This thematic node brings together 2 instances 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
O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you…
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur read God’s saying, “as it was prescribed for those before you,” in the verse on fasting?
Shahrur uses the phrase to establish that fasting is a devotional ritual that predates the Qur’an and was known to earlier communities. He then links its purpose in the verse to piety—that is, safeguarding a person from what his desires and tongue may impel him toward.
Shahrur reads al-Baqara 183 as a text affirming the historical continuity of fasting among earlier communities, rather than as a form of worship that began only with Muhammad’s community. In his presentation of the verse, Shahrur takes the phrase “so that you may become pious” as evidence that fasting performs a preventive ethical and behavioral function.
Citation and Location
The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna — p. 98.
Limits of the Reading
- This citation establishes Shahrur’s reading of the verse in terms of the ritual’s historical continuity and purpose, but it is not by itself sufficient to establish all the details of his conception of the rulings on fasting or of the history of fasting among earlier communities.
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Brief Reading
Shahrur considers them a foundational text for explaining fasting as an obligatory ritual with a historical extension among earlier communities.
Themes
- Legislative
- Faith-related
Related Concepts
- Fasting: 3
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to establishing the ruling on fasting within the broader religious narrative.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Foundational: 2
Instances of Use
- Islam and Faith, p. 82: He treats it as a foundational text for detailing fasting and regarding it as a prior ritual among communities, then brought to completion in Muhammad’s community.
- Concept: fasting
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual citation: “- { O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you… } (al-Baqara 183, 184, 185),”
- The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 98: He relies on it to affirm fasting as an obligatory ritual with a devotional and historical dimension among earlier communities.
- Concept: fasting
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual citation: “{O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you …} al-Baqara 183, 184, 185.”
Related Books
- Islam and Faith
- The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.