This axis brings together 2 instances 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
Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are fought because they have been wronged
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur place Qur’an 22:39 in his argument about fighting, what distinction does he make between injustice and other matters, and what function does the verse serve?
Shahrur cites Qur’an 22:39 among the causes warranting fighting that precede its objectives; he treats the occurrence of injustice as an independent cause in this list. The evidence does not establish that injustice is the first cause in the sense of priority; rather, it is the first cause presented in the enumeration.
Shahrur places the occurrence of injustice among the causes and conditions warranting fighting, relying in this on Qur’an 22:39. Shahrur distinguishes between the causes that warrant fighting and the objectives of fighting; for him, the causes precede the objectives insofar as they are conditions for the permissibility of fighting to occur. He presents injustice, expulsion from one’s homes, and aggression against lives, property, honor, or freedoms as separate causes in his list.
Evidence and Location
Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism — p. 93.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence does not establish that injustice ranks before the other causes; it is only the first mentioned in the enumeration.
- The evidence does not establish that permission to fight is conditional on injustice alone, since Shahrur mentions other independent causes.
- The evidence does not explain the meaning of injustice in detail, nor does it establish the claim that every case begins peacefully before moving to fighting.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
Shahrur uses it to ground the idea that injustice is the primary cause warranting fighting, and that permission to fight is connected to the occurrence of injustice.
Axes
- Legal
- Political and Social
Related Concepts
- Injustice: 2
- Permission to fight: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is directly connected to constructing the concept of jihad as a response to injustice.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Grounding: 1
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 93: He makes injustice the first cause warranting fighting and jihad, while considering the beginning peaceful before moving to fighting.
- Concept: Injustice
- Function of the verse here: Grounding
- Textual evidence: “The occurrence of injustice: in accordance with His—Exalted be He—saying: {Permission has been given to those who are fought because they have been wronged} (Al-Hajj 39).”
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 115: He treats it as evidence that permission to fight is connected to the injustice inflicted upon those being fought.
- Concept: Permission to fight
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “Al-Hajj (39) | { Permission has been given to those who are fought because they have been wronged … }”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.