This locus brings together 4 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking them to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the verse as cited
Everyone upon it is perishing * Yet there remains the Countenance of your Lord, Possessor of Majesty and Honor
Reader’s answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ the Almighty’s statement, “Everyone upon it is perishing * Yet there remains the Countenance of your Lord, Possessor of Majesty and Honor,” in his interpretation of polytheism?
Shahrur employs the two verses to establish that abidingness belongs exclusively to God: everything on earth is subject to perishing and change, whereas abidingness is an attribute that belongs to God alone. From this premise, he defines one form of polytheism as ascribing abidingness or eternity to natural or social phenomena—that is, treating them as though they were fixed and unaffected by change and disappearance.
Shahrur states explicitly that “the Abiding” is a name exclusive to God, citing al-Rahman 26–27 as evidence that abidingness belongs to God alone and that everything else is perishing. On the basis of this argument, Shahrur develops an understanding of polytheism: polytheism occurs when natural and social phenomena are described as abiding or eternal, overlooking the fact that they are subject to change and disappearance. Shahrur calls this pattern “hidden polytheism” or “polytheism in lordship,” describing it as the belief that phenomena remain fixed at a particular stage and are equal to God in abidingness.
Citation and location
Islam and Faith — p. 112.
Limits of the reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s use of the two verses in constructing his definition of polytheism associated with claiming abidingness for phenomena; it does not, by itself, establish every possible detail of the meaning of polytheism in the Qur’an or in the Islamic tradition.
- The assertion that the two verses address “change” in its social or natural form is an interpretive step taken by Shahrur. The text of the verses in the citation states the perishing of “everyone upon it” and the abidingness of the Lord’s Countenance, whereas applying this to social phenomena forms part of his conceptual construction.
- The accompanying citation does not support attributing this argument to the book Islam and Humanity; the documented location here is Islam and Faith, p. 112.
Continue from here
Brief reading
Shahrur draws on the two verses to establish that abidingness belongs to God alone and that everything besides Him is subject to perishing and change.
Axes
- Faith-related
- Linguistic and semantic
- Methodological
Related concepts
- Abidingness: 4
- Perishing: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It is connected to the definition of polytheism and to establishing the distinction between divine permanence and the passing away of everything else.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Foundational: 3
- Supporting: 1
Contexts of use
- Islam and Humanity: He cites it to establish that abidingness belongs to God alone, and from it constructs the meaning of polytheism as ascribing permanence to other than God.
- Concept: abidingness
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual citation: “{ Everyone upon it is perishing * Yet there remains the Countenance of your Lord, Possessor of Majesty and Honor } (al-Rahman 26–27).”
- Islam and Humanity: He makes it a basis for denying abidingness to phenomena and societies and affirming it for God alone, as a prelude to defining polytheism.
- Concept: abidingness
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual citation: “Among the Most Beautiful Names of God, we find the name ‘the Abiding’ …: { Everyone upon it is perishing * Yet there remains the Countenance of your Lord … } (al-Rahman 26–27).”
- Islam and Faith, p. 112: He makes it a basis for defining polytheism as ascribing the attribute of abidingness to other than God.
- Concept: abidingness
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual citation: “It is a name exclusive to God, Mighty and Majestic, because no one can possess the attribute of abidingness apart from God, for abidingness belongs to God alone: { Everyone upon it is perishing * Yet there remains the Countenance of your Lord … } (al-Rahman 26–27).”
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 128: He employs it to establish that permanence belongs to God alone and that everything besides Him is subject to perishing and change.
- Concept: perishing
- Function of the verse here: supporting
- Textual citation: “{ Everyone upon it is perishing … } (al-Rahman 26, 27).”
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.