their various forms, are backward societies.
It is necessary to elucidate this great truth.
Once I announced as the title of a book of mine which was in press,
The Civilized Society of Islam; but in my next announcement I dropped
the word 'civilized' from it. At this change, an Algerian author (who
writes in French) commented that the reason for this change is that psychology
which operates in a person's mind while defending Islam. The
author expressed regret that this was an expression of immaturity which
was preventing me from facing reality!
I excused this Algerian author because at one time I myself was of
the same opinion. At that time, my thought processes were similar to his
thought processes of today. I encountered the same difficulty which he is
encountering today; that is, to understand the meaning of 'civilization'.
Until then, I had not gotten rid of the cultural influences which had
penetrated my mind in spite of my Islamic attitude and inclination. The
source of these influences was foreign -alien to my Islamic consciousness,
-yet these influences had clouded by intuition and concepts. The
Western concept of civilization was my standard; it had prevented me
from seeing with clear and penetrating vision.
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However, later I saw very clearly that the Muslim society was the
civilized society. Hence the word 'civilized' in the title of my book was
redundant and did not add anything new; rather it would have obscured
the thinking of the reader in the same way as my own ideas had been obscured.
Now the question is, what is the meaning of 'civilization?' Let us try
to explain it.
When, in a society, the sovereignty belongs to God alone, expressed
in its obedience to the Divine Law, only then is every person in that society
free from servitude to others, and only then does he taste true freedom.
This alone is 'human civilization', as the basis of a human civilization
is the complete and true freedom of every person and the full dignity
of every individual of the society. On the other hand, in a society in
which some people are lords who legislate and some others are slaves
who obey them, then there is no freedom in the real sense, nor dignity for
each and every individual.
It is necessary that we clarify the point that legislation is not limited
only to legal matters, as some people assign this narrow meaning to the
Shari'ah. The fact is that attitudes, the way of living, the values, criteria,
habits and traditions, are all legislated and affect people. If a particular
group of people forges all these chains and imprisons others in them, this
will not be a free society. I n such a society some people have the position
of authority, while others are subservient to them; hence this society
will be backward, and in Islamic terminology is called a 'jahili' society.
Only Islamic society is unique in this respect, in that the authority
belongs to God alone; and man, cutting off his chains of servitude to
other human beings, enters into the service of God and thus attains that
real and complete freedom which is the focus of human civilization. In
this society, the dignity and honor of man are respected according to
what God has prescribed. He becomes the representative of God on
earth, and his position becomes even higher than that of the angels.
92 Qutb
In a society which bases its foundation on the concept, belief and
way of life which all originate from the One God, man's dignity is respected
to the highest degree and no one is a slave to another, as they are
in societies in which the concepts, beliefs and way of life originate from
human masters. In the former society, man's highest characteristics -
those of the spirit and mind -are reflected, while in a society in which
human relationships are based on color, race or nation, or similar criteria,
these relationships become a chain for human thought and prevent man's
noble characteristics from coming to the fore. A person remains human
regardless of what color, race or nation he belongs to, but he cannot be
called human if he is devoid of spirit and reason. Furthermore, he is able
to change his beliefs, concepts and attitudes toward life, but he is incapable
of changing his color and race, nor can he decide in what place or
nation to be born. Thus it is clear that only such a society is civilized in
which human associations are based on free choice, and that society is
backward in which the basis of association is something other than free
choice; in Islamic terminology, it is a 'jahili society'.
Only Islam has the distinction of basing the fundamental binding relationship
in its society on belief; and on the basis of this belief, black
and white and red and yellow, Arabs and Greeks, Persians and Africans,
and all nations which inhabit the earth become one community. In this
society God is the Lord and only He is worshipped, the most honorable is
the one who is noblest in character, and all individuals are equally subject
to a law which is not man-made but made by their Creator.
A society which places the highest value on the 'humanity' of man
and honors the noble 'human' characteristics is truly civilized. If materia lism,
no matter in what form, is given the highest value, whether it be in
the form of a 'theory', such as in the Marxist interpretation of history, or
in the form of material production, as is the case with the United States
and European countries, and all other human values are sacrificed at its
altar, then such a society is a backward one, or, in Islamic terminology, is
a 'jahili society'.
The civilized society-that is, the Islamic society-does not downgrade
matter, either in theory or in the form of material production, as it conISLAM
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siders the universe in which we live, by which we are influenced, and
which we influence, to be made of matter, and it considers material production
to be the backbone of the vicegerency of God on earth. However,
in the Islamic society material comforts are not made into the highest
value at the expense of 'human' characteristics-freedom and honor, family
and its obligations, morals and values, and so on - as is the case in
jahili societies.
If a society is based on 'human values' and 'human morals' and these
remain dominant in it, then that society will be civilized. Human values
and human morals are not something mysterious and undefinable, nor are
they 'progressive' and changeable, having no roots and stability, as is
claimed by the exponents of the materialistic interpretation of history or
of 'scientific socialism.' They are the values and the morals which develop
those characteristics in a human being which distinguish him from
the animals and which emphasize those aspects of his personality which
raise him above the animals; these are not such values and morals which
develop and emphasize those characteristics in man which are common
with the animals.
When the question is viewed in this manner, a fixed and well-defined
line of separation is obtained which cannot be erased by the incessant
attempt of the 'progressives' and the scientific societies to erase it. According
to this view, moral standards are not determined by the environment
and changing conditions; rather they are fixed criteria above and
beyond the difference in environments. One cannot say that some moral
values are 'agricultural' and others 'industrial', some are 'capitalistic' and
some others 'socialistic', some are 'bourgeoise' and others 'proletarian'.
Here, the standards of morality are independent of the environment, the
economic status, and the stage of development of a society; these are
nothing but superficial variations. Beyond all these, we arrive at 'human'
values and morals and at 'animalistic' values and morals, this being the
correct separation or, in Islamic terminology, 'Islamic values and morals
and 'jahili' values and morals.
Indeed, Islam establishes the values and morals which are 'human' -
those which develop characteristics in a human being which distinguish
him from the animals. In whatever society Islam is dominant, whether it
94 Qutb
is an agricultural or industrial society, nomadic and pastoral or urban and
settled, poor or rich, it implants these human values and morals, nurtures
them and strengthens them; it develops human characteristics progressively
and guards against degeneration toward animalism. The direction
of the line which separates human values from animal-like characteristics
is upward; but if this direction is reversed, then in spite of all material
progress the civilization will be 'backward', 'degenerative', and 'jahili'!
If the family is the basis of the society, and the basis of the family is
the division of labor between husband and wife, and the upbringing of
children is the most important function of the family, then such a society
is indeed civilized. In the Islamic system of life, this kind of a family
provides the environment under which human values and morals develop
and grow in the new generation; these values and morals cannot exist
apart from the family unit. If, on the other hand, 97 free sexual relationships
and illegitimate children become the basis of a society, and if the
relationship between man and woman is based on lust, passion and impulse,
and the division of work is not based on family responsibility and
natural gifts; if woman's role is merely to be attractive, sexy and flirtatious,
and if woman is freed from her basic responsibility of bringing up
children; and if, on her own or under social demand, she prefers to become
a hostess or a stewardess in a hotel or ship or air company, thus
spending her ability for material productivity rather than in the training
of human beings, because material production is considered to be more
important, more valuable and more honorable than the development of
human character, then such a civilization is 'backward' from the human
point of view, or 'jahili' in the Islamic terminology.
The family system and the relationship between the sexes determine
the whole character of a society and whether it is backward or civilized,
jahili or Islamic. Those societies which give ascendance to physical desires
and animalistic morals cannot be considered civilized, no matter
how much progress they may make in industry or science. This is the
only measure which does not err in gauging true human progress.
In all modern jahili societies, the meaning of 'morality' is limited to
such an extent that all those aspects which distinguish man from animal
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are considered beyond its sphere. In these Societies, illegitimate sexual
relationships, even homosexuality, are not considered immoral. The
meaning of ethics is limited to economic affairs or sometimes to political
affairs which fall into the category of 'government interests'. For example,
the scandal of Christine Keeler and the British minister Profumo was
not considered serious to British society because of its sexual aspect; it
was condemnable because Christine Keeler was also involved with a naval
attache of the Russian Embassy, and thus her association with a cabinet
minister lied before the British Parliament! Similar scandals come to
light in the American Senate. Englishmen and Americans who get involved
in such spying scandals usually take refuge in Russia. These affairs
are not considered immoral because of sexual deviations, but because
of the danger to state secrets!
Among jahili societies, writers, journalists and editors advise both
married and unmarried people that free sexual relationships are not immoral.
However, it is immoral if a boy uses his partner, or a girl uses her
partner, for sex, while feeling no love in his or her heart. It is bad if a
wife continues to guard her chastity while her love for her husband has
vanished; it is admirable if she finds another lover. Dozens of stories are
written about this theme; many newspaper editorials, articles, cartoons,
serious and light columns all invite to this way of life.
From the point of view of 'human' progress, all such societies are not
civilized but are backward.
The line of human progress goes upward from animal desires toward
higher values. To control the animal desires, a progressive society lays
down the foundation of a family system in which human desires find satisfaction,
as well as providing for the future generation to be brought up
in such a manner that it will continue the human civilization, in which
human characteristics flower to their full bloom. Obviously a society
which intends to control the animal characteristics, while providing full
opportunities for the development and perfection of human characteristics,
requires strong safeguards for the peace and stability of the family,
so that it may perform its basic task free from the influences of impulsive
passions. On the other hand, if in a society immoral teachings and poisonous
suggestions are rampant, and sexual activity is considered outside
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the sphere of morality, then in that society the humanity of man can
hardly find a place to develop.
Thus, only Islamic values and morals, Islamic teachings and safeguards,
are worthy of mankind, and from this unchanging and true measure
of human progress, Islam is the real civilization and Islamic society
is truly civilized.
Lastly, when man establishes the representation of God on earth in
all respects, by dedicating himself to the service of God and freeing himself
from servitude to others, by establishin g the system of life prescribed
by God and rejecting all other systems, by arranging his life according to
the Shari'ah of God and giving up all other laws, by adopting the values
and standards of morality which are pleasing to God and rejecting all
other standards and, after this, when he investigates the laws governing
the universe and uses them for the benefit of all mankind, applies them to
resources hidden in the earth in accordance with the obligation imposed
on him by God as His vicegerent on earth, unearths the treasures and resources
of food and raw materials for industries, and uses his technical
and professional knowledge for the development of various kinds of industries,
doing all these things as a God-fearing person and as a representative
of God; and when his attitude toward the material and moral aspects
of life is infused with this spirit, only then does man become
completely civilized and the society reach the height of civilization. In
Islam, mere material inventions are not considered as civilization, as a
jahili society can also have material prosperity. In many places in the
Qur'an, God has described societies of this kind, which have attained material
prosperity while remaining jahili.
(Hud said to his people): "What is the matter with you that you make
a memorial at every high place and build palaces as if you are immortal?
When you deal with others, you are tyrants. Then fear God, and obey me.
Fear Him Who gave you whatever you know. He gave you animals, children,
gardens and rivers. I fear for you the day of a severe chastisement."
