Al-Baqarah 37

5 min read

For Shahrur, this verse marks the transition from error to return, and the emergence of words as a new beginning in the human course. It is therefore connected, in his view, to repentance and to a leap in consciousness preceding the completion of the human experience.

The Verse Text as Cited

Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned toward him. Indeed, He is the Ever-Relenting, the Merciful.

Reader’s Answer

Question

How does Shahrur read the Almighty’s statement: “Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned toward him”?

Shahrur assigns the verse a particular meaning that goes beyond stating the acceptance of Adam’s repentance: for him, it represents the beginning of the human “leap of abstraction.” He explains the “words” as segmented sounds bearing a conventional meaning related to repentance, which Adam received from God; he thus connects the verse, within his theoretical framework, to the emergence of the human capacity to use abstract terms. This describes Shahrur’s reading, rather than a meaning imposed by the verse itself.

Shahrur employs the verse to explain what he calls the beginning of abstraction in human beings, making Adam’s reception of “words” a foundational event for this leap. He interprets the “words” as a set of segmented sounds that bear, through a non-natural conventional relationship, the meaning of requesting repentance; he cites a comparison of the term “hitta” with forgiveness to illustrate his idea of the connection between sound and signified meaning.

Citation and Location

The Book and the Qur’an — p. 260.

Limits of the Reading

  • This presentation attributes the reading to Shahrur and does not settle the exegetical meaning of the verse outside his project.
  • The claim that the “words” were segmented sounds in the form of a request, and that the verse describes the emergence of abstraction, is an interpretive assumption particular to Shahrur; the text of the verse does not explicitly state this.
  • This citation alone is insufficient to establish that, for Shahrur, the verse founds the general course of human guidance, since it focuses directly on abstraction and language.

Continue From Here

Brief Reading

Shahrur understands it as the moment when Adam received words from his Lord, followed by the acceptance of repentance. Thus, for him, the verse is connected to the beginning of the human path toward guidance and to the idea that knowledge rests not only on error, but also on overcoming it.

Themes

  • Narrative and historical
  • Faith-related
  • Repentance: 4
  • Abstraction: 3

Its Place in the Network of Concepts

It belongs to the networks of both repentance and abstraction, because it describes not mere forgiveness but a transformation in the way meaning is received. It therefore appears alongside his discussion of the search for truth and the beginning of humanity’s cognitive formation.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Example: 2
  • Foundation: 2
  • Context: 1

Summary of Its Presence in the Atlas

  • A sign of repentance and return
  • Connected to a leap in abstraction
  • Part of the narrative of the search for truth

Contexts of Use

  • Islam and Humanity: He uses it as an early example of humanity’s journey in search of truth and of the recognition of error followed by a return to God.
    • Concept: repentance
    • Function of the verse here: example
    • Textual citation: “When Adam acknowledged his sin after disobeying his Lord’s command, by repenting to Him, Mighty and Majestic: { Then Adam received … } (al-Baqarah 37)”
  • Islam and Humanity: He connects it to the beginning of the human path toward guidance after error and repentance.
    • Concept: repentance
    • Function of the verse here: example
    • Textual citation: “{ Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned toward him … } (al-Baqarah 37)”
  • Islam and Faith, p. 10: He places it within the narrative of the human search for truth as a journey that begins with Adam and then takes shape with Abraham.
    • Concept: repentance
    • Function of the verse here: context
    • Textual citation: “{ Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned toward him… } (al-Baqarah 37)”
  • Qur’anic Narratives, Vol. 2, p. 10: He makes the verse a sign of a cognitive leap in human development before the second descent.
    • Concept: abstraction
    • Function of the verse here: foundation
    • Textual citation: “The leap of abstraction indicated by His Almighty statement: { Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned toward him… } (al-Baqarah 37)”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 260: He cites it as evidence that the first leap of abstraction came directly from God in the form of words/segmented sounds with conventional signification.
    • Concept: abstraction
    • Function of the verse here: foundation
    • Textual citation: “Here came the stage of the third Adam … { Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned toward him }”

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

Graph View

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas