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
And those whom you do not provide for
Reader’s answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “And those whom you do not provide for”?
Shahrur employs the verse to indicate that the act of “providing” can be attributed in language to both God and human beings, while maintaining God’s superiority; for he says that God is “the best of providers.”
Citing verse 20 of Surat al-Hijr, Shahrur states that “God provides and the human being provides,” then qualifies this by saying that God is “the best of providers.”
Citation and location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 528.
Limits of the reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s manner of employing the verse in this passage, but does not offer a detailed interpretation of the context of verse 20 of Surat al-Hijr or of the meaning of “those whom you do not provide for” within the sura.
- The phrase “the best of providers” appears in the citation as Shahrur’s statement, but the citation does not explain the criterion of “best” or the limits of attributing provision to human beings.
- This passage alone cannot serve as a basis for a general ruling on all divine names or attributes; the citation mentions provision and creation within a specific argument in a discussion of depiction.
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Brief reading
The verse is used to highlight that the divine act has a human counterpart in language, without equating the two.
Axes
- Faith-related
- Linguistic and semantic
Related concepts
- Provision: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It serves a reading of the subtle distinctions between the divine attribute and its linguistic representation among human beings.
Role of the verse in the argument
- Support: 1
Places of use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 528: He uses it to say that divine attributes of action may have a human counterpart, without equating them.
- Concept: provision
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “God provides and the human being provides {And those whom you do not provide for}”
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.