(26: 128-135)
(Salih said to his people): "Will you remain secure here among these
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things - among gardens and fountains, the farmland and palm trees with
juicy fruit? You build houses skillfully out of the mountains. So fear God
and obey me, and do not obey the advice of the wasteful, those who
make corruption in the earth and do not set things right." (26: 146-152)
"So when they forgot what they were reminded of, We opened to
them the gates of everything until, when they rejoiced in what they were
given, We seized them suddenly, and behold! they were greatly confounded.
So the last remnant of the people who did evil was cut off.
Praise belongs to God, the Sustainer of the Worlds." (6: 43-44)
"When the earth has taken on its glitter and has adorned itself fair,
and its inhabitants think they have power over it, Our command comes
upon it by night or by day, and We make it as stubble, as if yesterday it
had not flourished." (10:24)
But as we have said earlier, Islam does not look with contempt on
material progress and material inventions; in fact, it considers them when
used under the Divine system of life, as God's gifts. In the Qur'an we find
that God promises His bounty to people when they are obedient to Him.
(Noah said): "I said to my people, 'Ask forgiveness from your Sustainer;
indeed, He accepts repentance. He will send upon you rain from
the sky continuously and will make you powerful through wealth and
children, and He will raise for you gardens and make streams for you."
(71:10-12)
"Had the people of those towns believed and feared God, We would
have opened blessings upon them from the sky and the earth, but they
rejected the truth, so for their evil deeds We took them to account."
(7:96)
But the important thing is that foundation on which the industrial
structure is built, and those values which bind a society, and through
which a society acquires the characteristics of the 'human civilization'.
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Since the basis of the Islamic society and the nature of its growth,
which give rise to its community, have a unique character, one cannot
apply to it those theories which can explain the establishment and growth
of jahili societies. The Islamic society is born out of a movement, and
this movement continues within it; it determines the places and positions
of individuals in the community and then assigns them roles and responsibilities.
The origin of this movement, from which this community is born, is
outside the human sphere and outside this world. Its source is a belief
which has come from God to mankind, and which gives them a particular
concept of the universe, of life of human history, of values and purposes,
and which defines for them a way of life reflecting this concept. Thus the
initial impetus for the movement does not come from human minds, nor
from the physical world, but, as we have stated before, it comes from
outside the earth and outside the human sphere; and this is the first distinctive
feature of the Islamic society and its organization.
Indeed, the origin of this movement is an element outside the sphere
of man and outside the physical world. This element, which comes into
existence from God's will, is not something expected by any human being
or taken into consideration by anyone, and in the beginning, no human
endeavor enters into it. This Divine element sows the seed of the
Islamic movement and at the same time prepares the human being for
action -prepares the one who believes in the faith which reaches to him
from the Divine source. As soon as this single individual believes in this
faith, the Islamic community comes into existence (potentially) This individual
does not remain satisfied at having this faith, but stands up to
give its message. It is the nature of this faith that it is a virile and dynamic
movement; the power which lights up this faith in this heart knows
that it will not remain concealed but will come out into the open and will
spread to others.
When the number of Believers reaches three, then this faith tells
them; "Now you are a community, a distinct Islamic community, distinct
from that jahili society which does not live according to this belief or
accept its basic premise." Now the Islamic society has come into existence
(actually).
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These three individuals increase to ten, the ten to a hundred, the hundred
to a thousand, and the thousand increase to twelve thousand-and the
Islamic society grows and becomes established .
During the progress of this movement, a struggle would already have
started within the jahili society. On the one side is this new born society,
which in its belief and concepts, values and standards, existence and organization
has separated itself from the jahili society, from which the
Islamic society absorbs individuals. This movement, from the moment of
its inception until the growth and permanent existence of its society
comes about, tests every individual and assigns him a position of responsibility
according to his capacity, as measured by the Islamic balance and
standards. The society automatically recognizes his capabilities, and he
does not need to come forward and announce his candidacy; in fact, his
belief and the values to which he and his society subscribe compel him to
keep himself concealed from the eyes of those who want to give him a
responsible position.
But the movement which is a natural outgrowth of the Islamic belief
and which is the essence of the Islamic society does not let any individual
hide himself. Every individual of this society must move! There
should be a movement in his belief, a movement in his blood, a movement
in his community, and in the structure of this organic society, and
as the Jahiliyyah is all around him, and its residual influences in his mind
and in the minds of those around him, the struggle goes on and the Jihaad
continues until the Day of Resurrection.
The ups and downs through which the movement passes determine
the position and activity of every individual in the movement, and the
organic body of this society is completed through the harmony between
its individuals and their activities.
This kind of beginning and this method of organization are two of
the characteristics of the Islamic society which distinguish it from other
societies in respect to its existence and its structure, its nature and its
form, its system and the method of regulating this system, and make it a
unique and separate entity. It cannot be understood by social theories
alien to it, nor can it be taught by methods foreign to its nature, nor can it
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be brought into existence by ways borrowed from other systems.
According to our unvarying definition of civilization, the Islamic society
is not just an entity of the past, to be studied in history, but it is a
demand of the present and a hope of the future. Mankind can be dignified,
today or tomorrow, by striving toward this noble civilization, by
pulling itself out of the abyss of Jahiliyyah into which it is falling. This is
true not only for the industrially and economically developed nations but
also for the backward nations.
The values to which we referred above as human values were never
attained by mankind except in the period of Islamic civilization. We also
ought to remember that by the term 'Islamic Civilization' we mean that
civilization in which these values are found to the highest degree, and not
a civilization which may make progress in industry, economics and science
but in which human values are suppressed.
These values are not idealistic but are practical values which can be
attained through human effort, by applying the teachings of Islam correctly.
These values can be attained in any environment, whatever the
level of industrial and scientific progress may be, as there is no contradiction;
in fact, material prosperity and scientific progress are encouraged
by the teachings of Islam, as they pretain to man's role as the representative
of God on earth.
Similarly, in countries which are industrially and scientifically
backward, these values teach people not to remain just silent spectators
but to strive for industrial and scientific progress. A civilization with
these values can develop anywhere and in any environment; however,
the actual form it takes is not one, but depends on the conditions and environment
existing in the society in which these values develop.
The Islamic society, in its form and extent and its way of living, is
not a fixed historic entity; but its existence and its civilization are based
on values which are fixed historical realities. The word 'historical' used
in this context only means that these values took concrete form in a particular
period of human history. In fact, these values, by their nature, do
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not belong to any particular period; they are the truth which has come to
man from the Divine source-beyond the sphere of mankind and beyond
the sphere of the physical universe.
The Islamic civilization can take various forms in its material and
organizational structure, but the principles and values on which it is
based are eternal and unchangeable. These are: the worship of God
alone, the foundation of human relationships on the belief in the Oneness
of God, the supremacy of the humanity of man over material things, the
development of human values and the control of animalistic desires, respect
for the family, the assumption of being the representative of God
on earth according to His guidance and instruction, and in all affairs of
this vicegerency the rule of God's law (al-Shari'ah) and the way of life
prescribed by Him.
The forms of the Islamic civilization, constructed on these fixed
principle s, depend on actual conditions and are influenced by and change
according to the stage of industrial, economic or scientific progress.
These forms are necessarily different and are a consequence of the fact
that Islam possesses sufficient flexibility to enter into any system and
mold that system according to its purposes; but this flexibility in the
outward forms of Islamic civilization does not mean any flexibility in the
Islamic belief, which is the fountainhead of this civilization, nor is it to
be considered as borrowed from outside, for it is the character of this
religion. However, flexibility is not to be confused with fluidity. There is
a great difference between these two.
When Islam entered the central part of Africa, it clothed naked human
beings, socialized them, brought them out of the deep recesses of
isolation, and taught them the joy of work for exploring material resources.
It brought them out of the narrow circles of tribe and clan into
the vast circle of the Islamic community, and out of the worship of pagan
gods into the worship of the Creator of the worlds. If this is not civilization,
then what is it? This civilization was for this environment, and it
used the actual resources which were available. If Islam enters into some
other environment, then its civilization will also take another form-but
with values which are eternal,-based on the existing resources of that
particular environment.
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Thus, the development of the civilization, according to the method
and manner of Islam, does not depend on any particular level of industrial,
economic or scientific progress. Wherever this civilization is established,
it will use all the resources, will develop them, and if in a certain
place these resources are non-existent, then it will supply them and will
provide the means for their growth and progress. But in all situations it
will be based on its immutable and eternal principles, and wherever such
an Islamic society comes into existence, its particular character and its
particular movement will also come into existence, and will make it distinguished
and distinct from all jahili societies.
"The baptism of God -and who can baptize better than God?" (2:
138)
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BELIEF
The day Islam gave a new concept of values and standards to
mankind and showed the way to learn these values and standards, it also
provided it with a new concept of human relationships. Islam came to
return man to his Sustainer and to make His guidance the only source
from which values and standards are to be obtained, as He is the Provider
and Originator. All relationships ought to be based through Him, as we
came into being through His will and shall return to Him.
Islam came to establish only one relationship which binds men
together in the sight of God, and if this relationship is firmly established,
then all other relationships based on blood or other considerations
become eliminated.
"You will not find the people who believe in God and the Hereafter
taking as allies the enemies of God and His Prophet, whether they be
their fathers or sons or brothers or fellow tribesmen." (58-22)
In the world there is only one party of God; all others are parties of
Satan and rebellion.
"Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who
disbelieve fight in the cause of rebellion. Then fight the allies of Satan;
indeed, Satan's strategy is weak." (3:78)
There is only one way to reach God; all other ways do not lead to
Him.
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"This is My straight path. Then follow it, and do not follow other
ways which will scatter you from His path." (6: 1 53)
For human life, there is only one true system, and that is Islam; all
other systems are Jahiliyyah.
"Do they want a judgement of the Days of Ignorance? Yet who is
better in judgement than God, for a people having sure faith? (5: 50)
There is only one law which ought to be followed, and that is the
Shari'ah from God; anything else is mere emotionalism and
impulsiveness.
"We have set you on a way ordained (by God); then follow it, and do
not follow the desires of those who have no knowledge." (45:18)
The truth is one and indivisible; anything different from it is error.
"Is anything left besides error, beyond the truth? Then to which do
you go?" (10:32)
There is only one place on earth which can be called the home of
Islam (Dar-ul-Islam), and it is that place where the Islamic state is
established and the Shari'ah is the authority and God's limits are
observed, and where all the Muslims administer the affairs of the state
with mutual consultation. The rest of the world is the home of hostility
(Dar-ul-Harb). A Muslim can have only two possible relations with Darul-
Harb: peace with a contractual agreement, or war. A country with
which there is a treaty will not be considered the home of Islam.
"Those who belie ved, and migrated, and strove with their wealth and
their persons in the cause of God, and those who gave them refuge and
helped them, are the protectors of each other. As to those who believed
but did not emigrate, you have no responsibility for their protection until
they emigrate; but if they ask your help in religion, it is your duty to help
them, except against a people between whom and you there is a treaty;
and God sees whatever you do. Those who disbelieve are the allies of
each other. If you do not do this, there will be oppression in the earth and
a great disturbance. Those who believe, and migrate, and fight in the
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cause of God, and those who give them refuge and help them, are in truth
Believers. For them is forgiveness and generous provision. And those
who accept Faith afterwards and migrate and strive along with you, they
are of you." (8:72-75)
Islam came with this total guidance and decisive teaching. It came to
elevate man above, and release him from, the bonds of the earth and soil,
the bonds of flesh and blood-which are also the bonds of the earth and
soil. A Muslim has no country except that part of the earth where the
Shari'ah of God is established and human relationships are based on the
foundation of relationship with God; a Muslim has no nationality except
his belief, which makes him a member of the Muslim community in Darul-
Islam; a Muslim has no relatives except those who share the belief in
God, and thus a bond is established between him and other Believers
through their relationship with God.
