ভূমিকা

One study is that of Olivie Carre's, Mystique et politique: lector revolutionnaire du Coran par Sayyid Qutb, frere musulmane radical, [^36] which is an indispensable contribution to our understanding of the Qur'anic principles and contents of, what has been termed, the Qutbian discourse (the thought-structure of Sayyid Qutb). Carre, who bases his study on a thorough analysis of the principal themes of Sayyid Qutb's major exegesis, Fi zilal al-Qur'an, [^37] adopts a comparative method of analysis.

He, for instance, keeps referring to the major exegesis by the Syrian Rashid Rida, [^38] Tafsir al-manar, and its impact, in terms of method and terminology, on Qutbian tafsir. The main difference between Rida's tafsir and Qutb's Zilal is that Rida presented a traditional Qur'anic commentary which was in line with traditional Islamic exegesis, whereas Qutb, who came from a secular background of learning, did not follow in the footsteps of traditional exegesis.

This is the case mainly because Qutb was more effective than Rida in relating the Qur'anic reality [al-haqiqah al ­qur'aniyyah] [^39] to the modern exigencies of life. Qutb's main goal, as Carre shows throughout his study, is to free the Qur'anic text from the obscurantism and scholasticism of the `ulama' who emphasize the doctrinal at the expense of the social, and the ethical at the expense of the political.

Qutb's interpretation is based primarily on (1) philological understanding; (2) the primary social and political context of the verses (circumstances of the revelation); (3) and the present meaning that can be derived from the above. As sums, his theoretical reflections gain a new significance; far from restricting himself to philology and past meaning, he is concerned about the relevance of the Qur'anic text to the present.

Carre explains correctly that Qutb's method rests on a number of interdependent principles: theology, philosophy, sociology, politics, and hermeneutics. Experience also plays a significant part in his methodological construct.