This thematic axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
{And how many a town We destroyed, and Our might came upon it by night, or while they were resting at noon}
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ Qur’an 7:4 in interpreting the destruction of towns?
Shahrur cites the verse among verses concerning past nations, treating it as evidence that the destruction of towns occurs through direct divine intervention. He then links this destruction, in his reading of the context he presents, to the end of the effect of warning and the call of the messengers after their denial.
Shahrur cites the verse {And how many a town We destroyed…} in the context of his discussion of the destruction of past nations by punishment. He interprets the destruction of those towns as “external dialectic,” that is, direct divine intervention and collective punishment. In his commentary on the group of verses he cites, Shahrur links destruction to the coming of warners and messengers, followed by disbelief in the call and the closure of the possibility of internal change.
Citation and Location
The State and Society — p. 84.
Limits of the Reading
- This evidence establishes Shahrur’s use of the verse within a broader contextual reading, rather than a detailed independent interpretation of the wording of the verse alone.
- The sequence “warning, then denial, then destruction” should not be attributed to verse 4 in isolation; it is a connection Shahrur makes in his adjacent presentation of the verses.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
He cites it to establish that the destruction of towns comes after warning and denial.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Political and social
Related Concepts
- destruction: 2
- towns: 1
- warning: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is linked to the sequence of warning followed by destruction in the stories of towns.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Places of Use
- The State and Society, p. 84: He cites it to establish that towns are destroyed through direct divine intervention after the stage of warning and denial.
- Concept: destruction
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual evidence: “- {And how many a town We destroyed, and Our might came upon it by night, or while they were resting at noon} (Al-A’raf 4)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.