Milestones | along the way

Milestones – Ma’alim fi al-Tariq, first published in 1964, is a short 12 chapters book written by Sayyid Qutb which lays out a plan and makes a call to action to re-create the Muslim world on strictly Quranic grounds, casting off what Qutb calls Jahiliyyah. As its name suggests, this work outlines the various stages in the establishment of a true Islamic life. After describing the mission of Islam and the methodology to achieve it, the author shows how the Prophet (PBUH) prepared and trained the first Muslim community and how later Muslims lost this initiative and revolutionary spirit.

English translations of the book are usually entitled simply “Milestones” the book is also sometimes referred to as “Signposts”. The title Ma’alim fi al-Tariq translates into English as “Milestones | Along the Way”. Sayyid Qutb seeks to set out “Milestones” or guiding markers along a road that will lead to the revival of Islam from its current “extinction”.

Ma’alim fi al-Tariq has been called “one of the most influential works in Arabic of the last half-century”