This page brings together four instances of the use of Āl ʿImrān 64 in the books of Muhammad Shahrur. It highlights the idea of a common word and the meaning of inclusive Islam. Its importance lies in placing the relationship with the People of the Book within a framework of shared monotheism, rather than sectarian exclusivity or exclusion.
The Verse as Cited
Say, “O People of the Book, come to a word common to us…” But if they turn away, then say, “Bear witness that we are Muslims.”
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Āl ʿImrān 64 in his discussion of Islam and the People of the Book?
Shahrur employs the verse to read the term “Muslims” in a way not confined to Muhammad’s followers alone: after citing the verse’s address to the People of the Book, he says that “Islam is the common denominator between me and you.” He places this within his distinction between “Muslims” and “believers,” and states that Muhammad’s followers are, in his view, “Muslim believers.”
Shahrur cites Āl ʿImrān 64, especially its ending, “But if they turn away, then say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims,’” in the context of a question about who is meant by Muslims and believers. He explains the cited passage by saying: “That is, you and we are Muslims,” and concludes that Islam “is the common denominator between me and you” in addressing the People of the Book. Shahrur connects this citation to his terminological distinction between Islam and faith; concerning Muhammad’s followers, he says: “We are Muslim believers,” and explains the verses of the Qur’anic narratives as “at one time Islam, and at another time faith.”
Citation and Location
The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought — p. 11.
Limits of the Reading
- The direct citation establishes Shahrur’s statement that Islam is the “common denominator” between the speaker and the People of the Book, but it does not independently define Islam here with the phrase “submission to God.”
- Shahrur does not explain the term “they turn away” here in linguistic or technical terms; therefore, it is not valid to attribute a specific interpretation of it as rejection on the basis of this citation alone.
- The citation contains no explicit statement about coercion or a complete theory of daʿwa; adding these conclusions to the verse requires another direct citation.
- The other attached citations from the book Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism concern Āl ʿImrān 7 and the division between the Book and the Qur’an, and cannot serve as evidence for a reading of Āl ʿImrān 64.
Continue Here
Brief Reading
Shahrur uses the verse to establish that Islam here means submission to God, and that it includes the People of the Book within the address of the common word. He also connects it to an understanding of turning away as rejection, and treats it as evidence for an open horizon of daʿwa based on monotheistic common ground rather than coercion.
Axes
- Faith
- Political and social
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Pluralism: 2
- One Islam: 2
- Turning away: 2
- Monotheism: 2
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
The verse belongs to a network that brings together one Islam, monotheism, pluralism, and turning away. It is central because it gives the discourse on the People of the Book a clear place within Shahrur’s project, and links shared creed to a political and social concept broader than narrow religious affiliation.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 2
- Foundation: 2
Summary of Its Presence in the Atlas
- Evidence for the meaning of inclusive Islam
- Connected to the common word with the People of the Book
- Used in understanding rejection and turning away
Instances of Use
- The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 11: He employs it to establish that what he shares with the People of the Book is Islam in the sense of submission to God, not exclusive sectarian affiliation.
- Concept: Pluralism
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “Then He said: {Say, ‘O People of the Book … then say, “Bear witness that we are Muslims”’} (Āl ʿImrān 64).”
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 45: He understands it to mean that Islam encompasses the People of the Book as well, rather than being restricted to the group of believers in the Prophet alone.
- Concept: One Islam
- Function of the verse here: Foundation
- Textual citation: “And ‘that we are Muslims’ means that we—Muhammad and those who believe in his message—and you—the People of the Book—are together [Muslims], not us alone.”
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 168: He cites it as evidence that turning away here is abandonment and rejection, rather than merely an abstract intellectual disagreement.
- Concept: Turning away
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “{But if they turn away, then say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims’} (Āl ʿImrān 64).”
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 209: He makes the verse evidence that the Muhammadan call is politically and monotheistically open to the People of the Book within a common word, rather than being based on coercion or exclusion.
- Concept: Monotheism
- Function of the verse here: Foundation
- Textual citation: “We observe this in His—exalted be He—saying: {Say, ‘O People of the Book …’} (Āl ʿImrān 64).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.