Fi zilal al-Qur'an
Encyclopedia
In the Shade of the Qur'an or Fi Zilal al-Qur'an[p][n] is a highly influential commentary of the Qur'an
, written during 1951-1965 by Sayyid Qutb
[a] (1906-1966), a leader within the Muslim Brotherhood
. Most of the original 30 volumes (114 Surah
s) were written (or re-written) while in prison following an attempted assassination of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser
in 1954. The book outlines Qutb's vision of an Islamic state and society. It is considered by some to be a comprehensive and far-reaching tafsir
(commentary) that takes a clear and lucid interpretation of the Qur'an
. However, it has also been criticized by some modernists and traditional Ulema
alike, as an extended personal opinion or essay rather than a well-evidenced textual commentary, and for not adhering to the traditional structure for a tafsir. It has much influence throughout the Islamic world, especially amongst the ordinary lay practitioners of Islam in the Arab world
.
The work extends to 30 volumes and has been translated into several languages, including English
, French
, German
, Urdu
, Turkish
, Indonesian
, Persian
and Bengali
. The full set of volumes covers the entire Qur'an.
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, written during 1951-1965 by Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist theorist, poet, and the leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and '60s....
[a] (1906-1966), a leader within the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
. Most of the original 30 volumes (114 Surah
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
s) were written (or re-written) while in prison following an attempted assassination of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
in 1954. The book outlines Qutb's vision of an Islamic state and society. It is considered by some to be a comprehensive and far-reaching tafsir
Tafsir
Tafseer is the Arabic word for exegesis or commentary, usually of the Qur'an. Ta'wīl is a subset of tafsir and refers to esoteric or mystical interpretation. An author of tafsir is a mufassir .- Etymology :...
(commentary) that takes a clear and lucid interpretation of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. However, it has also been criticized by some modernists and traditional Ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
alike, as an extended personal opinion or essay rather than a well-evidenced textual commentary, and for not adhering to the traditional structure for a tafsir. It has much influence throughout the Islamic world, especially amongst the ordinary lay practitioners of Islam in the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
.
The work extends to 30 volumes and has been translated into several languages, including English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
. The full set of volumes covers the entire Qur'an.
Conclusions
From a social and political standpoint, some of the more important conclusions Qutb drew in his interpretation include:- On the issue of human relationships:
Allah wishes human life to be elevated, happy, based on pure motives and characterised by mutual compassion, brotherhood and purity of hearts and behaviour.
- On the Victimization of Children of Israel by the Pharaoh:
Tyrants are always ready to commit any crime, without hesitation, in order to retain power....That is tyranny: ignorant and stupid, but at the same time arrogant and conceited.
The Children of Israel suffered persecution on a similar scale by Pharaoh and his clique, as stated in Sūrah 28, The Story, in which we read: “Pharaoh made himself a tyrant in the land. He divided his people into casts, one group of which he persecuted, putting their sons to death and sparing only their daughters. Truly, he was an evildoer.” (28: 4). This is characteristic of tyranny everywhere, in all periods of history. It still resorts today to the same methods it employed centuries ago.
- The importance of implementing true Islamic lawShariaSharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
and danger of people who "oppose the implementation of God's law." These are people "who claim to be Muslims but perpetrate corruption,"
- JewsJewsThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
as a perpetual opponent of Islam. The threat Jews pose to Islam is emphasized in Qutb's commentary on Surah 2:
The war the Jews began to wage against Islam and Muslims in those early days has raged on to the present. The form and appearance may have changed, but the nature and means remains the same.
- Again, in the commentary on Surah 5:
The Muslim world has often faced problems as a result of Jewish conspiracies ever since the early days of Islam. ...
History has recorded the wicked opposition of the Jews to Islam right from its first day in Medina. Their scheming against Islam has continued since then to the present moment, and they continue to be its leaders, nursing their wicked grudges and always resorting to treacherous schemes to undermine Islam.
Qutb explicitly warns against applying the expressions of tolerance and forgiveness in the Qur'an towards Jews, and maintains the sins of the Bani Qurayza have permanent effects on all Jews everywhere. Or as one author puts it, "In Qutb's interpretation, the sins and crimes of the Medina Jews in the seventh century have a cosmic, eternal quality -- rather like the sins and crimes of the Jerusalem Jews in some of the traditional interpretations of the Gospel
GospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s."