(Death of an Icon)
It is with great sadness that we hear of the passing away of a unique Muslim
thinker and great revivalist, Muhammad Qutb, on the morning of Friday, the 4th
of April. Sheikh Muhammad Qutb—the brother of the notable twentieth century
theologian and thinker, Sayyid Qutb (may Allāh have mercy on them both)—was of
the prominent theologians that had a profound impact on the Muslims all over the
world.
Mohammad Qutb was born in 1919, and while little is known about his early
upbringing, it is confirmed that he obtained a degree in English literature from
Cairo University, in 1940 followed by Diploma in Education and Psychology. He
declared on numerous occasions that his older brother, Sayyid Qutb, was one of
the main influential people in his early life. In fact, it is apparent that
Sayyid Qutb also had an influence on their two sisters who were imprisoned later
for same reason.
He was arrested and imprisoned with his older brother, Sayyid Qutb at least
twice, once in 1954 under the bitter regime of Abdel Nasser and again in 1965
until 1972. Sayyid Qutb was executed in 1966 while Muhammad Qutb was released in
1972 to find himself compelled to flee to Saudi Arabia, dedicating his life to
education, Da’wah and writing. He joined King AbdulAziz and Umm ul-Qura
universities as a lecturer in Islamic Studies. During that period, he supervised
many academic theses for many noble scholars including: Sheikh Safar al-Hawāli
in his masters’ thesis on secularism in the Muslim Ummah, and then his PhD on
“al-Irjā” in Islamic theology: Dr Muhammad Sa’īd al-Qahtāni in his PhD on
al-Walā and al-Barā’ah; Dr ‘Alī al-Olayyāni in his PhD on al-Jihād and its role
in Islamic Da’wah, and many others.
It has to be said that his ideas were nothing but going back to the purest form
of Islām, which caused social, political and comprehensive change in the lives
of individuals and societies. After the fall of the Othman Caliphate in 1924,
many ideas came about that manifested a weak and miserable status of the Muslim
Ummah at that time. Hence, ideas such as those of Sayyid Qutb and then his
brother, Muhammad Qutb, were not only considered novel but in fact they were
seen as revolutionary.
Sheikh. Qutb continued his Da’wah effort in Saudi Arabia where he published a
number of his brother’s books. Sheikh Qutb became known for his critique of
certain western values, standards and intellectual ideals in way that revealed
deep and comprehensive understanding. Of his most notable (Arabic) books are:
“The Ignorance (Jāhiliyyah) of the Twentieth Century”; “Our Contemporary
Reality”; “How to Write Islamic History”; “There is no God but Allāh, a
Theology, a Law and a Way of Life”; “Secularists and Islām”; “Misconceptions
About Islām”; and “Islamic Principles Surrounding Social Sciences.” His
distinctiveness in articulating orthodox Islām in modern, comprehensible
terminology that is relevant to the current century made his work appreciated
even by non-Muslims. He was among the very few thinkers who promote focusing in
the total nourishment (tarbiyyah) of people and has written many books on this.
The unique and extraordinary features in the thoughts and ideas of Muhammad Qutb
is that he combined between Islamic orthodoxy and practicality in applying it to
contemporary affairs and assimilating them on a societal and political level.
Sheikh Qutb had an exceptional ability of understanding the nature of the human
being from many angles, articulating this from a practically physiological
perspective. His thinking was on a global level, demonstrating forward thinking
and long-sightedness, rather than a focus on relatively minor issues. Today we
remember one of the champions of the Islamic Da’wah, a rare global
intellectual—an icon of contemporary Islamic history.
The impact of Muhammad Qutb’s legacy spoke louder than his name. This was
because of his beautiful conduct in propagating Islām, his remarkable humility
and his passion and optimism. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan amazed his guards
and Saudi officials when he requested a visit to Sheikh Muhammad Qutb during his
visit to Makkah for ‘Umrah a few years ago. Upon offering him permanent stay in
Turkey, Muhammad Qutb said that he preferred to stay next to the house of Allāh.
This story was narrated through many sources including through his son, Usāmah.
The Prophet (salla Allāh ‘alayh wasalam) said: “Allāh says, ‘He who is humble
toward Me like this [and he lowered his palm to the ground until it was levelled
with it], I will elevate him like this [and the Prophet (salla Allāh ‘alayh
wasalam) raised his palm upwards facing the sky until it was high up]’.” Indeed
his life has ceased but his actions will persist through the impact of his
Da’wah, his inspiration of succeeding generations and through supplications of
righteous Muslims for him. May Allāh elevate his status, forgive his
shortcomings and admit him into his everlasting abode.
His death in the early hours of Friday we hope is a good sign, by the will of
Allāh, if the hadīth reported by ‘Abdullāh b. ‘Amr is authentic, in which the
prophet (salla Allāh ‘alayh wasalam) said: “No Muslim dies on the day of Friday,
nor the night of Friday, except that Allāh protects him from the trials of the
grave” the trial of the grave mentioned here being the questioning by the
angles. Shiekh Muhmmad Qutub died at the age of 95 and this is another good sign
as that ‘Abdur-Rahmān b. Abī Bakrah narrated from his father that a man said: “O
Messenger of Allāh! Which of the people is the best?” He (salla Allāh ‘alayh
wasalam) replied: “He whose life is long and his deeds are good.” The man then
asked: “Then which of the people is the worst?” He (salla Allāh ‘alayh wasalam)
responded: “He whose life is long and his deeds are bad.”