Fi zilal al-Qur'an

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of the series on Qur'anic exegesis v • d • e
Most famous
Sunni: Tafsir ibn Kathir — 1301-1373 Tafsir al-Qurtubi — d. 1273 Tafsir al-Tabari — 838–923 Tafsir al-Jalalayn — 1464-1526 Ma'ariful Quran — Shi'a: Tafsir al-Mizan — 1892-1981
Sunni tafsir
Tanwir al-Miqbas — ? Al-Mu'jam al-Kabeer — ? Tafsir al-Baghawi — 1116 Tafsir of Fakhr al-Din — 1149–1209 Dur al-Manthur — 1464-1526 Fi zilal al-Qur'an — 1954 Tafhim al-Qur'an — 1903-1979 Tadabbur-i-Qur’an — 1904–1997
Shi'a tafsir
Holy Quran (puya) — ? Majma al-Bayan — d. 1153 Nuur al-Thaqalayn — ? al-Safi — 1598 or 9-1680 or 81
Mu'tazili tafsir
— ?-1258 Al-Kashaf — ?
Terms
*Asbab al-nuzul

In the Shade of the Qur'an (Arabic: في ظِلالِ القرآن‎) is a highly influential commentary on Islam's holy book, the Qur'an, written by the Egyptian Islamic philosopher and leader, Sayyid Qutb, while imprisoned following an attempted assassination of Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1954. It is considered by some Muslims to be a comprehensive and far-reaching tafsir that takes a clear and lucid interpretation of the Quran. However, it has also been criticized by some modernists and traditional Ulama 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.

From a social and political standpoint, some of the more important conclusions Qutb drew in his interpretation include:

The importance of implementing true sharia Islamic law and danger of people who "oppose the implementation of God's law." These are people "who claim to be Muslims but perpetrate corruption," ^[1]
Jews as a force for evil throughout history. The danger of Jews 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.^[2]

Qutb explicitly warns against applying towards Jews the Qur'an's expressions of tolerance and forgiveness, 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 Gospels." ^[3]