Table of Contents
There was a denial of there being a group called “the Quṭbiyyah”, irrespective of whether they named themselves as such or not. There were found during the 80s and 90s large swathes of individuals having affectation and fanaticism to Sayyid Quṭb and his works. Alongside the books of al-Mawdūdī, they had helped to nurture the doctrine of takfīr and khurūj (rebellion) among the Arab participants in the Afghān Jihād.
Text:
Stated Ṣalāḥ as-Ṣāwī, who is an Ikhwānī, Ḥarakī (activist):[1]
As for the Quṭbiyyūn (the Quṭbis), then their methodology (manhaj) is based primarily upon the issue of legislation (tashrīʿ), explaining its link with the foundation of the religion and explaining that the various flaws that have engulfed the legal structures in our contemporary societies nullify the contract of Islām and demolish the very basis of Tawḥīd.
It is also known that the books that represent this particular orientation and which outline its methodology are the books of the teacher, Sayyid Quṭb – may Allāh have mercy upon him – in the field of da’wah and public speeches.
Explanation and Comments:
01 In the text above is an affirmation – from one who subscribes to the Quṭbi methodology and teachings himself – that the sect known as the Quṭbiyyah is a tangible, perceivable reality and not just a mere figment of the imagination.
This is a refutation of the other well-known partisan Quṭbis of the West like Ali al-Timimi and Idris Palmer who have tried in vain over the past few years to deny their own existence, and to claim that the term “Quṭbiyyah” was invented by Ahl al-Sunnah as a hoax to hoodwink the masses – whereas their outward denial, in reality, was a failed attempt to hide the true source of their own teachings.
02 The above text also proves that the Quṭbiyyah have a distinct “manhaj” (methodology) which is based around the concept of tashrīʿ (legislation).
03 Due to the great emphasis given to the issues of legislation, the slogan and motto of this sect is “al-Hākimiyyah” and on account of the great exaggeration made in this issue (which is restricted to the Rulers and Rulership), whole Muslim societies and Nation states are declared apostate – since in the philosophical teachings of Quṭbism, flaws in the arena of legislation (tashrīʿ) invalidate the contract of Islām and demolish the foundation of Tawḥīd outright.
This is the basis of the “da’wah” of this sect and this also forms the basis for their takfīr of Muslim societies and/or nation states.
04 Hence, in the Quṭbi philosophy, all contemporary Muslim societies have apostatised and have reverted to the very first “Jāhiliyyah” – prior to the advent of Islām. Thus, we find statements from the likes of Sayyid Quṭb that all modern societies are in fact those of Jāhiliyyah and likewise from his brother, Muḥammad Quṭb that all Muslims on the face of the earth today have to be called afresh to Islām?!
Similar, parallel and subsidiary concepts have been parroted by the likes of Muḥammad Surūr, one of the heads of the Khawārij of today, likewise from his student Salman al-Awdah[2], from Safar al-Ḥawali (student of Mohammad Quṭb), in his works and his cassettes, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAbd al-Khāliq who used the same expressions as the two Quṭbs in their Takfir of societies and likewise from some of the western Quṭbi counterparts like Ali al-Timimi who took the mere existence of secular laws in Muslim nations state to be sufficient to declare them apostate states and call for open rebellion and toppling of the governments.
05 The methodology of daʿwah of this sect is derived mainly from the books of its founder, Sayyid Quṭb, and in a more refined form, from the books of Muḥammad Quṭb (Sayyid Quṭb’s brother) and Muḥammad Surūr, and then in an even more refined and subtle form, in the works and cassettes of the likes of Salmān al-ʿAwdah, Safar al-Ḥawāli and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAbd al-Khāliq.
Modern day Quṭbism exists in many brands, however for our purposes we will highlight only the following – Classical Quṭbism, Surūrism (after Muḥammad Suroor), Turāthism (after ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAbd al-Khāliq) and Arʿūrism (after Adnān Ar’oor). We will look at these latter three mutations in more detail in future lessons by the permission of Allāh.
06 This destructive mode of thinking – found originally in the books of Sayyid Quṭb – has led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Muslim men women and children, and is but the ideology of the Khawārij – the ideology that calls for revolutions, coups, assassinations and hatred of Muslim societies due to their being apostate states and societies of disbelief and Jāhiliyyah.
A brief survey of the numerous groups and parties that emerged after the 1960s with the beliefs and ideas of the Khawārij will prove the truthfulness of what we have mentioned – the vast majority of them being fed and nurtured upon the books of Sayyid Quṭb.
07 Quṭbism and its particular daʿwah has influenced the way of thinking of a large number of individuals and organisations – and to different degrees and levels. However, the basis of the thought and orientation is the same in all of them. For this reason, we note that the type of opposition that is shown by the Quṭbiyyah to those who do not subscribe to their destructive and partisan da’wah has striking parallels from one individual to another.
Hence, we may find different extremes in the likes of Muḥammad Surūr, ʿAbdullāh Faisal (the Khariji of the UK), Ali al-Timimi and others, yet we find that their accusations against those who adhere to the Methodology of the Prophets in their daʿwah and rectification of the Ummah are the same, that they are: Murjiʾah with the Rulers, Khawārij with the Duʿat, Rāfiḍah with the Jamā’āt, Qadariyyah with the Disbelievers, Paid Workers, Spies, Slaves, Supporters of the New World Order, the Spreaders of Cancerous Teachings and so on. This proves that the basis of their da’wah is derived from the same spring and fountain.
Summary and Conclusions
In this lesson we have observed that Quṭbism as an ideology, as a movement and as a sect exists and is real and tangible. We have also briefly mentioned some of the salient features and precepts of this ideology and which we shall expand upon in what is yet to come.
In future lessons we will highlight the destructiveness of the Quṭbi da’wah and illustrate how the effects of this methodology and philosophy can actually be measured in real physical terms, (in fact in terms of dead Muslim bodies!).
However, we will first develop some of the most important themes of Quṭbism and the various arenas of its activity further so that we can have a better grasp of its true nature, its various brands and mutations, and its orientations so that we are able to recognise its most apparent signs.