A Muslim has no relationship with his mother, father, brother, wife
and other family members except through their relationship with the
Creator, and then they are also joined through blood.
"O mankind, remain conscious of your Sustainer, Who created you
from one soul and created from its mate, and from the two of them
scattered a great many men and women. Remain conscious of God, from
Whose authority you make demands, and reverence the wombs (from
which you were born). (4:1)
However, Divine relationship does not prohibit a Muslim from
treating his parents with kindness and consideration in spite of
differences of belief, as long as they do not join the front lines of the
enemies of Islam. However, if they openly declare their alliance with the
enemies of Islam, then all the filial relationships of a Muslim are cut off
and he is not bound to be kind and considerate to them. Abdullah, son of
Abdullah bin Ubayy, has presented us with a bright example in this
respect.
Ibn Jarir, on the authority of Ibn Ziad, has reported that the Prophet
called Abdullah, son of Abdullah bin Ubayy, and said, "Do you know
what your father said?" Abdullah asked. "May my parents be a ransom
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for you; what did my father say?" The prophet replied, "He said, 'If we
return to Medina (from the battle), the one with honor will throw out the
one who is despised." Abdullah then said, "O Messenger of God, by
God, he told the truth. You are the one with honor and he is the one who
is despised. O Messenger of God, the people of Medina know that before
you came to Medina, no one was more obedient to his father than I was.
But now, if it is the pleasure of God and His Prophet that I cut off his
head, then I shall do so." The Prophet replied, "No". When the Muslims
returned to Medina, Abdullah stood in front of the gate with his sword
drawn over his father's head, telling him, "Did you say that if we return
to Medina then the one with honor will throw out the one who is
despised? By God, now you will know whether you have honor, or God's
Messenger! By God, until God and His Messenger give permission, you
cannot enter Medina, nor will you have refuge from me!" Ibn Ubayy
cried aloud and said twice, "People of Khazraj, see how my son is
preventing me from entering my home!" But his son Abdullah kept
repeating that unless the Prophet gave permission he would not let him
enter Medina. Hearing this noise, some people gathered around and
started pleading with Abdullah, but he stood his ground. Some people
went to the Prophet and reported this incident. He told them, "Tell
Abdullah to let his father enter". When Abdullah got this message, he
then told his father, "Since the Prophet had given permission, you can
enter now."
When the relationship of the belief is established, whether there by
any relationship of blood or not, the Believers become like brothers. God
Most High says, "Indeed, the Believers are brothers," which is a
limitation as well as a prescription. He also says:
"Those who believed, and migrated, and strove with their wealth and
their persons in the cause of God, and those who gave them refuge and
helped them, are the protectors of each other." (8:72)
The protection which is referred to in this verse is not limited to a
single generation but encompasses future generations as well, thus
linking the future generations with the past generation in a sacred and
eternal bond of love, loyalty and kindness.
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"Those who lived (in Medina) before the Emigrants and believed,
love the Emigrants and do not find in their hearts any grudge when thou
givest them something, but give them preference over themselves, even
though they may be poor. Indeed, the ones who restrain themselves from
greed achieve prosperity. Those who came after them (the Emigrants)
say; 'Our Lord! Forgive us and our brothers who entered the Faith before
us, and leave not in our hearts any grievance against those who believe.
Our Lord! You are indeed Most Kind, Most Merciful." (59:9-10)
God Most High has related the stories of earlier Prophets in the
Qur'an as an example for the Believers. In various periods the Prophets
of God lighted the flame of faith and guided the Believers.
"And Noah called upon his Lord and said, 'O my Lord, surely my
son is of my family, and Your promise is true, and You are the Justest of
Judges'. He said, "O Noah, he is not of your family, as his conduct is
unrighteous; so do not ask of me that of which you have no knowledge. I
give you the counsel not to act like the ignorant.' Noah said, O my Lord,
I seek refuge with You lest I ask You for that of which I have no
knowledge, and unless You forgive me and have mercy on me, I shall be
lost". (11:45-47)
"And when his Lord tried Abraham with certain commands which he
fulfilled, he said, 'I will make you a leader of people'. He said, 'And also
those from among my offspring'? He answered, 'My promise does not
extend to the evildoers". (1:124)
"And when Abraham said, 'My Lord! Make this a city of peace and
feed its people with fruits, such of them as believe in God and the Last
Day'. He said, 'And those who reject faith, I will grant them their
pleasure for a while, but will eventually drive them to the chastisement
of the Fire. What an evil destination!" (2:126)
When the Prophet Abraham saw his father and his people persistent
in their error, he turned away from them and said "I leave you and those
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upon whom you call besides God. I will only call upon my Sustainer, and
hope that my Lord will not disappoint me." (19:48)
In relating the story of Abraham and his people, God has highlighted
those aspects which are to be an example for the Believers.
"Indeed, Abraham and his companions are an example for you, when
they told their people, 'We have nothing to do with you and with
whatever you worship besides God. We reject them; and now there is
perpetual enmity and anger between you and us unless you believe in
One God." (60:4)
When those young and courageous friends who are known as the
Companions of the Cave saw this same rejection among their family and
tribe, they left them all, migrated from their country, and ran toward their
Sustainer so that they could live as His servants.
"They were youths who believed in their Lord, and We advanced
them in guidance. We gave strength to hearts, so that they stood up and
said, 'Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We shall not call
upon any god apart from Him. If we did, we should indeed have said an
awful thing. These our people have taken for worship gods other than
Him. Why do they not bring a clear proof for what they do? Who can be
more wrong than such as invert a falsehood against God? So, when you
turn away from them and the things they worship other than God, take
refuge in the cave. Your Lord will shower mercies on you and will
provide ease and comfort for your affairs"! (18:13-16)
The wife of Noah and the wife of Lot were separated from their
husbands only because their beliefs were different.
"God gives as an example for the unbelievers the wife of Noah and
the wife of Lot. They were married to two of Our righteous servants; but
they were false to their husbands, and they profited nothing before God
on their account, but were told, 'Enter you both into the fire along with
those who enter it." (66:10)
Then there is another kind of example in the wife of Pharoah.
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"And God gives as an example to those who believe the wife of
Pharoah. Behold, she said, 'My Lord, build for me in nearness to You a
mansion in heaven, and save me from Pharoah and his doings, and save
me from those who do wrong." (66:11)
The Qur'an also describes examples of different kinds of
relationships. In the story of Noah we have an example of the paternal
relationship; in the story of Abraham, an example of the son and of the
country; in the story of the Companions of the Cave a comprehensive
example of relatives, tribe and home country. In the stories of Noah, Lot
and Pharoah there is an example of marital relationships.
After a description of the lives of the great Prophets and their
relationships, we now turn to the Middle Community, that is, that of the
early Muslims. We find similar examples and experiences in this
community in great numbers. This community followed the Divine path
which God has chosen for the Believers. When the relationship of
common belief was broken - in other words, when the very first
relationship joining one man with another was broken,-then persons of
the same family or tribe were divided into different groups God Most
High says in praise of the Believers:
"You will not find any people who believe in God and the Last Day
loving those who fight God and His Messenger, even though they be
their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred. These are
the people on whose hearts God has imprinted faith and strengthened
them with a spirit from Himself. And He will admit them to Gardens
beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein. God will be well-pleased
with them and they with Him. They are the party of God; truly the party
of God will prosper.' (58:22)
We see that the blood relationships between Muhammad -peace be
on him - and his uncle Abu Lahab and his cousin Abu Jahl were broken,
and that the Emigrants from Mecca were fighting against their families
and relatives and were in the front lines of Badr, while on the other hand
their relations with the Helpers of Medina became strengthened on the
basis of a common faith. They became like brothers, even more than
blood relatives. I his relationship established a new brotherhood of
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Muslims in which were included Arabs and non-Arabs. Suhaib from
Rome and Bilal from Abyssinia and Selman from Persia were all
brothers. There was no tribal partisanship among them. The pride of
lineage was ended, the voice of nationalism was silenced, and the
Messenger of God addressed them: "Get rid of these partisanships; these
are foul things", and "He is not one of us who calls toward partisanship,
who fights for partisanship, and who dies for partisanship."
Thus this partisanship-the partisanship of lineage-ended; and this
slogan-the slogan of race-died; and this pride- the pride of nationalityvanished;
and man's spirit soared to higher horizons, freed from the
bondage of flesh and blood and the pride of soil and country. From that
day, the Muslim's country has not been a piece of land, but the homeland
of Islam (Dar-ul-Islam) - the homeland where faith rules and the Shari'ah
of God holds sway, the homeland in which he took refuge and which he
defended, and in trying to extend it, he become martyred. This Islamic
homeland is a refuge for any who accepts the Islamic Shari'ah to be the
law of the state, as is the case with the Dhimmies. But any place where
the Islamic Shari'ah is not enforced and where Islam is not dominant
becomes the home of Hostility (Dar-ul-Harb) for both the Muslim and
the Dhimmi. A Muslim will remain prepared to fight against it, whether
it be his birthplace or a place where his relatives reside or where his
property or any other material interests are located.
And thus Muhammad - peace be on him - fought against the city of
Mecca, although it was his birthplace, and his relatives lived there, and
he and his Companions had houses and property there which they had
left when they migrated; yet the soil of Mecca did not become Dar-ul-
Islam for him and his followers until it surrendered to Islam and the
Shari'ah became operative in it.
This, and only this, is Islam. Islam is not a few words pronounced by
the tongue, or birth in a country called Islamic, or an inheritance from a
Muslim father.
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"No, by your Sustainer, they have not believed until they make you
the arbiter of their disputes, and then do not find any grievance against
your decision but submit with full submission." (4:65)
Only this is Islam, and only this is Dar-ul-Islam- not the soil, not the
race, not the lineage, not the tribe, and not the family.
Islam freed all humanity from the ties of the earth so that they might
soar toward the skies, and freed them from the chains of blood
relationships -the biological chains - so that they might rise above the
angels.
The homeland of the Muslim, in which he lives and which he
defends, is not a piece of land; the nationality of the Muslim, by which
he is identified, is not the nationality determined by a government; the
family of the Muslim, in which he finds solace and which he defends, is
not blood relationships; the flag of the Muslim, which he honors and
under which he is martyred, is not the flag of a country; and the victory
of the Muslim, which he celebrates and for which he is thankful to God,
is not a military victory. It is what God has described:
"When God's help and victory comes, and thou seest people entering
into God's religion in multitudes, then celebrate the praises of thy Lord
and ask His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Acceptor of Repentance."
(110:1-3)
The victory is achieved under the banner of faith, and under no other
banners; the striving is purely for the sake of God, for the success of His
religion and His law, for the protection of Dar-ul-Islam, the particulars of
which we have described above, and for no other purpose. It is not for
the spoils or for fame, nor for the honor of a country or nation, nor for
the mere protection of one's family except when supporting them against
religious persecution.
