This entry 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.
The Text of the Verse as Cited
Maintain the prayers and the middle prayer, and stand devoutly before God.
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur read God’s saying: “Maintain the prayers and the middle prayer”?
Shahrur reads “the prayers” in the verse as the ritual ṣalāh involving bowing and prostration, rather than “prayer” in the sense of connection. He holds that “the middle prayer” is not the afternoon prayer, but the moderate, reverent, tranquil prayer that has fulfilled its elements without excess or deficiency.
Shahrur interprets “the prayers” in al-Baqarah 238 as the plural of ritual ṣalāh, which he defines here by bowing and prostration. Shahrur rejects restricting “the middle prayer” to the afternoon prayer, and understands it as the moderate, reverent, tranquil prayer that fulfills its elements without excess or deficiency.
Source and Location
Islam and Faith — p. 256.
Limits of the Reading
- This presents Shahrur’s reading as it appears in the cited passage; it does not claim preference for it over other interpretations.
- The cited passage does not offer an independent, detailed argument for defining “the middle” as moderation; rather, it states the interpretive conclusion directly.
- The cited passage does not explain the number of obligatory prayers or link “the middle” to a specific time; rather, it denies identifying it with the afternoon prayer.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
Shahrur interprets the prayers here as ritual ṣalāh, while rejecting the restriction of the middle prayer to the afternoon prayer.
Themes
- Legislative
- Faith-related
Related Concepts
- Middle prayer: 2
- Prayer: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to distinguishing the types of ṣalāh and determining its devotional position.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Distinction: 1
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- Islam and Faith, p. 256: He interprets the prayers here as ritual ṣalāh, and differs from the interpretation that restricts the middle prayer to the afternoon prayer.
- Concept: Middle prayer
- Function of the verse here: Distinction
- Textual citation: “As for His saying, exalted is He: {Maintain the prayers and the middle prayer, and stand devoutly before God} (al-Baqarah 238), here it is the plural of ṣalāh.”
- Corresponding traditional reading: Some exegetes claim that it is the afternoon prayer.
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, pp. 29–30: He cites it to affirm that prayer is an ordered act of worship, but that the details of its performance are determined by the numerical obligation and its manner, not by the general text alone.
- Concept: Prayer
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “… {Maintain the prayers and the middle prayer, and stand before God …} (al-Baqarah 238)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.