The Sayyid Qutub and His Criticism on Western Civilization

Abstract

Sayyid Qutb was one of the most influential Islamic thinkers of the 20th Century. He fervently believed that Islam should govern the social, economic and political order of the society to improve the human condition and purge ills of society. He emphasizes that Islam must combat any system that usurps God’s sovereignty by giving man power over other men. Qutb argued that a key characteristic in the Islamic society was social justice that did not exist in the West because of its materialistic philosophy of life. He called upon the Muslims to examine Islam’s comprehensive philosophy of the universe, life and human kind. In his view, a clear understanding of the universe, and the harmony between the cosmos and life, would lead Muslims to a deep appreciation of Islam as a religion of unity, encompassing all elements of life.