The honor of martyrdom is achieved only when one is fighting in the
cause of God, and if one is killed for any other purpose this honor will
not be attained.
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Any country which fights the Muslim because of his belief and
prevents him from practicing his religion, and in which the Shari'ah is
suspended, is Dar-ul-Harb, even though his family or his relatives or his
people live in it, or his capital is invested and his trade or commerce is in
that country; and any country where the Islamic faith is dominant and its
Shari'ah is operative is Dar-ul-Islam, even though the Muslim's family or
relatives or his people do not live there, and he does not have any
commercial relations with it.
The fatherland is that place where the Islamic faith, the Islamic way
of life, and the Shari'ah of God is dominant; only this meaning of
'fatherland' is worthy of the human being. Similarly, 'nationality' means
belief and a way of life, and only this relationship is worthy of man's
dignity.
Grouping according to family and tribe and nation, and race and
color and country, are residues of the primitive state of man; these jahili
groupings are from a period when man's spiritual values were at a low
stage. The Prophet-peace be on him-has called them "dead things"
against which man's spirit should revolt.
When the Jews claimed to be the chosen people of God on the basis
of their race and natio nality, God Most High rejected their claim and
declared that in every period, in every race and n every nation, there is
only one criterion: that of faith.
"And they say: 'become Jews, or Christians; then you will be guided'.
Say: 'Not so: The way of Abraham, the pure in faith; and he was not
among those who associate other gods with God'. Say: 'We believe in
God, and what has come down to us, and what has come down to
Abraham, Ismail and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes (of Israelites), and
what was given to Moses and Jesus and to other Prophets by their
Sustainer. We do not make any distinction among them, and we have
submitted to Him. If then they believe as you have believed, they are
guided; but if they turn away, then indeed they are stubborn. Then God
suffices for you, and He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. The baptism of
God: and who can baptise better than God? And we worship Him alone."
(2:135-138)
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The people who are really chosen by God are the Muslim community
which has gathered under God's banner without regard to differences of
races, nations, colors and countries.
"You are the best community raised for the good of mankind. You
enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and you believe in God."
(3:110)
This is that community in the first generation of which there were
Abu Bakr from Arabia, Bilal from Abyssinia, Suhaib from Syria, Selman
from Persia, and their brothers in faith. The generations which followed
them were similar. Nationalism here is belief, homeland here is Dar-ul-
Islam, the ruler here is God, and the constitution here is the Qur'an.
This noble conception of homeland, of nationality, and of
relationship should become imprinted on the hearts of those who invite
others toward God. They should remove all influences of Jahiliyyah
which make this concept impure and which may have the slightest
element of hidden Shirk, such as Shirk in relation to homeland, or in
relation to race or nation, or in relation to lineage or material interests.
All these have been mentioned by God Most High in one verse, in which
He has placed them in one side of the balance and the belief and its
responsibilities in the other side, and invites people to choose.
"Say: If your fathers and your sons and your brothers and and your
spouses and your relatives, and the wealth which you have acquired, and
the commerce in which you fear decline, and the homes in which you
take delight, are dearer to you than God and His Messenger and striving
in His cause, then wait until God brings His judgment; and God does not
guide the rebellious people." (9:24)
The callers to Islam should not have any superficial doubts in their
hearts concerning the nature of Jahiliyyah and the nature of Islam, and
the characteristics of Dar-ul-Harb and of Dar-ul-Islam, for through these
doubts many are led to confusion. Indeed, there is no Islam in a land
where Islam is not dominant and where its Shari'ah is not established;
and that place is not Dar-ul-Islam where Islam's way of life and its laws
are not practiced. There is nothing beyond faith except unbelief, nothing
114 Qutb
beyond Islam except Jihiliyyah, nothing beyond the truth except
falsehood.
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When we invite people to Islam, whether they are Believers or nonbelievers,
we should keep in mind one fact, a fact which is a characteristic
of Islam itself and which can be seen in its history. Islam is a comprehensive
concept of life and the universe with its own unique characteristics.
The concept of human life in all its aspects and relationships which
are derived from it is also a complete system which has its particular
characteristics. This concept is basically against all the new or old jahili
concepts. Although there might be some details in which there are similarities
between Islam and the jahili concepts, in relation to the principles
from which these particulars are derived, the Islamic concept is different
from all other theories with which man has been familiar.
The first function of Islam is that it molds human life according to
this concept and gives it a practical form, and establishes a system in the
world which has been prescribed by God; and for this very purpose God
has raised this Muslim nation to be a practical example for mankind. God
Most High says:
"You are the best community raised for the good of mankind. You
enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and you believe in God".
(3:110)
and He characterizes this community as follows:
"Those who, if We give them authority in the land, establish regular
prayers, pay Zakat, enjoin good, and forbid evil." (22:41)
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It is not the function of Islam to compromise with the concepts of Jahiliyyah
which are current in the world or to coexist in the same land
together with a jahili system. This was not the case when it first appeared
in the world, nor will it be today or in the future. Jahiliyyah, to whatever
period it belongs, is Jahiliyyah; that is, deviation from the worship of
One God and the way of life prescribed by God. It derives its system and
laws and regulations and habits and standards and values from a source
other than God. On the other hand, Islam is submission to God, and its
function is to invite people away from Jahiliyyah toward Islam.
Jahiliyyah is the worship of some people by others; that is to say,
some people become dominant and make laws for others, regardless of
whether these laws are against God's injunctions and without caring for
the use or misuse of their authority.
Islam, on the other hand, is people's worshipping God alone, and deriving
concepts and beliefs, laws and regulations and values from the
authority of God, and freeing themselves from servitude to God's servants.
This is the very nature of Islam and the nature of its role on the
earth. This point should be emphasized to anyone whomsoever we invite
to Islam, whether they be Muslims or non-Muslims.
Islam cannot accept any mixing with Jahiliyyah, either in its concept
or in the modes of living which are derived from this concept. Either Islam
will remain, or Jahiliyyah: Islam cannot accept or agree to a situation
which is half-Islam and half-Jahiliyyah. In this respect Islam's stand is
very clear. It says that the truth is one and cannot be divided; if it is not
the truth, then it must be falsehood. The mixing and co-existence of the
truth and falsehood is impossible. Command belongs to God, or otherwise
to Jahiliyyah; God's Shari'ah will prevail, or else people's desires.
"And judge between them according to what God has revealed, and
do not follow their opinions, and beware of them lest they confuse you in
matters which God has revealed to you." (5:49)
"Then invite them to this, and remain firmly committed to what you
have been commanded, and do not follow their desires." (42:15)
"And if they do not respond to you, then know that they are followFAR-
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ing their own opinions; and who can be more misguided than one who
follows his own opinion against the guidance from God? Indeed, God
does not guide the wicked people". (28:50)
"We have set you on a way ordained (by God); then follow it, and do
not follow the desires of those who have no knowledge. They will not
avail thee anything before God. Surely the evil-doers are friends of one
another, and God is the Friend of the Godfearing." (45:18)
"Do they want a judgment from the Days of Ignorance? Yet who is
better in judgment than God, for a people having sure faith? (5:50)
These verses make it clear that there are only two ways, and no third
possibility exists: either to submit to God and His Messenger - peace be
on him - or else to follow Jahiliyyah. If the law given by God is not made
the arbiter, then naturally one will deviate from it. After this clear and
decisive injunction from God Most High there is no room for any controversy
or excuse-making.
The foremost duty of Islam in this world is to depose Jahiliyyah from
the leadership of man, and to take the leadership into its own hands and
enforce the particular way of life which is its permanent feature. The
purpose of this rightly guided leadership is the good and success of mankind,
the good which proceeds from returning to the Creator and the success
which comes from being in harmony with the rest of the universe.
The intention is to raise human beings to that high position which God
has chosen for them and to free them from the slavery of desires. This
purpose is explained by Raba'i bin 'Amer, when he replied to the commander-
in- chief of the Persian army, Rustum. Rustum asked, "For what
purpose have you come?" Raba'i answered, "God has sent us to bring
anyone who wishes from servitude to men into the service of God alone,
from the narrowness of this world into the vastness of this world and the
Hereafter, from the tyranny of religions into the justice of Islam."
Islam did not come to support people's desires, which are expressed
in their concepts, institutions, modes of living, and habits and traditions,
whether they were prevalent at the advent of Islam or are prevalent now,
both in the East and in the West. Islam does not sanction the rule of self118
Qutb
ish desires. It has come to abolish all such concepts, laws, customs and
traditio ns, and to replace them with a new concept of human life, to create
a new world on the foundation of submission to the Creator. Sometimes
it appears that some parts of Islam resemble some aspects of the
life of people in Jahiliyyah; but these aspects are not jahili nor are they
from Jahiliyyah. This apparent resemblance in some minor aspects is a
mere coincidence; the roots of the two trees are entirely different. The
tree of Islam has been sown and nurtured by the wisdom of God, while
the tree of Jahiliyyah is the product of the soil of human desires.
"The fertile piece of land grows good vegetation with the permission
of its Lord, while the bad land brings forth but little." (7:58)
Jahiliyyah is evil and corrupt, whether it be of the ancient or modern
variety. Its outward manifestations may be different during different epochs,
yet its roots are the same. Its roots are human desires, which do not
let people come out of their ignorance and self-importance, desires which
are used in the interests of some persons or some classes or some nations
or some races, which interests prevail over the demand for justice, truth
and goodness. But the pure law of God cuts through these roots and provides
a system of laws which has no human interference, and it is not
influenced by human ignorance or human desire or for the interests of a
particular group of people.
This is the basic difference between the concept of life taught by
God and man made theories, and hence it is impossible to gather them
together under one system. It is fruitless to try to construct a system of
life which is half-Islam and half-Jahiliyyah. God does not forgive any
association with His person, and He does not accept any association with
His revealed way of life. Both are equally Shirk in the sight of God, as
both are the product of the same mentality.
This truth ought to be firmly and clearly impressed on our minds,
and when we present Islam to people our tongues should not hesitate to
pronounce it, nor should we be ashamed, nor should we leave any doubt
in people's minds, nor leave them until they are assured that if they follow
Islam their lives will be completely changed. Islam will change their
concepts of life as well as their modes of behavior completely. As it
changes them, it bestows on them blessings beyond imagination by upFAR-
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lifting their concepts, improving their modes of behavior, and bringing
them closer to the position of dignity worthy of human life. Nothing will
remain of the modes of Jahiliyyah in which they were steeped, except
some minor aspects which by accident appear similar to some aspects of
Islam. Even these will not remain exactly the same as they become
joined to the great root of Islam, which is clearly different from the root
to which they had been joined so far, the fruit less and evil root of Jahiliyyah.
During this process it will not deprive them of any of the knowledge
based on scientific observation; indeed, it gives a great impetus in
this direction.
When we call people to Islam, it is our duty to make them understand
that it is not one of the man-made religions or ideologies, nor is it a
man-made system-with various names, banners and paraphernalia -but it
is Islam, and nothing else. Islam has its own permanent personality and
permanent concept and permanent modes. Islam guarantees for mankind
a blessing greater than all these man-made systems. Islam is noble, pure,
just, beautiful, springing from the source of the Most High, the Most
Great God.
