Fi Zilal al-Qur'an is a highly influential commentary of the Qur'an, written during 1951-1965 by the Egyptian Sayyid Qutb, a leader within the Muslim Brotherhood. He wrote most of the original 30 volumes while in prison following an attempted assassination of Egyptian dictatorGamal Abdel Nasser in 1954. The book outlines Qutb's vision of a Muslim state and society. It is considered by some to be a comprehensive and far-reaching commentary that takes a clear and interpretation of the Qur'an. It has much influence throughout the Muslim world, especially amongst the ordinary lay practitioners of Islam in the Arab world. The work extends to 30 volumes that correspond to the 30 juz' parts of the Qur'an. It has been translated into several languages, including English, French, German, Urdu, Turkish, Indonesian, Persian, Malayalam and Bengali. 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 freedom of religion: Islam came to declare and establish the great universal principle that: "There shall be no compulsion in religion. The right way is henceforth distinct from error." This reflects the honour God has reserved for man and the high regard in which man's will, thought and emotions are held, and the freedom he is granted to choose his beliefs, and the responsible position he is afforded to be judge of his own actions. Here lies the essence of human emancipation which 20th-century authoritarian and oppressiveideologies and regimes have denied mankind. Modern man has been deprived of the right to choose and live other than according to what is dictated by the state, using the full force of its colossal machinery, laws and powers. People are today given the choice only to adhere to the secular state system, which does not allow for a belief in God as the Creator and Master of the world, or to face annihilation. Freedom of belief is the most basic right that identifies man as a human being. To deny anyone this right is to deny him or her humanity. Freedom of belief also implies the freedom to express and one's belief without fear of threat or persecution; otherwise, that freedom is hollow and meaningless.
The importance of implementing true Islamic law and danger of people who "oppose the implementation of God's law." These are people "who claim to be Muslims but corruption,"
Jews as a perpetual opponent of Islam. The threat Jews pose to Islam is emphasized in Qutb's commentary on Surah 2:
Conservative author Paul Berman stated that "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 Gospels."
