This axis brings together 1 locus of 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 the word of your Lord was fulfilled in truth and justice
Reader’s answer
Question
Where does Shahrur cite the verse, what distinction does he draw concerning “God’s words,” and what function does it serve in his argument?
Shahrur cites the verse on p. 15 of A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, following his discussion of material existence and its laws as “God’s words.” Its function here is to support his description of existence as truthful and just, within his distinction between God’s words in existence and God’s speech, which is the Wise Revelation.
Shahrur cites Al-An’am 115 in the context of his claim that material existence and its laws are among God’s words, and that this existence neither lies, deceives, nor shows favoritism, but is just in itself. At this point, Shahrur distinguishes between “God’s words,” which he applies to material existence and its laws, and “God’s speech,” which he applies to the Wise Revelation; he then maintains that, in his understanding, neither requires anything external to itself in order to be understood.
Citation and location
A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation — p. 15.
Limits of the reading
- The cited passage does not explicitly state that the verse alone establishes the possibility of scientific knowledge, nor does it demonstrate this in detail; what it explicitly states is that the sciences are an alphabet for understanding God’s words in existence.
- The cited passage does not assert that “God’s words” and “God’s speech” are synonymous; rather, it presents them as two distinct usages within his argument.
- The cited passage does not offer an independent linguistic or detailed interpretation of the verse’s wording outside this argumentative context.
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Brief reading
Here, the verse is read as evidence for the truthfulness of the laws of existence and for the possibility of grounding knowledge in this truthfulness.
Axes
- Linguistic and semantic
- Methodological
Related concepts
- Truthfulness and justice: 2
- Laws of existence: 1
Its place in the network of concepts
It supports the idea that the contemporary reading begins from the orderliness of meaning in both the universe and the text.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Support: 1
Loci of use
- A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 15: He presents it as evidence that existence and its laws deceive no one, and that scientific knowledge can rest upon the truthfulness of God’s words in the universe.
- Concept: truthfulness and justice
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “{ And the word of your Lord was fulfilled in truth and justice } (Al-An’am 115).”
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.