When we understand the essence of Islam in this manner, this understanding
in itself creates in us confidence and power compassion and
sympathy, while presenting Islam to the people: the confidence of a man
who knows that he is with the truth, while what the people have is falsehood;
and the compassion of a person who sees the suffering of mankind
and knows how to bring them to ease; and the sympathy of a person who
sees the error of the people and knows what supreme guidance is.
We need not rationalize Islam to them, need not appease their desires
and distorted concepts. We will be extremely outspoken with them: "The
ignorance in which you are living makes you impure, and God wants to
purify you; the customs which you follow are defiling, and God wants to
cleanse you; the life you are living is low, and God wants to uplift you;
the condition which you are in is troublesome, depressing and base, and
God wants to give you ease, mercy and goodness. Islam will change your
concepts, your modes of living and your values; will raise you to another
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life so that you will look upon the life you are now living with disgust;
will show you modes of living such that you will look upon all other
modes, whether Eastern or Western, with contempt; and will introduce
you to values such that you will look upon all current values in the world
with disdain. And if, because of the sorry state you are in, you cannot see
the true picture of the Islamic life, since your enemies-the enemies of this
religion -are all united against the establishment of this way of life,
against its taking a practical form, then let us show it to you; and, thank
God, its picture is in our hearts, seen through the windows of our Qur'an,
of our Shari'ah, of our history, of our concept of the future, whose coming
we do not doubt!"
This is the way in which we ought to address people while presenting
Islam. This is the truth, and this was the form in which Islam addressed
people for the first time; this was the form, whether it was in the
Arabian peninsula, in Persia or in the Roman provinces, or in whatever
other places it went.
Islam looked at them from a height, as this is its true position, and
addressed them with extreme love and kindness, as this is its true temperament,
and explained everything to them with complete clarity, without
any ambiguity, as this is its method. It never said to them that it
would not touch their way of living, their modes, their concepts and their
values except perhaps slightly; it did not propose similarities with their
system or manners to please them, as some do today when they present
Islam to the people under the names of 'Islamic Democracy' or 'Islamic
Socialism', or sometimes by saying that the current economic or political
or legal systems in the world need not be changed except a little to be
acceptable Islamically. The purpose of all this rationalization is to appease
people's desires!
Indeed, the matter is entirely different! The change from this Jahiliyyah,
which has encompassed the earth, to Islam is vast and far-reaching;
and the Islamic life is the opposite of all modes of jahili life, whether
ancient or modern. The miserable state of mankind is not alleviated by a
few minor changes in current systems and modes. Mankind will never
come out of it without this vast and far-reaching change-the change from
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the ways of the created to the way of the Creator, from the systems of
men to the system of the Lord of men, and from the commands of servants
to the command of the Lord of servants.
This is a fact - a fact which we proclaim, and proclaim loudly, without
leaving any doubt or ambiguit y in the minds of people.
In the beginning, people may dislike this method of giving the message,
may run away from it, and may be afraid of it. But the people disliked
it, ran away from it, and were afraid of it when Islam was presented
to them for the first time. They hated it and were hurt when Muhammad -
peace be on him-criticized their concepts, derided their deities, rejected
their ways of behavior, turned away from their habits and customs, and
adopted for himself and for the few believers who were with him modes
of behavior, values and customs other than the modes, values and customs
of Jahiliyyah.
Then what happened? They loved the same truth which at first
seemed so strange to them, from which they ran away "as if they were
startled donkeys fleeing before a lion ..." (74:50-51), against which they
fought with all their power and strategy, grievously torturing its adherents
when they were weak in Mecca and fighting with them incessantly
when they were strong in Medina.
The conditions which the Islamic Call had to face in its first period
were not more favorable or better than the conditions of today. It was an
unknown thing, rejected by Jahiliyyah; it was confined to the valley of
Mecca, hounded by the people in power and authority; and, at that time,
it was a complete stranger to the whole world. It was surrounded by
mighty and proud empires which were against its basic teachings and
purposes. In spite of all this it was a powerful Call, as it is powerful today
and will remain powerful tomorrow. The source of its real power is
hidden in the very nature of this belief; that is why it can operate under
the worst conditions and in the face of the most severe opposition. It derives
its power from the simple and clear truth on which it stands. Its balanced
teachings are according to human nature-that nature which cannot
tolerate any resistance for very long - and it is in its power to lead mankind
over toward progress, no matter in what stage of economic, social,
122 Qutb
scientific or intellectual backwardness or development it may be. Another
secret of its power is that it challenges Jahiliyyah and its physical
power, without agreeing to change even a single letter of its principles. It
does not compromise with jahili inclinations nor does it use rationalizations.
It proclaims the truth boldly so that people may understand that it
is good, that it is a mercy and a blessing.
It is God Who created men and Who knows their nature and the passages
to their hearts. He knows how they accept the truth when it is proclaimed
boldly, clearly, forcefully, and without hesitation and doubt!
Indeed, the capacity exists in human nature to change completely
from one way of life to another; and this is much easier for it than many
partial changes. And if the complete change were to be from one system
of life to another which is higher, more perfect and purer than the former,
this complete change is agreeable to human psychology. But who would
be agreeable to changing from a system of Jahiliyyah to the system of
Islam if the Islamic system were no more than a little change here and a
little variation there? To continue with the former system is more logical.
At least it is an established order, amenable to reform and change; then
what is the need to abandon it for an order not yet established or applied,
while it continues to resemble the old order in all its major characteristics?
We also find some people who, when talking about Islam, present it
to the people as if it were something which is being accused and they
want to defend it against the accusation. Among their defenses, one goes
like this: "It is said that modern systems have done such and such, while
Islam did not do anything comparable. But listen! It did all this some
fourteen hundred years before modern civilization!"
Woe to such a defense! Shame on such a defense!
Indeed, Islam does not take its justifications from the jahili system
and its evil derivatives. And these 'civilizations', which have dazzled
many and have defeated their spirits, are nothing but a jahili system at
heart, and this system is erroneous, hollow and worthless in comparison
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with Islam. The argument that the people living under it are in a better
condition than the people of a so-called Islamic country or "the Islamic
world' has no weight. The people in these countries have reached this
wretched state by abandoning Islam, and not because they are Muslims.
The argument which Islam presents to people is this: Most certainly Islam
is better beyond imagination. It has come to change Jahiliyyah, not
to continue it; to elevate mankind from its depravity, and not to bless its
manifestations which have taken the garb of 'civilization'.
We ought not to be defeated to such an extent that we start looking
for similarities with Islam in the current systems or in some current religions
or in some current ideas; we reject these systems in the East as well
as in the West. We reject them all, as indeed they are retrogressive and in
opposition to the direction toward which Islam intends to take mankind.
When we address people in this fashion and present to them the basic
message of the comprehensive concept of Islam, the justification for
changing from one concept to another, from one mode of living to another,
will come from the very depths of their being. But we will not address
them with this ineffective argument, saying: "Come from a system
which is currently established to a system not yet applied; it will make
only a little change in the established order. You should have no obje ction;
you can continue to do what you have been doing. It will not bother
you except to ask for a few changes in your habits, manners and inclinations,
and will preserve for you whatever pleases you and will not touch
it except very slightly."
On the surface this method seems easy, but there is no attraction in
it; moreover, it is not based on the truth. The truth is that Islam not only
changes concepts and attitudes, but also the system and modes, laws and
customs, since this change is so fundamental that no relationship can remain
with the jahili way of life, the life which mankind is living. It is
sufficient to say that it brings them both in general and in particular from
servitude to men into the service of God, Who is One:
"Believe if one wishes or reject if one wishes."
"And if one rejects, then God is independent of His creation,"
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I he question in essence is that of unbelief and belief, of associating
others with God and the Oneness of God, and of Jahiliyyah and Islam.
This ought to be made clear. 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.
We are not inviting people to Islam to obtain some reward from
them; we do not desire anything at all for ourselves, nor is our accounting
and reward with the people. Indeed, we invite people to Islam because
we love them and we wish them well, although they may torture
us; and this is the characteristic of the caller to Islam and this is his motivation.
The people are entitled to learn from us the nature of Islam and
the nature of the obligations it imposes on them, as well as the great
blessing which it bestows on them. They are also entitled to know that
the nature of what they are doing is nothing but Jahiliyyah; it is indeed
Jahiliyyah, with nothing in it from Islam. It is mere desire as long as it is
not the Shari'ah; and it is falsehood as long as it is not the truth - and
what is beyond the truth but falsehood!
There is nothing in our Islam of which we are ashamed or anxious
about defending; there is nothing in it to be smuggled to the people with
deception, nor do we muffle the loud truth which it proclaims. This is the
defeated mentality, defeated before the West and before the East and before
this and that mode of Jahiliyyah, which is found in some people -
'Muslims' - who search for resemblances to Islam in man-made systems,
or who find justification for the actions of Islam and its decis ion concerning
certain matters by means of the actions of jahili civilization.
A person who feels the need of defense, justification and apology is
not capable of presenting Islam to people. Indeed, he is a person who
lives the life of Jahiliyyah, hollow and full of contradictions, defects and
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evils, and intends to provide justification for the Jahiliyyah he is in.
These are the offenders against Islam and they distract some sincere persons.
They confuse Islam's true nature by their defense, as if Islam were
something accused standing at trial, anxious for its own defense.
During my stay in the United States, there were some people of this
kind who used to argue with us-with us few who were considered to be
on the side of Islam. Some of them took the posit ion of defense and justification.
I, on the other hand, took the position of attacking the Western
Jahiliyyah, its shaky religious beliefs, its social and economic modes,
and its immoralities: "Look at these concepts of the Trinity, Original Sin,
Sacrifice and Redemption, which are agreeable neither to reason nor to
conscience. Look at this capitalism with its monopolies, its usury and
whatever else is unjust in it; at this individual freedom, devoid of human
sympathy and responsibility for relatives except under the force of law;
at this materialistic attitude which deadens the spirit; at this behavior,
like animals, which you call 'Free mixing of the sexes; at this vulgarity
which you call 'emancipation of women,' at these unfair and cumbersome
laws of marriage and divorce, which are contrary to the demands of practical
life; and at Islam, with its logic, beauty, humanity and happiness,
which reaches the horizons to which man strives but does not reach. It is
a practical way of life and its solutions are based on the foundation of the
wholesome nature of man."
These were the realities of Western life which we encountered.
These facts, when seen in the light of Islam, made the American people
blush. Yet there are people -exponents of Islam-who are defeated before
this filth in which Jahiliyyah is steeped, even to the extent that they
search for resemblances to Islam among this rubbish heap of the West,
and also among the evil and dirty materialism of the East.
After this, there is no need for me to say: Certainly we who present
Islam to the people are not the ones to go along with any of the concepts,
modes and traditions of Jahiliyyah however great its pressure on us may
be.
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Our first task is to replace this Jahiliyyah with Islamic ideas and traditions.
This cannot be brought about by agreeing with Jahiliyyah and
going along a few steps with it from the very beginning, as some of us
think we ought to do, for this will simply mean that from the very beginning
we have accepted defeat.
Of course the current ideas of the society and its prevalent traditions
apply great pressure - back-breaking pressure, especially in the case of
women; the Muslim woman is really under extreme and oppressive pressure
- but this is the situation and we have to face it. First we must be
steadfast; next we must prevail upon it; then we must show Jahiliyyah
the low state it is really in compared to the lofty and bright horizons of
Islamic life which we wish to attain.
This cannot come about by going along a few steps with Jahiliyyah,
nor by now severing relations with it and removing ourselves to a separate
corner; never. The correct procedure is to mix with discretion, give
and take with dignity, speak the truth with love, and show the superiority
of the Faith with humility. After all this, we must realize the fact that we
live in the midst of Jahiliyyah, that our way of life is straighter than that
of Jahiliyyah, and that the change from Jahiliyyah to Islam is vast and
far-reaching. The chasm between Islam and Jahiliyyah is great, and a
bridge is not to be built across it so that the people on the two sides may
mix with each other, but only so that the people of Jahiliyyah may come
over to Islam, whether they reside in a so-called Islamic country and
consider themselves Muslims or they are outside the 'Islamic' country, in
order that they may come out of darkness into light and may get rid of
their miserable condition, and enjoy those blessings which we have
tasted-we who have understood Islam and live in its atmosphere. If not,
then we shall say to them what God commanded His Messenger -peace
be on him-to say:
"For you your way, for me mine." (109:6)
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THE FAITH TRIUMPHANT
"Do not be dejected nor grieve. You shall be the uppermost if you
are Believers." (3: 139)
The first thought which comes to mind on reading this verse is that it
relates to the form of Jihaad which is actual fighting; but the spirit of this
message and its application, with its manifold implications, is greater and
wider than this particular aspect. Indeed, it describes that eternal state of
mind which ought to inspire the Believer's consciousness, his thoughts,
his estimates of things, events, values and persons.
It describes a triumphant state which should remain fixed in the
Believer's heart in the face of every thing, every condition, every
standard and every person; the superiority of the Faith and its value
above all values which are derived from a source other than the source of
the Faith.
It means to be above all the powers of the earth which have deviated
from the way of the Faith, above all the values of the earth not derived
from the source of the Faith, above all the customs of the earth not
colored with the coloring of the Faith, above all the laws of the laws of
the earth not sanctioned by the Faith, and above all traditions not
originating in the Faith.
It means to feel superior to others when weak, few and poor, as well
as when strong, many and rich.
It means the sense of supremacy which does not give in before any
rebellious force, before any social custom and erroneous tradition, before
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any behavior which may be popular among people but which has no
authority in the Faith.
Steadfastness and strength on the battlefield are but one expression
among many of the triumphant spirit which is included in this statement
of Almighty God.
The superiority through faith is not a mere single act of will nor a
passing euphoria nor a momentary passion, but is a sense of superiority
based on the permanent truth centered in the very nature of existence.
This eternal truth is above the logic of force, the concept of environment,
the terminology of society, and the customs of people, as indeed it is
joined with the Living God Who does not die.
A society has a governing logic and a common mode, its pressure is
strong and its weight heavy on anyone who is not protected by some
powerful member of the society or who challenges it without a strong
force. Accepted concepts and current ideas have a climate of their own,
and it is difficult to get rid of them without a deep sense of truth, in the
light of which all these concepts and ideas shrink to nothingness, and
without the help of a source which is superior, greater and stronger than
the source of these concepts and ideas.
The person who takes a stand against the direction of the society - its
governing logic, its common mode, its values and standards, its ideas and
concepts, its error and deviations -will find himself a stranger, as well as
helpless, unless his authority comes from a source which is more
powerful than the people, more permanent than the earth, and nobler than
life.
Indeed, God does not leave the Believer alone in the face of
oppression to whimper under its weight, to suffer dejection and grief, but
relieves him of all this with the message:
"Do not be dejected nor grieve; you shall be the uppermost if you are
Believers." (13:139)
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This message relieves him from both dejection and grief, these two
feelings being natural for a human being in this situation. It relieves him
of both, not merely through patience and steadfastness, but also through
a sense of superiority from whose heights the power of oppression, the
dominant values, the current concepts, the standards, the rules, the
customs and habits, and the people steeped in error, all seem low.
Indeed, the Believer is uppermost-uppermost on the basis of the
authority which is behind him and his source of guidance. Then, what is
to be said of this earth, what of the people, what of the dominant values
of the world, the standards current among people, while he is inspired by
God, returns to God for guidance, and travels on His path?
The Believer is most superior in his understanding and his concept of
the nature of the world, for the belief in One God, in the form which has
come to him from Islam, is the most perfect form of understanding, the
greatest truth. The picture of the world which this Faith presents is far
above the heaps of concepts, beliefs and religions, and is not reached by
any great philosophers, ancient or modern, nor attained by idolaters or
the followers of distorted scriptures, nor approached by the base
materialists. This picture is so bright, clear, beautiful and balanced that
the glory of the Islamic belief shines forth as never before. And without
doubt those who have grasped this knowledge are superior to all others.
[See the chapter "Teeh wa rukam." in the book, "Khasais al- Tasawwar
al-Islami wa Muqawwimatuhu", by the author.]
The Believer is most superior in his values and standards, by means
of which he measures life, events, things and persons. The source of his
belief is the knowledge of God and His attributes as described by Islam,
and the knowledge of the realities prevalent in the universe at large, not
merely on the small earth. This belief with its grandeur provides the
Believer with values which are superior to and firmer than the defective
standards made by men, who do not know anything except what is under
their feet. They do not agree on the same standard within the same
generation; even the same person changes his standard from moment to
moment.
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He is most superior in his conscience and understanding, in his
morals and manners, as he believes in God Who has excellent names and
attributes. This by itself creates in him a sense of dignity, purity and
cleanliness, modesty and piety, and a desire for good deeds, and of being
a rightly-guided representative of God on earth. Furthermore, this belief
gives him the assurance that the reward is in the Hereafter, the reward
before which the troubles of the world and all its sorrows become
insignificant. The heart of the Believer is content with it, although he
may pass through this life without apparent success.
And he is most superior in his law and system of life. When the
Believer scans whatever man, ancient or modern, has known, and
compares it with his own law and system, he realizes that all this is like
the playthings of children or the searchings of blind men in comparison
with the perfect system and the complete law of Islam. And when he
looks from his height at erring mankind with compassion and sympathy
at its helplessness and error, he finds nothing in his heart except a sense
of triumph over error and nonsense.
This was the attitude of the early Muslims toward the hollow
expressions of pomp and power and the traditions which had enslaved
the people of the Days of Ignorance. Ignorance is not limited to any
particular age, but is a condition which reappears whenever people
deviate from the way of Islam, whether in the past, present or future.
This was the response of al-Mughira ibn Shtuba when he
encountered the forms, manners, standards, and expressions of Jahiliyyah
in the camp of Rustum, the famous Persian general.
"Abi Uthman al-Nahdi reports: When al-Mughira crossed the bridge
and reached the Persian army, they seated him and asked Rustum's
permission for an audience. In spite of their defeat, they had not changed
any of their show of pomp. Al-Mughira proceeded. The people were all
in their military uniforms, many wearing crowns, and clothed in goldthreaded
garments. The floor was thickly carpeted (the carpet extending
to three hundred or four hundred steps) and was to be traversed to reach
the general. Al-Mughira proceeded, his hair braided in four braids, and
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climbed on the throne and sat beside Rustum. The attendants jumped on
him and pulled him down. He then said, 'We had heard that you were a
sensible people, but I see that you are the most foolish nation. Among
Arabs all are equal and no one is slave to another, except when one is
captured on the battlefield. I imagined that you treated each other equally
as we do. It would have been better if you had informed me that some of
you are lords over others rather than treating me like this. This IS not
good manners, and we do not do it. I have come at your request and not
on my own. I know now that your situation is weak and that you will be
defeated. No kingdom can survive with this character and mentality."
A similar attitude was shown by Rabati bin 'Amer in front of Rustum
and his courtiers before the battle of al-Qadisyyah:
"Before the battle of al-Qadisyyah, S'ad bin Waqqas sent Rabatl bin
'Amer as a messenger to Rustum, the commander of the Perslan army
and their ruler. He entered the tent which was all carpeted and curtained
with silk and velvet. Rustum sat on a golden throne, crowned and
wearing precious stones and pearls. Rabati, in tattered clothes, with a
shield, sitting on a small horse, entered. He did not alight from his horse
for some distance; then he alighted and tied the horse to a large pillow.
He proceeded armed and helmeted. They said to him: 'Take off your
arms'. He replied: 'I have not come on my own but on your request. If
you do not like it, then I will go back'. Rustum said: 'Let him come'. He
came forward leaning on his spear, making holes in the carpet. Rustum
asked him: 'For what purpose you have come?" He replied: 'God has sent
us to bring whoever wishes from servitude to men into the service of
God alone, from the narrowness of this world into the vastness of this
world and the Hereafter, from the tyranny of religions into the justice of
Islam". (Ibn Kathir: Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah)
Conditions change, the Muslim loses his physical power and is
conquered, yet the consciousness does not depart from him that he is the
most superior. If he remains a Believer, he looks upon his conqueror
from a superior position. He remains certain that this is a temporary
condition which will pass away and that faith will turn the tide from
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which there is no escape. Even if death is his portion, he will never bow
his head. Death comes to all, but for him there is martyrdom. He will
proceed to the Garden, while his conquerors go to the Fire. What a
difference! And he hears the voice of his Generous Lord:
"Let it not deceive you that the unbelievers walk about in the land. A
little respite and their abode is Hell, and what an evil place! But for those
who fear their Lord are Gardens through which rivers flow, to abide
therein -a hospitality from God; and that which is with God is best for the
righteous." (3:196-198)
The society may be drowned in lusts, steeped in low passions, rolling
in filth and dirt, thinking that it has enjoyment and freedom from chains
and restrictions. Such a society may become devoid of any clean
enjoyment and even of lawful food, and nothing may remain except a
rubbish heap, or dirt and mud. The Believer from his height looks at the
people drowning in dirt and mud. He may be the only one; yet he is not
dejected nor grieved, nor does his heart desire that he take off his neat
and immaculate garments and join the crowd. He remains the uppermost
with the enjoyment of faith and the taste of belief.
The believer holds on to his religion like the holder of a precious
stone in the society devoid of religion, of character, of high values, of
noble manners and of whatever is clean, pure and beautiful. The others
mock his tenacity, ridicule his ideas, laugh at his values, but this does not
make the Believer weak of heart: and he looks from his height at those
who mock, ridicule and laugh, and he says, as one of the great soulsthose
who preceded him on the long and bright path of faith, Noah
(peace be on him), said:
"You ridicule us! Yet indeed we shall ridicule you as you ridicule."
(11:38)
And he sees the end of this bright path, and also the end of the dark
path in the words of God:
"The criminals used to laugh at the Believers, wink at them in
passing, and joke about them when they returned to their families. When
they saw them, they used to say: "Certainly these people are astray". Yet
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they were not sent as watchers over them. Today the Believers laugh at
the unbelievers, and watch them while sitting on couches. Did the
unbelievers get their reward according to what they used to do"? (83:29-
36)
Before this, the Holy Qur'an told us what the unbelievers said to the
Believers:
"When Our clear verses are recited to them, the unbelievers say to
the Believers: 'Which of the two parties is superior in station, better in
assembly?" (19:73)
Which of the two parties? The great men who do not believe in
Muhammad, or the poor who assemble around him? Which of the two
parties? Al-Nadr bin al-Harith and 'Amr bin Hisham and al-Walid bin al-
Mughira and Abu Sufyan bin Harb? Or Bilal and 'Ammar and Khabbab?
