This axis brings together 1 locus where this verse is used in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
These are the signs of God
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does the verse occur, what does Shahrur distinguish through it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The cited locus occurs in Al-Jathiyah 6 in the phrase “These are the signs of God.” In this passage, Shahrur includes it among the evidences for applying “the signs of God” to particular natural phenomena and events that are subject to change. Its function is to support this terminological application within his argument concerning the distinction between general law and particular events, rather than to establish that the verse itself addresses scientific inquiry or human action.
Shahrur cites Al-Jathiyah 6 together with Al-Rum 22 to link the term “the signs of God” to particular natural phenomena and events. In his argument, Al-Jathiyah 6 serves as supporting evidence for his distinction between the general law that he places within the “Preserved Tablet” and the particular natural events that he describes as subject to change.
Evidence and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 58.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence does not explain the full context of Al-Jathiyah 6; rather, it cites the phrase as evidence.
- The evidence does not establish that the verse makes natural phenomena “a field of inquiry,” nor does it attribute human intervention in them to it.
- The evidence does not establish a terminological equivalence or distinction between “the signs of God” and “a clear Book”; rather, Shahrur connects them within his presentation.
- Describing the signs as natural phenomena is Shahrur’s assertion in the cited evidence, not an independent judgment about the meaning of the verse in its Qur’anic context.
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Brief Reading
It establishes that natural phenomena are read as signs of God and as a field for inquiry and intervention.
Axes
- Methodological
- Faith-based
Related Concepts
- Signs of God: 2
- Natural phenomena: 1
- Inquiry: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It connects faith in the signs with intellectual engagement with them.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Loci of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 58: He cites it to establish that natural phenomena are called signs of God, and that they are a field of inquiry and intervention rather than the field of preserved permanence.
- Concept: Signs of God
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “{These are the signs of God} (Al-Jathiyah 6)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.