This thematic entry brings together 3 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 Verse Text as Cited
A promise binding upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an
Reader’s Response
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ God’s saying, “A promise binding upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an,” in his conception of the relationship among these books?
Shahrur employs this segment of the verse as evidence for what he calls “consonance in prophethood” among the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an. He regards their coordination together after the promise is described as “binding” as an indication that they share the content of prophethood. He connects this to his particular distinction between prophethood, on the one hand, and messengerhoods or legislations, on the other; thus, in his view, the occurrence of the three books here does not mean that their legislative systems are identical.
Shahrur cites al-Tawbah 111 as evidence for the existence of consonance among the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an in prophethood, because the verse coordinates these books with one another in the context of describing the promise as binding. This inference forms part of Shahrur’s distinction between “prophethood,” which he attributes to the three books, and “legislative messengerhoods”; accordingly, he does not treat the verse in itself as evidence that their legislations are alike.
Citation and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 122.
Limits of the Reading
- This citation does not establish that Shahrur derives from the verse a detailed ruling on fighting; the direct focus of his inference is the conjunction of the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an in the Qur’anic wording.
- The claim that the three books are “consonant in prophethood” is Shahrur’s interpretation and terminology, not a linguistic conclusion compelled by the wording of the verse alone.
- The inference should not be extended into a claim that the contents of the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an as a whole are identical, or that their legislations are identical; the citation confines it to the domain of prophethood according to Shahrur’s classification.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
The verse is invoked to affirm that fighting in the path of God is tied to a covenant of faith and an eschatological reward, rather than to open-ended warfare without a framework.
Themes
- Faith-based
- Political and social
- Narrative and historical
Related Concepts
- Prophethood: 2
- Fighting: 2
- Pledge to fight: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It falls within the linkage between religious obligation and the limits of social and political action.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 3
Instances of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 122: He makes it evidence for the consonance of the three books of prophethood in their content, as distinct from legislative messengerhoods.
- Concept: prophethood
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “Thus, in all of them there is consonance in prophethood; hence He coordinated them with one another in His saying, exalted is He, {.. A PROMISE BINDING UPON HIM IN THE TORAH, THE GOSPEL, AND THE QUR’AN} (al-Tawbah 111).”
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 77: He cites it to affirm that fighting connected with the path of God is part of an obligation framed by the divine covenant, rather than merely open-ended warfare.
- Concept: fighting
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “So that he may be among those of whom He—the Exalted—said: {INDEED, GOD HAS PURCHASED FROM THE BELIEVERS…} (al-Tawbah 111).”
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 115: He includes it among the verses of elaboration in order to establish that fighting in the path of God is tied to a covenant of faith and an eschatological reward.
- Concept: pledge to fight
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “Al-Tawbah (111) | { INDEED, GOD HAS PURCHASED FROM THE BELIEVERS THEIR LIVES AND THEIR WEALTH … }”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.