Milestones

Sayed Qutb writes in a truly resolute fashion - there is nothing but 'jahiliyyah' (ignorance) outside of Islam and therefore all other societies, for whatever their high merits to which he awards them at the beginning of the book, must be brought into the 'truth' of Islam so that they may know true guidance - or so he makes clear in his writing. The book is a short read but a crucial insight into the fundamentalist Muhammadan mind - for it frames jihad in the spirit of a revolutionary character and not just for the establishing of Sharia and Islamic dominance. This character prevails today, where Islamic fundamentalists seek to overthrow the social and political order that ostensibly encumbers them, to replace that order with a pure Islamic caliphate where the only constitution is that of Allah and the practice of his messenger Muhammad. Qutb identifies with this strongly throughout the book, and makes clear the motivations for such a position. It is channelling the prophet Muhammad himself with his overthrowing and domination of the social and political order of Yathrib post Hijrah. With what would be called al qaeda (the base) established in Yathrib by Muhammad and his companions, Qutb saw the spread of Islam by jihad and dawah in these early years as the means to which liberation would be spread to humanity, and evokes a chillingly powerful call for believers to strive forth in establishing such a community of believers again before, as it can be rightly assumed, making jihad their calling as Muhammad and the Rashidun did in the earliest years of Islam.

Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the origins of political Islam. This book was a key text of Mr bin Laden, and enables anyone seriously interested to understand Muslim brotherhood and what fires up today's jihadis. Star rating is for cognising and does not imply approval.

Given the role this book has played in the beliefs of the of the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, and the radicalization of Muslims in general, it says something about the Western world’s commitment to free speech that it is even still available. Though it states it was “first published 2002” (p2 ), that is, of course, referring to this edition, as the book first appeared around 1964. Qutb starts from the premise, shared by many religious groups, that God’s law is superior to laws proposed by men. He therefore rejects “any system in which the final decisions are referred to human beings” (p60). The problem is that mankind cannot agree on what God’s laws are and when a leader believes that his understanding is right and everyone else is wrong, history shows it rarely turns out well. Qutb certainly believed all existing governments are seriously flawed or jahaliyyah (p11) ( a term used in the Quran for the polytheism and ignorance of God in 7thC Arabia) He condemns communism for denying people the freedom to follow Islam (p86), Asian nations for their shrines and continuing polytheism (p87), western countries for moral decadence and allowing Christianity to influence their lawmaking (p87-8), and even all Muslim-majority countries (p88-90) for being corrupted by non-Islamic influences “for a few centuries” (p9) ever since the period following that of the Companions of the Prophet (p14). (it is significant that this edition is published in India rather than in an Islamic country and it is said that the prosecution quoted this book when the author was on trial in Nasser’s Egypt after a failed assassination attempt). Some may be surprised by his criticism of opponents for “regard[ing] every verse of the Qur’an as if it were the final principle” (p58). His exposition emphasizes the idea that the Qur’an was revealed gradually according to what was needed at particular times (p17), and identifies 3 keys stages (p55-72); the Meccan period when the believers were few and had to co-operate with and try to convince their fellow Meccans, the Medinan period where they had power to organize their affairs and had to be prepared to fight to defend themselves, and the subsequent time when they had the strength and numbers to spread Islam to other nations by force if necessary. This seems to have the effect of relegating the more conciliatory verses of the Qur’an to a period which is now in the past. He is very critical of those who “want to confine Jihaad to what is today called ‘defensive war’”. All this depends on knowing the order in which the Quran was revealed; it certainly is not arranged in chronological order, and closer to the reverse, with the initial revelation believed to be what is now Chapter 96 (p55).Besides Jihaad, he also supports some anti-Semitic conspiracy theories when he writes about “the tricks played by world Jewry… so that the Jews may be free to perpetuate their evil designs. At the top of the list of these activities is usury, the aim of which is that all the wealth of mankind ends up in the hands of Jewish financial institutions which run on interest” (P120), and since the book was written, most countries have diverged further from his views about the role of women: “if woman is freed from her basic responsibility of bringing up children, and if, on her own or under social demand, she prefers to …spend .. her ability for material productivity… then such a civilization is ‘backward’” (p107). For a book which regards the Qur’an as the final revelation of God it is disappointing to find a number of errors in the Quranic references- the verse “Restrain your hands..” is 4:77, not 3:77 as stated on p69, and verse about Jews and rabbis is 9:31, not 5:31 as stated on p88; the verse “fight the enemies of Satan is 4:76, not 3:78 as claimed on p127; the reference to Abraham is 2:124, not 1:124 (p132); 13:139 should be 3:139 on page 154Despite these controversial claims, it remains a useful book for anyone who wants to understand the roots of radical political Islam.

