An Explication of Sayyid Qutb’s Conceptual Framework on the Nature of Islamic Existence

Bakhshizadeh, Hassan

doi:10.22059/jstmt.2026.406061.1841

An Explication of Sayyid Qutb’s Conceptual Framework on the Nature of Islamic Existence

Document Type : Research Article / Original Article

Author

Hassan Bakhshizadeh

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology.Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

10.22059/jstmt.2026.406061.1841

Abstract

This study aims to examine Sayyid Qutb’s theoretical and normative conceptions regarding the nature of Islamic existence, with particular emphasis on his seminal treatise Ma‘ālim fī al-Ṭarīq (Milestones / Signposts on the Road), thereby contributing to broader scholarly debates on modern Islamic political thought and civilizational renewal. The study employs a structured qualitative content analysis grounded in Mayring’s (2014) methodological framework. Inductive open coding was conducted to identify core concepts, primarily Tawḥīd, Jāhiliyyah, and Sharī‘ah, which were systematically categorized into thematic dimensions through axial coding. Thematic synthesis was subsequently utilized to integrate individual ethical reform with socio-political reconstruction, ensuring methodological rigor, conceptual coherence, and interpretive transparency. The findings reveal that Qutb conceptualizes Islamic existence as an integrated onto-social system synthesizing doctrinal faith (‘aqīdah) with sociopolitical praxis. Central to his framework is the cultivation of a dedicated vanguard (al-ṭalī‘ah) tasked with initiating societal transformation through normative adherence to the Sharī‘ah. Rather than merely reactionary militancy, Qutb constructs Islamic existence as an all-encompassing civilizational project wherein personal morality, social institutions, and governance are harmonized under divine sovereignty (Ḥākimiyyah). Signposts on the Road functions simultaneously as a theoretical manifesto and a praxis-oriented blueprint, articulating a systematic paradigm for institutionalizing Islamic principles across personal and public domains. Qutb’s discourse offers critical insights for contemporary inquiries into Islamic governance, moral order, and civilizational revival, demonstrating how transcendental commitments are translated into concrete structural realities.

Keywords

Ḥākimiyyah

Islamic Existence

Maalim fī al-Ṭarīq (Milestones)

Modern Islamic Political Thought

Sayyid Qutb

Shariah

Subjects

Rereading and interpreting the ideas of leading Muslim thinkers

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