This axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Verse Text as Cited
Indeed, it is the truth, just as you speak
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does the verse occur, what does speech mean for Shahrur, and how does he employ it in his argument?
The verse occurs in Al-Dhariyat 23. Shahrur presents speech as a constitutive human capacity connected to the vocal apparatus, not a capacity dependent on revelation. He employs the verse to support his analogy between speech and breathing: just as a person does not need revelation in order to breathe, they do not need it in order to speak.
Shahrur regards speech as a constitutive capacity placed in the human being by the Creator, and rejects the notion that speech itself requires revelation. He employs Al-Dhariyat 23 in his argument to affirm the description of speech as “truth,” within a comparison between speech and breathing as capacities that do not depend on revelation.
Citation and Location
The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna — p. 44.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s position that speech is a human capacity that does not require revelation; it does not itself offer a detailed classification of every type of the Prophet’s speech.
- The citation does not explain the verse’s meaning comprehensively beyond its specific evidentiary function in this context.
- The citation does not establish a special relationship between this verse and other verses merely on the basis of verbal similarity.
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Brief Reading
It is cited to show that speech is a natural human capacity, not a sign of receiving revelation in every utterance made by the Prophet.
Axes
- Linguistic and semantic
- Faith-related
Related Concepts
- truth: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It serves a semantic distinction between natural truth and revelation.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 44: He employs it to affirm that speech is a natural human capacity, like cosmic truths, rather than evidence of receiving revelation in every utterance made by the Prophet.
- Concept: truth
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “As in His, Exalted is He, saying: {Indeed, it is the truth, just as you speak} [Al-Dhariyat 23].”
Related Books
- The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.