If the call of Muhammad had been better, would only such people have
followed him who did not have any power or position among the
Quraish, who assembled in such a lowly place as the house of al-Arqam,
while their opponents were the lords of al-Nadwah, the great and
glorious assembly hall, and they possessed power, authority and
grandeur?
This is the logic of this world, the logic of those of any age or any
place who cannot see the higher horizons. It is the wisdom of God that
belief remains independent of the glitter and glamour of worldly
allurements, such as closeness to the ruler, favor from the government,
popularity among the people or the satisfaction of desire. It is only
striving, hard work, fighting and martydom. Let him accept it who may
accept, who has the certainty in his heart that this is purely for the sake of
God and not for the sake of people, or for the allurements and attractions
so dear to people. Let him stay away from it who desires pleasures and
benefits, and who is greedy for pomp and show, and who is after wealth
and possessions, and who gives weight to the considerations of men
although these may be light in the balance of God.
Indeed, the Believer does not borrow his values, concepts and
standards from people so that he is dependent on the estimation of
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people; he takes them from the Sustainer of the people, and that is
sufficient for him. He does not follow the desires of men so that he has to
fluctuate with their changing desires; he depends on the firm balance of
the truth which does not fluctuate or lean to one side. Indeed, his
inspiration does not come from this passing and finite world; the
inspiration of his soul comes from the fountainheads of the universe.
Then how can he find dejection in his soul or grief in his heart, while he
is linked to the Sustainer of the people, the balance of truth, and the
fountainheads of the universe?
Indeed, he is with the truth - and what is beyond the truth but
falsehood? Let falsehood have power, let it have its drums and banners,
and let it have its throngs and mobs; all this cannot change anything of
the truth. Indeed, he is with the truth, and nothing is beyond the truth
except error, and the Believer cannot prefer error to the truth. He is a
Believer, and whatever be the conditions and the situation, he cannot
exchange error for the truth.
"Our Master! Do not let our hearts waver after You have guided us,
and bestow on us mercy from Yourself; indeed You are the Bestower.
Our Master! You will gather mankind on the Day about which there is no
doubt; indeed God does not fail in His promise." (3:8-9)
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"By the heavens with constellations; by the Promised Day; by the
witness and the witnessed; doomed were the makers of the pit,
abundantly supplied with fuel, as they sat by it and watched what they
did with the Believers. They were outraged with them only because they
believed in God, the All-Powerful, the All-Praiseworthy, He to Whom
belongs the dominion of the heaven and the earth. And God is Witness
over everything.
"Indeed, for those who persecute the believing men and women, and
later do not repent, is the penalty of Hell; for them is the penalty of
burning. As for those who believe and do good deeds, there are Gardens
through which rivers flow, and that is the great triumph.
"Most certainly, strong is the grip of your Lord. It is He Who
originates and repeats. And He is the Forgiving, the Loving, the Lord of
the Throne, Performer of what He desires." (85:1-16)
The story of the Makers of the Pit as told in the chapter "Al-Buruj"
("The Constellations") requires deep thought by those among the
Believers, to whatever time and place they belong, who invite people to
God. The story, with its introduction, description, comments and moral,
as related in the Qur'an, points out some profound truths concerning the
nature of the Call toward God, the reaction of people to this Call, and the
consequences which are possible in the vast scope of this Call-the scope
whose vastness encompasses the whole world, this life and the life
beyond it. The Qur'an through this story, points out to the Believers the
road which lies before them and prepares them to accept with fortitude
whatever comes their way, as yet unknown to them, with the permission
of the All-Wise God.
136 Qutb
This is the story of a group of people who believed in God and
openly proclaimed their belief. They encountered tyrannical and
oppressive enemies who were bent upon denying the right of a human
being to believe in the All-Mighty, the All-Praiseworthy God. They
intended to deprive man of that dignity which has been bestowed upon
him by God and without which he is reduced to a mere plaything in the
hands of tyrants, to be tortured, burned alive, and provide entertainment
to his tormentors by his cries of agony.
But the faith in the hearts of the Believers raised them above all
persecution. Belief triumphed over life. The threat of torture did not
shake them, they never recanted, and they burned in the fire until death.
Indeed, their hearts were liberated from the worship of this life.
Neither the love of life nor the fear of an agonizing death could make
them yield to accept dishonor. They freed themselves from this earth and
all its attractions, triumphing over life through a sublime faith.
Against these believing, righteous, sublime and honorable souls were
pitted arrogant, mischievous, criminal and degraded people. And these
criminals sat by the pit of fire, watching how the Believers suffered and
writhed in pain. They sat there to enjoy the sight of how fire consumes
living beings and how the bodies of these noble souls were reduced to
cinders and ashes. And when some young man or woman, some child or
old man from among these righteous Believers was thrown into the fire,
their diabolical pleasure would reach a new height, and shouts of mad
joy would escape their lips at the sight of blood and pieces of flesh.
This hair-raising incident shows that these rebellious people had
sunk to those levels of depravity, seeking pleasure through torturing
others, which are not even reached by any wild beast. A wild beast kills
its prey for food, never to derive pleasure through tormenting it.
The same incident also shows the height to which the spirit of a
Believer can soar, liberated and free - that height, the attainment of
which has been the highest honor in all generations and in all periods.
By earthly reckoning, tyranny triumphed over faith, and this faith,
although it reached its zenith in the hearts of this righteous, noble,
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steadfast and sublime group, had no weight in the struggle between
tyranny and faith.
The traditions relating to this incident, like the text of the Qur'an, say
nothing concerning whether God punished these tyrants in this life for
their crimes as He punished the people of Noah, the people of Hud, the
people of Salih, the people of Sh'uaib, and the people of Lot, or as He
caught Pharaoh with his army in all his splendor and power.
Thus from the earthly point of view, the end was pitiful and tragic.
But did this matter finish here? Did the group of Believers, with all
the sublimity of their faith, vanish - vanish in the pit of fire with their
torments? And did the group of criminals, with all the depravity of their
crime, go unpunished?
From the earthly point of view, this tragic end troubles the heart!
But the Qur'an teaches the Believers something else, reveals to them
another reality, shows them another scale with which to weigh all
matters, and enlightens them concerning the scope of the struggle.
Life's pleasures and pains, achievements and frustrations, do not
have any great weight in the scale, and do not determine the profit or
loss. Triumph is not limited to immediate victory, which is but one of the
many forms of triumph.
In the scale of God, the true weight is the weight of faith; in God's
market the only commodity in demand is the commodity of faith. The
highest form of triumph is the victory of soul over matter, the victory of
belief over pain, and the victory of faith over persecution. In the incident
described above, the souls of the Believers were victorious over fear and
pain, over the allurements of the earth and of life, and they gained such
victory over torture which is an honor for all mankind for all times-and
this is the true victory.
All men die, and of various causes; but not all gain such victory, nor
reach such heights, nor taste such freedom, nor soar to such limits of the
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horizon. It is God's choosing and honoring a group of people who share
death with the rest of mankind but who are singled out from other people
for honor -honor among the noblest angels, nay, even among all
mankind, if we measure them by the standards of the total history of
generations of men.
It was possible for these Believers to save their lives by giving up
their faith; but with how much loss to themselves, and with what a great
loss to all mankind? They would have lost and would have killed this
great truth, that life without belief is worthless, without freedom is
degrading, and if tyrants are allowed to dominate men's souls as well as
their bodies, then it is entirely depraved.
This was that noble truth, the great truth, which the Believers
realized while they were alive on the earth; they realized and found it
while the fire was licking them and burning their mortal frames. This
noble truth triumphed over the torment of the fire.
The scope of this struggle is not limited to this earth or to this life.
The observers of this struggle are not merely a generation of men. The
angels are also participants in the happenings on earth; they observe
them and are a witness to them, and they weigh them in a scale which is
other than the scale of a generation or even of all generations of men.
The angels are noble souls who number many times more than the people
on the earth. Without question the praise and respect of the angels is far
greater in this scale than the opinion and judgment of the people on the
earth.
And then there is the Hereafter. That will be the real sphere which is
adjacent to the earthly sphere and is not separated from it, in actuality as
well as in the believers' perception of this reality.
Thus the struggle does not end here, and the real decision cannot be
reached here. Any judgment based on that part of it which took place on
earth is therefore incorrect, as this judgment will concern only a small
and rather insignificant part of this struggle.
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The former viewpoint, that is, that of the earthly scale, is limited and
narrow, entertained by a hasty man. The latter viewpoint is
comprehensive and far-sighted, and such a viewpoint is nurtured in a
believer by the teachings of the Qur'an, as it is the mirror of reality and
the basis of correct belief.
Among the rewards which God has promised to the Believers for
their faith, obedience, steadfastness in the face of calamity, and victory
over persecution is contentment of heart:
"Those who believe, and their hearts find satisfaction in
remembrance of God. Indeed, remembrance of God brings contentment
to the hearts". (13:28)
And it is the pleasure and love of the All-Merciful:
"Surely upon those who believe and do good deeds the All-Merciful
shall assign love." (19:96)
And it is remembrance on High:
The Messenger of God-peace be on him-said: "When a certain
person's child dies, God asks the angels: Did you take away the soul of
My servant's child? They say: yes. Then He says: Did you take away the
apple of his eye? They say Yes. Then He says: What did My servant say?
They say: He praised You and said, 'Indeed, we belong to God and to
Him shall we return'. Then He says: Build a house for My servant in the
Garden and call it 'The House of Praise." (Tirmidhi)
He also said: "God Most High says: I am to My servant according to
his thought concerning Me; when he remembers Me, I am with him;
when he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself; when he
mentions Me among a group, I mention him in a better group. If he
comes toward Me one span, I come toward him an arm's length; if he
comes toward Me one arm's length, I come toward him one step; if he
walks toward Me, I run toward him." (Bukhari and Muslim)
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And it is the keen interest of the angels in the affairs of the Believers
on earth:
"The bearers of the Throne and those around it engage in their Lord's
praise, and they believe in Him, and ask forgiveness for the Believers:
'Our Lord! Your mercy and knowledge encompass everything. Then
forgive those who repent and follow Your path, and save them from the
torment of Hell." (40:7)
And it is life from God for the martyrs:
"Do not consider those as dead who were killed in the way of God;
they are living and find sustenance from their Sustainer. They enjoy what
God has given them from His bounty, and are glad for those who are left
behind (on earth) and have not reached there yet, that they shall have no
fear nor shall they grieve. They are jubilant at the favor from God and
His bounty; indeed, God does not destroy the reward of the Believers".
(3:169-171)
And as to rejectors of faith, the tyrants and the criminals, God has
repeatedly promised that He will catch them in the Hereafter, while
giving them a limited period of living on earth: although He has caught
some of them in this world too, yet for the final punishment emphasis is
on the Hereafter:
"Do not let yourself be deceived that the unbelievers walk about in
the land; a limited enjoyment, and then their abode is Hell and what an
evil place!" (3:196-197)
"Do not think that God is unaware of the doings of the wicked
people. He has deferred (judgement for) them to the Day when the eyes
shall stare, and they shall run with necks outstretched and heads erect,
their sight never returned to themselves, their hearts void". (14:42-43)
"Leave them to fun and play until the Day comes which they have
been promised. On that Day they will come out of the graves and run as
if hastening toward a fixed goal -eyes downcast, faces degraded. It will
be the Day which they were promised". (70:42-44)
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Thus the life of mankind is adjoined with that of the angels; this life
proceeds into the life Hereafter; and the field of struggle between good
and evil, between the truth and falsehood, and between faith and tyranny,
is not limited to this earth. This matter does not finish here, nor is the
decision made in this world. This life and all its pleasures and pains,
achievements and frustrations, do not weigh much in the scale.
The field of struggle is very broad in space and in time, in measures
and in scales. This realization enlarges the Believer's horizons and
heightens his aspirations, so that this earth and whatever is in it, this life
and its attachments, shrink in his sight. The Believer's greatness increases
in proportion to what he sees and understands of the scopes and horizons.
To create such a broad, comprehensive, noble and pure concept of faith,
the story of the Makers of the Pit is a great example.
Light is also thrown on another aspect of the Call toward God and its
situation with respect to all possibilities in the story of the Makers of the
Pit and the chapter "Constellations" ("al-Buruj") .
The history of the Call toward God has witnessed various endings in
this world in its struggle with other movements.
It has witnessed the annihilation of the people of Noah, the people of
Hud, the people of Sh'uaib, and the people of Lot, and the escape -the
bare escape-of a small group of believers. But the Qur'an does not state
what these escapees did in the world and life after their escape. These
examples tell us that sometimes God Most High gives the rebels and
tyrants a taste of punishment in this world, while the full punishment still
awaits them in the Hereafter.
This history of the Call witnessed the annihilation of Pharoah and his
army, and the escape of Moses and his people and the establishment of
their authority in the land. Those people of that time were the most
righteous in all their (the Israelites') history, although they did not attain
complete steadfastness nor establish the religion of God on earth in its
entirety; and this example is different from the previous ones.
142 Qutb
This history of the Call witnessed the annihilation of the polytheists
who turned away from the guidance and belief in Muhammad -peace be
on him -and it witnessed the complete victory of the Believers, with the
amazing victory of belief in their hearts. And for the first time in the
history of mankind the way of God was established in such completeness
as was not seen by man, either before or after.
And it witnessed, as we have seen, the example of the Makers of the
Pit.
And it witnessed many other examples in earlier or later times with
little mention in the history of faith. And even today it is witnessing such
examples, which reach one or another of the possible endings recorded
throughout history for centuries.
Among the various earlier or later examples, the example of the
Makers of the Pit must not be forgotten.
The example must not be forgotten in which the Believers have no
escape and the unbelievers are not punished! This is so that the
Believers-the callers toward God -should remain fully aware that they
can also meet this extreme end in the way of God, and they have no say
in it. Their matter and the matter of belief rests with God.
Their task is to fulfill their obligation, and go. Their obligation is to
choose God, prefer belief over life, raise themselves above persecution
through faith, and to testify to God with deed as well as intention. Then it
is up to God to deal with them and with their enemies, with His Religion
and His Call, as He deems proper. He may choose for them any one of
the endings known in history, or some other ending which only He
knows and sees.
They are workers for God. Whenever, whatever, however He wants
them to do their work, they should do it and take the known reward. To
decide what will be the ending of their endeavor is neither in their power
nor is it their responsibility. This is the responsibility of the One in
authority, not of those who are mere workers.
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They receive the first part of their reward in the form of contentment
of heart, height of understanding, beauty of ideas, liberation from desires
and attractions, and freedom from fear and sorrow, in whatever condition
they may be
They receive the second part of their reward in praise; remembrance
and honor among the angels, in addition to these among the people of
this earth.
Then they receive the greater and the last part of their reward in the
Hereafter: easy accounting and great favors.
With every kind of reward, they also receive the greatest of rewards:
the pleasure of God. It is His bounty on them that He chose them for His
purpose, an instrument for His power, so that He makes use of them on
this earth as He deems proper.
The Qur'anic training of the first noble generation of Muslims was of
this character to the highest degree. They lost their personalities and
identities in this matter, acting as workers for the One in authority, and
were pleased with God in every decision and in every condition.
The training by the Prophet- peace be on him - went side by side
with the Qur'anic teachings, turning their hearts and eyes toward the
Garden, and toward patiently persevering in their assigned task until God
ordains what He intends in this world as well as what is pleasing to Him
in the Hereafter
The Prophet - peace be on him - saw the intensity of tortures heaped
upon 'Ammar, his father and his mother - may God be pleased with
them-but he said nothing more than this: "Patience, family of Yasir! The
Garden is promised for you."
And Khabbab bin al-Aratt-may God be pleased with him - reported:
"We complained to the Messenger of God - peace be upon him -while he
was resting in the shadow of Ka'aba, saying, 'Why do you not ask God to
144 Qutb
help us? Why do you not pray for us? Then he said: 'Before you, there
were people who would catch a man, bury him halfway in a hole dug in
the ground, then saw his head until it split in two; or would comb with
iron combs between his flesh and bones; yet this would not turn him
away from his religion. By God! God will bring this matter to
completion, and a time will come when a rider will ride alone from Santa
to Hadramut and he will have no fear except of God, or of a wolf against
his sheep; but you people are in a hurry". (Bukhari)
God's wisdom underlies every decision and every condition. He
administers the entire universe, and, He is informed of its beginning and
its end, controlling its events and its interrelationships. He knows the
wisdom, hidden from us behind the curtains of the Unseen-the wisdom
which, in conjunction with His will, unfolds the long process of history.
Sometimes, after generations and centuries, God unveils to us the
wisdom of an event which was not understood by the contemporary
people. They might have wondered: Why this? O Lord! Why did this
happen? The question itself is due to ignorance from which the Believer
saves himself. He already knows that behind every decision there is
wisdom. His breath of concept and his far-seeing vision in space and
time, and in values and scales, raises him above this unbelief whose
beginning is in such a question. He journeys on God's ordained course
with submission and contentment.
The Qur'an was creating hearts worthy of bearing the trust of being
God's representatives on earth. It was necessary that these hearts be so
solid, so strong and so pure, leaving behind everything and bearing
everything patiently, as not to fix their sights on something of this earth,
but looking beyond to the Hereafter, not seeking anything except the
pleasure of God and being willing to traverse the path of life until death
in poverty, difficulty, frustration, torment and sacrifice. They were not to
seek any hasty reward on this earth, whether it was the reward of the
victory of the Call, the dominance of Islam, and the glory of the
Muslims, or even that this reward be the annihilation of the tyrants, as
the All Mighty, the All Powerful had dealt with former generations of
unbelievers. When such hearts were found which knew that during the
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course of this life they would have no expectations, and that the decision
between the truth and falsehood would be made in the Hereafter-when
such hearts were found, and God knew the sincerity of their intentions
concerning which they had pledged, he gave them victory in the earth
and bestowed upon them the trust. This trust was not for their benefit, but
so that they might establish the Divine system.
They became the bearers of this trust when no promise was made to
them of worldly benefits which they could have demanded, nor were
their sights fixed on acquiring such benefits. They were dedicated
servants of God from the day they knew of no reward except His
pleasure.
All the verses of the Qur'an in which victory is promised, or in which
spoils are mentioned or where it is told that the polytheists will be
punished in this world by the hands of the Believers, were revealed in
Medina. These were revealed only after all these matters were excluded
from the Believer's scope of action, his expectation and his desire. God's
help came on its own, when God intended that this way of life become
actual in the life of mankind, so that generations of men could see it in a
practical and concrete form, and not as a reward for the endeavors, the
hard work, the sacrifice and the sufferings. This was indeed a decision of
God, the wisdom of which we are trying to fathom today.
This intricate point requires deep thought by all callers toward God,
to whatever country or period of time they belong; for this guarantees
that they will be able to see the milestones of the road clearly and
without ambiguity, and establishes the path for those who wish to
traverse it to the end, whatever this end may be; then what God intends
to do with His Call and with them is up to Him. Then they will not be
anxious, while traversing this road ever paved with skulls and limbs and
blood and sweat, to find help and victory, or desirous that the decision
between the truth and falsehood be made on this earth. However, if God
Himself intends to fulfill the completion of His call and His religion
through their efforts, He will bring about His will- but not as a reward for
their sufferings and sacrifices. Indeed, this world is not a place of reward.
146 Qutb
Another fact to ponder here is a comment of the Qur'an on the story
of the Makers of the Pit where God Most High says:
"And they were angered with the Believers, only because they
believed in God, the All-Powerful, the All-Praiseworthy."
The callers to God, of any period or generation, ought to think over
this deep truth.
The struggle between the Believers and their enemies is in essence a
struggle of belief, and not in any way of anything else. The enemies are
angered only because of their faith, enraged only because of their belief.
This was not a political or an economic or a racial struggle; had it
been any of these, its settlement would have been easy, the solution of its
difficulties would have been simple. But essentially it was a struggle
between beliefs-either unbelief or faith, either Jahiliyyah or Islam.
This is why the leaders of the polytheists of Mecca offered the
Messenger of God - peace be on him - wealth, kingship and worldly
things against only one thing: that he give up the struggle of belief and
settle with them in this affair. Had he accepted - may God forgive us for
saying this - what they asked of him, no difference whatsoever would
have remained between them and him.
Indeed, this was a question of belief and a battle of belief. The
Believers ought to be certain of this, whatever be the declaration of their
enemies. They are their enemies only because of their belief-"only
because they believe in God, the All-Powerful, the All-Praiseworthy" -
and because they purify for Him alone their obedience and submission.
The enemies of the Believers may wish to change this struggle into
an economic or political or racial struggle, so that the Believers become
confused concerning the true nature of the struggle and the flame of
belief in their hearts becomes extinguished. The Believers must not be
deceived, and must understand that this is a trick. The enemy, by
changing the nature of the struggle, intends to deprive them of their
weapon of true victory, the victory which can take any form, be It the
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victory of the freedom of spirit as was case of the Believers in the story
of the Maker of the Pit, or dominance in the world -as a consequence of
the freedom of spirit-as happened in the case of the first generation of
Muslims.
We see an example of this today in the attempts of Christendom to
try to deceive us by distorting history and saying that the Crusades were
a form of imperialism. The truth of the matter is that the latter-day
imperialism is but a mask for the crusading spirit, since it is not possible
for it to appear in its true form, as it was possible in the Middle Ages.
The unveiled crusading spirit was smashed against the rock of the faith
of Muslim leadership which came from various elements, including
Salahuddin the Kurd and Turan Shah the Mamiuk, who forgot the
differences of nationalities and remembered their belief, and were
victorious under the banner of Islam.
"They were angered with the Believers only because they believed in
God, the All-Powerful, the All-Praiseworthy."
Almighty God spoke the truth, and these treacherous deceivers are
liars!

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Reproduced by (or for) the SIME ePublishing for scholarly research and
reference only; all rights are the author’s; this document can be used and
referenced by academic scholars as:
Qutb, Milestone. USA: SIME journal (http://majalla.org), 2005.