In your opinion, is Sayyid Qutb better than Hasan al-Banna?

Al-Hawini: Okay; in your opinion, O Shaykh, is Sayyid Qutb better than Hasan al-Banna?

The Shaykh: Sayyid Qutb is better than him in what concerns his understanding of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) first, and in his frankness and outspokenness in the truth, especially in "The Reminders" which were recently published.
Al-Hawini: "Why Did They Execute Me?"

The Shaykh: Ah, they were published in "Al-Muslimun," and the truth is, whoever reads these "Reminders" thinks he is a Salafi.
Al-Hawini: He is so in the matter that there is no benefit from coups; one must educate the youth first, just as we say.

The Shaykh: Yes, that is it, so praise be to Allah, but—unfortunately—the Muslim Brotherhood did not benefit from him at all; rather, there were those who refuted him, perhaps you have heard of that?
Al-Hawini: No, I have not.

The Shaykh: Some books were published in refutation of him.
Al-Hawini: The refutation of this.

The Shaykh: Yes.
Al-Hawini: Glory be to Allah.

The Shaykh: Then it appears that this intellectual clarity came to him because of the prison that was imposed on him by force; otherwise, for example, when you read his book "Social Justice," you do not find any spirit of Salafism in it at all. Rather, he deals with the issues of workers and workers' wages as the philosophers among Islamic writers deal with them, finding solutions to their problems based on their logic and their desires, which they imagine to be derived from, or intended for, the benefit of the Muslims. Thus, they prohibit and permit without feeling the responsibility of speaking without knowledge.