Al-An'am 1

3 min read

This axis brings together 2 loci where this verse is used in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The Verse Text as Cited

{Praise be to God, who created the heavens and the earth and made the darknesses and the light}

Reader’s Answer

Question

Where does Shahrur employ Al-An’am 1, and what does it establish concerning the distinction between the acts of bringing into existence and the function of the verse in his argument?

The citation of Al-An’am 1 occurs in the attached passage from The Book and the Qur’an, p. 202, within a cosmic interpretation that links the stages of matter’s development to the emergence of transparency to light. Shahrur presents the verse as confirmation of this conception, then declares the necessity of distinguishing among creation, origination, and primordial bringing forth, without the attached citation explaining the meanings of these acts or the detailed differences among them.

Shahrur employs Al-An’am 1 as confirmation of his cosmic interpretation, which he had previously set forth regarding the stages of matter’s development until it became transparent to light. Shahrur maintains that, in bringing existence into being, it is necessary to distinguish among three acts: creation, origination, and primordial bringing forth.

Citation and Location

The Book and the Qur’an — p. 202.

Limits of the Reading

  • The citation does not establish that darknesses temporally precede light; it links the verse to the development of matter and transparency to light without explicitly asserting precedence between the two terms.
  • The citation does not define creation, origination, or primordial bringing forth, nor does it clarify the detailed semantic differences among them; therefore, the distinction cannot properly be completed from this passage alone.
  • There is a discrepancy between the usage statement, which refers to p. 181, and the location of the attached citation, which refers to p. 202; the location of the attached citation is relied upon here.
  • The citation does not establish that the verse is an independent basis for a theory of the evolution of the universe; rather, it shows that it performs a confirming function within the argument Shahrur presents.

Continue from Here

Brief Reading

For Shahrur, the verse is read as linking creation to cosmic gradation, beginning with darknesses before light.

Axes

  • Faith-based
  • Methodological
  • Darknesses and light: 2
  • Creation of existence: 2

Its Place in the Conceptual Network

It serves a foundational conception of the emergence of existence within a cosmic order.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Support: 1
  • Foundation: 1

Loci of Use

  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 181: He relies on it to explain that darkness precedes light in his conception of the evolution of the universe.
    • Concept: Darknesses and light
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: “Or, if we understand night as darkness, as in His saying, Most High: {Praise be to God, who created the heavens and the earth and made the darknesses and the light}”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 202: He employs it to link creation and cosmic gradation, and to ground a conception of the emergence of existence in an ordered divine act.
    • Concept: Creation of existence
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: “And He has confirmed this in His saying, Most High: {Praise be to God, who created the heavens and the earth and made the darknesses and the light}”

This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas