Who Is Sayyid Qutb? Age, Biography and Wiki
Sayyid Qutb was born on October 9, 1906, making him 118 years old in 2025. He is best known as an Egyptian political theorist, author, and revolutionary, whose works have had a profound impact on Islamic political thought and movements in the 20th century and beyond. His ideas on governance, society, and religion continue to resonate in contemporary discussions about Islam and politics.
| Occupation | Revolutionaries |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | October 9, 1906 |
| Age | 59 Years |
| Birth Place | Mūshā, Asyut Governorate, Khedivate of Egypt |
| Horoscope | Libra |
| Country | Egypt |
| Date of death | 29 August, 1966 |
| Died Place | Cairo, United Arab Republic |
Popularity
Sayyid Qutb's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
While physical dimensions may not apply to Sayyid Qutb in contemporary discussions, it’s important to acknowledge that in 1966, he would have embodied the characteristics typical of his era.
- Height: Estimated at around 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm)
- Weight: Approx. 160 lbs (72 kg)
Relationship Status
- Spouse: Married in his early years, but details remain limited.
- Current Relationship: Deceased, with no current relationships in 2025.
He was raised in the Egyptian village of Musha, located in Upper Egypt's Asyut Province.
His father, whose sixth great-grandfather was an Indian Muslim, was an Upper Egyptian landowner and the administrator of the family estate, but he was also well known for his political activism, holding weekly meetings to discuss the political events and Qur'anic recitation.
At this young age, Sayyid Qutb first learned about melodic recitations of the Qur'an, which would fuel the artistic side of his personality. He eventually memorized the whole Qur'an at 10.
Net Worth and Salary
Given that Sayyid Qutb passed away in 1966, he does not have a net worth or salary in 2025. However, his intellectual legacy continues to influence various political movements, leading to considerable discussions surrounding his works and philosophies.
Career, Business and Investments
Sayyid Qutb's career was less about business and investments in the conventional sense and more about his extensive work as an educator and writer. He was a prominent figure in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, where he served as an ideologue and strategist.
Qutb moved to Cairo, where between 1929 and 1933 he received an education based on the British style of schooling before starting his career as a teacher in the Ministry of Public Instruction.
During his early career, Qutb devoted himself to literature as an author and critic, writing such novels as Ashwak (Thorns) and even helped to elevate Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz from obscurity.
He wrote his very first article in the literary magazine al-Balagh in 1922, and his first book, Muhimmat al-Sha’ir fi al-Haya wa Shi’r al-Jil al-Hadir (The Mission of the Poet in Life and the Poetry of the Present Generation), in 1932, when he was 25, in his last year at Dar al-Ulum.
As a literary critic, he was particularly influenced by ‘Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani (d. 1078), "in his view one of the few mediaeval philologists to have concentrated on meaning and aesthetic value at the expense of form and rhetoric." In 1939, he became a functionary in Egypt's Ministry of Education (wizarat al-ma'arif).
Social Network
Due to his era, Sayyid Qutb didn’t engage in modern social networks as we know them today. However, his ideas have created a social ripple through various channels, inspiring Islamist movements and discussions worldwide.
In the early 1940s, he encountered the work of Nobel Prize-winner French eugenicist Alexis Carrel, who would have a seminal and lasting influence on his criticism of Western civilization, as "instead of liberating man, as the post-Enlightenment narrative claimed, he believed that Western modernity enmeshed people in spiritually numbing networks of
control and discipline, and that rather than building caring communities, it cultivated attitudes of selfish individualism.
Qutb regarded Carrel as a rare sort of Western thinker, one who understood that his civilization "depreciated humanity" by honouring the "machine" over the "spirit and soul" (al-nafs wa al-ruh). He saw Carrel's critique, coming as it did from within the enemy camp, as providing his discourse with an added measure of legitimacy."
Education
Sayyid Qutb was educated at Cairo University, where he obtained a degree in Arabic Literature. His educational background served as a foundation for his later writings and political beliefs, sharpening his critical thinking and analytical skills.
As the author of 24 books, with around 30 books unpublished for different reasons (mainly destruction by the state), and at least 581 articles, including novels, literary arts critique and works on education, Qutb is best known in the Muslim world for his work on what he believed to be the social and political role of Islam, particularly in his boo
ks Social Justice and (Milestones).
His magnum opus, (In the Shade of the Qur'an), is a 30-volume commentary on the Quran.
Conclusion
Sayyid Qutb remains a central figure in discussions of political Islam and modern socio-political dynamics. His life, characterized by a commitment to revolutionary ideals and a deep questioning of contemporary society, leaves a lasting impact that influences both followers and critics alike.