Asalamu AlaikumMy Dear Brothers and Sisters, If you truly love Allah(God) stay away from Sayyid Qutb and his books.This book called milestones is a summarized version of his "In the shade of the quran", a 18 the volume set of tafsir(explanation) of the Quran. He mocks the companions of the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh), those men/women that suffered and sacrificed everything for Islam, those men/women that Allah promised Jannah in many verses of the Quran. He also makes a mockery of prophet Musa(pbuh), calling him hyper active and over excited.He was a communist for while, and even admitted that he doubted Islam for about 15years. Even in this book you can clearly see his Marxist inclinations. Communism opposes Islam and Allah, Communism is Shirk to the extreme.In "Milestones" Qutb presents a manifesto for change, one heavily influenced by Lenin's "What is to be done," with the clear Islamization of its basic notions. He argued that society was suffering from "jahiliyya" (a state of ignorance which preceded the revelation of Islam) and that consequently, there is no room for middle ground between Islamists and their societies.My final message to is that should be reading the Quran and the books of Hadith like Sahih Al Bukhari and Mulsim.Study the life of Muhammad(pbuh) and his companions, for they are best of examples for us. My dear brothers/sisters do you prefer the misguided works of Sayyid Qutb over the perfect guidance of Allah, and righteous example of Muhammad(pbuh)? Study the life of Muhammad(pbuh) and you will see the way to true Islam.What Sayyid teaching goes against the Quran and Sunnah: ask yourself who deserves your love and loyalty, Sayyid Qutb or Allah?May Allah have mercy Sayyid Qutb. May Allah guide us all to the straight path, and have mercy upon all of us who worship him.Jazakum Allahu Khayr

bought it for academic reasons

Great deal.

wonderful

Arrived on time

Firstly thanks for early delivery!This is an awesome book which opens the door of heart of Islam. Till now I have read the 1st chapter, 'The unique Quranic Generation'. It makes me clear that the author's works worth his sacrificed life. I'm just amazed to read how much deep knowledge of Islam he had, and how much Hikmat he used to explain every situation. It will help you to understand how Islam can be established in every ground of our life....MashaAllah.May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdous.

A GREAT BOOK! i really enjoyed this book. I am not muslim. I am a religious pluralist. I believe all religion has come through man's prefabricated mind. So, we must find what works best for us and make use of it. However, its very nice to hear some Islamic philosophy/theology from a truly Muslim perspective. Instead of the endless brainwashing and indoctrination of the American media. I have spent some time researching the Islamic faith and found, that while there are extremist within this religion (which extremism I DO NOT condone in any way.) There are also extremist within Christianity. though we very rarely here of them. If we do, it may be a paragraph or two. But I know many muslims that are sincere in their islamic faith and in no way approve of their extremist brethren actions. they tend to take a more mystical view of jihad. Using jihad to fight the evil and corruption within, rather than offensive jihad against their neighbor.I found this book to be quite enlightening. I mean, who doesn't want to leave their home unlocked, with no worry of some thieves breaking in and stealing all you worked so hard for, or worse? Who wants to live in a society that's going to hell for our children? the moral fabric of most societies has proven to be without a lasting answer for societies ill's? this is what the sharia solves. Once again, while i am not muslim, after reading this book i felt I could at least understand a little better the Islamic perspective. I would certainly give this work two thumbs up.

No problem at all

Quick delivery, and the book was in excellent condition!

Whoever wants to understand political system of islam must read