Al-Baqarah 3

4 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.

The Verse Text as Cited

Those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them.

Reader’s Answer

Question

Where does Shahrur employ Qur’an 2:3, what distinction does he derive within it, and what function does it serve in his argument?

Shahrur cites the verse in the context of discussing the meaning of “prayer” (salat), and treats its association with “establishing prayer” as part of evidence which, in his view, indicates—according to its context—standing, sitting, bowing, and prostrating, rather than “connection.”

Shahrur employs Qur’an 2:3 as evidence in his inquiry into the signification of “prayer” and derivatives of the root ṣ-l-w. At this point, Shahrur distinguishes between understanding “prayer” as standing, sitting, bowing, and prostrating, and understanding it as “connection,” making Qur’an 2:3 an example of the first context.

Citation and Location

Islam and Faith — p. 255.

Limits of the Reading

  • The citation does not establish that Shahrur interprets spending in the verse as almsgiving (zakat) or righteous action.
  • The citation does not establish that, for him, the verse begins a description of the believers’ qualities in terms of piety.
  • The citation does not state a relation of synonymy or non-synonymy among the verse’s other terms.
  • The distinction attributed to Shahrur here is limited to his contrast between prayer in its ritual sense and “connection” within this context.

Continue from Here

Brief Reading

For Shahrur, the verse appears as the beginning of a description of the believers’ qualities: piety, spending, and establishing prayer as a practical practice.

Axes

  • Faith-based
  • Legislative
  • Human and ethical
  • Spending: 3
  • Establishing prayer: 2
  • Piety: 2

Its Place in the Network of Concepts

It is connected to constructing the image of the believer and to linking worship with righteous action.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Support: 2
  • Example: 1
  • Foundation: 1

Instances of Use

  • Islam and the Human Being: He reads spending here as one of the signs of almsgiving and righteous action.
    • Concept: Spending
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: “{ Those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them } (al-Baqarah 3).”
  • Islam and Faith, p. 255: He adduces it within a list of citations linking prayer with establishment and with ritual practice, rather than mere connection.
    • Concept: Establishing prayer
    • Function of the verse here: Example
    • Textual citation: “Read with me His, exalted be He, saying: - {Those who believe in the unseen and establish prayer…} (al-Baqarah 3).”
  • The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 96: He makes it the starting point for tracing the relationship between spending, charity, and almsgiving in the Qur’anic conception.
    • Concept: Spending
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: “A thread linking … spending, charity, and almsgiving, beginning with the phrase {and spend out of what We have provided for them}, al-Baqarah 3.”
  • the Book and the Qur’an, p. 45: He uses it to identify the qualities of the pious who have been singled out by the Book’s guidance.
    • Concept: Piety
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: “And the pious are those who {… believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them} (al-Baqarah 3).”

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

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas