This thematic axis brings together 1 locus 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
﴿Then kill the polytheists wherever you find them …﴾
Reader’s answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Qur’an 9:5 in criticizing its designation as the “Verse of the Sword” and the claim that it abrogated other verses?
Shahrur employs the verse to object to making it a general abrogating rule. He presents its designation as the “Verse of the Sword,” then cites an explicit critique of the claim that it abrogated 120 verses and of the notion that the sword is an instrument of proclamation. However, the available evidence does not provide a detailed explanation by Shahrur himself of the verse’s historical context or the limits of its ruling.
Shahrur presents Qur’an 9:5 as the verse that some scholars call the “Verse of the Sword.” Its presentation here is connected to a critique of the claim that it abrogated 120 verses, and to a critique of the assertion that the sword fulfills the duty of proclamation. The quoted statement maintains that the Qur’an’s verses are not suspended, and that the operation of each verse is connected to its circumstances and fields.
Evidence and location
Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism — p. 51.
Limits of the reading
- The excerpt begins in the middle of a context and does not include Shahrur’s full direct explanation of the verse.
- The extended paragraph in the evidence is quoted from Muhammad al-Ghazali; its detailed wording should therefore not be attributed to Shahrur except insofar as he chose to cite it in this location.
- The evidence does not establish that the verse “remains within its particular historical context” with specific historical detail; what is established is the rejection of comprehensive abrogation and the general suspension of verses.
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Brief reading
It is used to criticize turning it into a comprehensive abrogating rubric, and to emphasize that it remains within its particular historical context.
Axes
- Legislative
- Political and social
Related concepts
- Verse of the Sword: 2
- Abrogation of verses: 1
- Historical context: 1
Its place in the network of concepts
It belongs to the network of critique of tradition and rejection of generalization beyond its proper locus.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Critique of tradition: 1
Loci of use
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 51: He criticizes its designation as the Verse of the Sword and its use to abrogate many verses, and rejects generalizing it beyond its historical context.
- Concept: Verse of the Sword
- Function of the verse here: Critique of tradition
- Textual evidence: “And that is the Verse of the Sword, as our esteemed scholars call it.”
- Corresponding traditional reading: The Verse of the Sword abrogates many verses.
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.