Sayyid Qutb: Removing the Jahilliyah influence on Islamic traditions in the modern world

In the book Milestones, Sayyid Qutb discusses a lot about the Jahiliyyah period, the time of ignorance. For Qutb, the Jahili traditions or concepts are a danger for the true Muslim community. He mentioned how “we must free ourselves from the clutches of jahili society, jahili concepts, jahili traditions and jahili leadership” (p.21). This essay questions the meaning of the Jahili concept, and what it means to free ourselves from ‘jahili’. Does it mean we have to change our life style in a certain way, or does it mean we have to get rid of some of the principles and values that we are taught in order to avoid being a Jahili society.

Qutb analyzed Jahiliyah and explained in depth what it means. In page 37, he told that the Qur’an encourages the Muslim followers to struggle for the removal of all Jahili influences which are found in the ideas, practices and morals of the Muslim community. The fact that the Muslim community is growing, makes it more likely that the principles and values of Islam develop towards gaining western ad modern influences. Interpretations of broad quotes from the Qur’an or hadiths are the first steps Muslims can take in influencing the real meaning of the Islamic values. Social activities are also another trigger of these Jahili influences and will develop or become stronger as the world becomes older. The influences of modernity, is slowly but constantly influencing the Islamic traditions, and Qutb is claiming that these influences are Jahili and should be removed from the Islamic culture.

Qutb mentions that “we are also surrounded by Jahilliyah today, which is of the same nature as it was during the first period of Islam” (p.20). He argues that our whole environment, people’s beliefs and ideas, habits and art, rules and laws is Jahiliyah. He also mentions that this is the reason why the true Islamic values never enter our hearts. One of the habits of human beings’ are coping with others in order to avoid feeling left behind. Qutb is suggesting that the only way we can avoid following the Jahili concepts is by not “bargaining” with the Jahili society. The Jahili society, which he mentions surrounds us, are the impure society. Those who do not submit to god, and do not do exactly as ordered by god, but in fact, shaping the orders, making them more related to the Jahili traditions.

An example of this is the modern jahili societies, who stretched the meaning of morality making more things that are immoral in the religion become moral. They consider acts such as homosexuality as moral, and expect all societies in their area to accept that. I would argue that this is one of the way how the Muslim societies’ perception and values can be influenced. The fact that Muslim societies exist in almost all parts of the world, and they are listening to these social expectations, made them think and perceive differently than what religion have taught them. This is why Qutb is arguing that to remove Jahili values from the Muslim traditions; we have to avoid bargaining the concept of morality, and avoid making interpretations far from the real meaning.

Rossa D.