This axis brings together 2 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The text of the verse as cited
{ O you who believe, when you encounter those who disbelieve advancing [in battle], do not turn your backs to them. }
Reader’s answer
Question
Where does the verse occur, what does the description of unbelief in it mean for Shahrur, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The verse occurs in Al-Anfal 15, within an address to believers when they encounter their opponents in battle. Shahrur makes it an example of how the designation “disbeliever” in the context of war is exchanged by the warring parties as an indication of manifest hostility, rather than merely establishing an absolute doctrinal designation.
Shahrur cites Al-Anfal 15 in his discussion of war, making the designation “disbeliever” in it applicable to the opponents of the believers who fought them. Shahrur links unbelief to a conscious, public stance expressed through deed or word, and, in the context of war, presents the designation “disbeliever” as a label exchanged by the two warring sides because of their display of hostility.
Citation and location
Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation — p. 40.
Limits of the reading
- The citation establishes this understanding within Shahrur’s construction of the meaning of unbelief; it does not present an independent linguistic analysis here of the verse’s terms or its full context.
- The citation does not establish that every occurrence of the word “disbeliever” in the Qur’an is confined to a wartime context.
- At this point, the citation does not establish an absolute negation of the doctrinal dimension; rather, it also mentions unbelief in God and unbelief in Muhammad’s prophethood and messengerhood in its presentation.
Continue from here
Brief reading
The verse is read as evidence that unbelief here is a hostile wartime stance, not an absolute doctrinal designation.
Axes
- Political and social
- Methodological
Related concepts
- Wartime unbelief: 2
- Unbelief: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It contributes to distinguishing meaning according to the political and military context.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Context: 1
- Distinction: 1
Instances of use
- Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 40: He treats it as evidence that the designation of unbelief shifts in the context of war into a description of the mutual hostile stance between the parties.
- Concept: Wartime unbelief
- Function of the verse here: Context
- Textual citation: “{ O you who believe, when you encounter those who disbelieve advancing [in battle]… } (Al-Anfal 15).”
- Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 41: He uses the verse to indicate that unbelief here is a hostile wartime stance between two warring parties, not an absolute doctrinal designation.
- Concept: Unbelief
- Function of the verse here: Distinction
- Textual citation: “God Most High said to the believers among the followers of the Messenger, regarding their opponents who fought them: { … do not turn your backs to them. } (Al-Anfal 15). Even the Battle of the Camel took place between two unbelieving factions.”
Related books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.