Milestones
by Sayed Qutb
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Description
Although it is common in the publishing world for the author to produce an abstract that introduces their work, the blurb is generally written in passive voice, giving the impression that someone else, perhaps an editor or reviewer, wrote the "about" statement. Sayyid Qutb, true to his reputation, introduced his book in the first voice. Here, too, we let Qutb speak about his book. I wrote Milestones Along the Way for this awaited and desired vanguard. This work consists of four chapters: The show more Nature of the Quranic Method, Islamic Concept and Culture, Jihad in the Cause of God, and Revival of the Muslim Community and its characteristics. These chapters are derived from the commentary I wrote, Fī zilāli 'l-qur'ān, which I have changed in some places slightly to fit the topic being discussed here. I wrote the Introduction and the other chapters at various times. In writing these chapters, I provide insight into findings which were inspired by evolving reflections derived from the divine systems as expressed in the Noble Quran. show lessTags
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Member Recommendations
EncompassedRunner Qutb was influenced by the Pakistani Maududi, and both of these books are classics on the relationship of religion to state when it comes to works that have influenced Islamist movements, though Qutb's book is more about how to get to his ideal, and the smaller Maududi book is more about what the Islamist ideal looks like.
EncompassedRunner Seeing as how Egyptian Al-Zawahiri described Qutb as "the first spark of the Islamic radical movement" and Qutb's "Milestones" as the "original constitution of Muslim radical groups," it's likely that a reader interested in Qutb might want to read the words of Al-Qaeda's #2 man Al-Zawahiri, particularly since Qutb is dead and Al-Zawahiri still lives.
Member Reviews
Although this author is considered quite controversial in the Muslim world this is an outstanding book that introduces a variety of Islamic precepts for society. Not for the faint of heart or someone just delving into Islam this is not a beginner's book IMHO. The author was jailed and ultimately killed for many ideals put forth in this book. Some ideas may not be accurately understood as it is not always possible to translate true meanings from one language to another. Nonetheless I feel that this book is quite enlightening and an excellent resource for someone truly interested in learning more about Islam from one of its great 20th century authors.
Qutb is a forerunner of the Muslim extremist/Islamism movement. He was tortured by the Egyptian government during one of his prison stays. He was also executed in Egypt not long after this book was published. Controversial in Islam, he espoused the violent overthrow of secular governments in the Middle East because they were no longer Muslim in his opinion. This short book succinctly explains his reasoning.
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Author Information
97+ Works 742 Members
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1964
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 257
- Popularity
- 125,647
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.21)
- Languages
- 5 — Arabic, English, Malay, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 14
- ASINs
- 4
