Al-Isra 35

3 min read

This axis brings together 4 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

Text of the Verse as Cited

Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with the just balance

Reader’s Answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Qur’an 17:35, and what does “best in outcome” mean in his reading?

In a direct citation, Shahrur employs the verse to define the meaning of “interpretation” (ta’wil) as that to which actions lead or at which they end: fulfilling measure and weighing with the just balance lead, in his wording, to “the best.” Elsewhere, he includes the verse among the commandments and regards it as “the seventh commandment.”

Shahrur explains “best in outcome” in the verse by defining interpretation as the end or ultimate result, and states that fulfilling measure and weight with the just balance will lead people to what is best.

Citation and Location

The Book and the Qur’an — p. 172.

Limits of the Reading

  • The most reliable citation explains “interpretation” as an end or outcome; it does not offer a detailed theory of economics or of all contemporary forms of measurement.
  • The cited passage from “Islam and Faith” does not establish an independent interpretive claim, because it merely lists the verse without commenting on it.
  • The cited passage from “The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna” has no connection to Qur’an 17:35 or its meaning, and thus cannot serve as a link for this page.
  • Describing the verse as a general principle of justice is possible as a reading-based summary of the text, but it should not be attributed to Shahrur as a technical formulation unless a citation explicitly states it.

Continue from Here

Brief Reading

The verse is read as a principle of justice, regulating transactions and weighing, in connection with the goodness of practical outcomes.

Axes

  • Legislative
  • Human and ethical
  • Methodological
  • Justice: 3
  • Goodness of interpretation: 2
  • Measures and weights: 2

Its Place in the Network of Concepts

It is connected to the qualities of justice in dealing and measurement.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Support: 2
  • Context: 1
  • Foundation: 1

Instances of Use

  • Islam and Faith, p. 23: he uses it as an ethical formulation of discipline in transactions and measurement.
    • Concept: justice
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual citation: “- {Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with the just balance…} (Al-Isra 35).”
  • The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 48: he places it within a series of rulings whose conclusion he reads as being part of the revealed wisdom.
    • Concept: justice
    • Function of the verse here: context
    • Textual citation: “He then commands the fulfilment of measure and weight with equity, that is, with justice (Al-Isra 35).”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 172: he understands it to mean that fulfilling measure and weight leads to the best practical outcome.
    • Concept: goodness of interpretation
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual citation: “{Give full measure … that is better and best in outcome}”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 463: he considers it the Qur’anic text encompassing the seventh commandment concerning standards and regulation in transactions.
    • Concept: measures and weights
    • Function of the verse here: foundation
    • Textual citation: “{Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with the just balance…}”

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

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas