Al-Hujurat 12

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This axis brings together 3 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The text of the verse as cited

… and do not backbite one another…

Reader’s answer

Question

Where does Shahrur cite Al-Hujurat 12, how does he distinguish the meaning of “suspicion,” and what role does the verse play in his argument?

Shahrur cites a phrase from Al-Hujurat 12 in The Book and the Qur’an (p. 275), among examples through which he argues that certain Arabic verbs may carry two opposite meanings. In this instance, he treats “suspicion” as denoting doubt, in contrast to other instances that he presents as denoting certainty.

Shahrur presents “suspicion” as a verb with two opposite meanings: doubt and certainty. He cites the phrase “indeed, some suspicion is sin” from Al-Hujurat 12 among examples of the meaning of doubt for the term “suspicion.”

Citation and location

The Book and the Qur’an — p. 275.

Limits of the reading

  • The citation does not establish that the cited location is Islam and Faith, p. 83; rather, it identifies the location as The Book and the Qur’an, p. 275.
  • The citation does not offer an interpretation of backbiting or formulate the verse as an independent social prohibition; therefore, this use is not attributed to it here.
  • The citation establishes that Shahrur affirms the opposition between the two meanings of “suspicion,” but it does not establish a claim about synonymy or its absence.

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Brief reading

The verse is invoked to prohibit backbiting and ill suspicion, while highlighting that some suspicion is considered sinful, rather than all suspicion being categorically forbidden.

Axes

  • Human and ethical
  • Political and social
  • Methodological
  • Suspicion: 3
  • Backbiting: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It serves to define the ethical domain of relations among people and the limits of generalization in judgment.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Support: 2
  • Example: 1

Instances of use

  • Islam and Faith, p. 83: He cites it in the context of prohibiting backbiting as one of the social vices.
    • Concept: backbiting
    • The verse’s function here: support
    • Textual citation: “- {… and do not backbite one another…} (Al-Hujurat 12).”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 275: He invokes the verse to support the negative meaning of suspicion as doubt that may lead to sin.
    • Concept: suspicion
    • The verse’s function here: support
    • Textual citation: “{… indeed, some suspicion is sin}. (Al-Hujurat 12).”
  • Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 113: He cites it as evidence that avoidance does not mean prohibition, because the verse makes some suspicion sinful, not all of it.
    • Concept: suspicion
    • The verse’s function here: example
    • Textual citation: “Finally, we turn to His—Exalted is He—statement in Al-Hujurat 12, where He commands us to avoid much suspicion.”

This page is presented within the general methodology for constructing the atlas.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas