Ar-Ra'd 43

3 min read

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

The verse text as cited

Say, ‘God is sufficient as witness between me and you, and whoever has knowledge of the Book’

Brief reading

The verse is used to critique the claim of complete mastery of the Book, and to draw attention to the limits of human interpretation and human knowledge.

Axes

  • methodological
  • faith-based
  • linguistic and semantic
  • Limits of knowledge: 2
  • Limits of interpretation: 2
  • Knowledge of the Book: 2

Its place in the conceptual network

It sets a cognitive boundary before any reading that claims to possess the whole meaning.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Critique of the inherited tradition: 2
  • Support: 1

Pages in the atlas that refer to this verse

These links gather the pages that rely on the verse or make it part of the argument within the atlas.

Instances of use

  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 249: He uses it to alert the reader that understanding of the Book is not absolute for anyone, and thus claiming complete mastery of the meaning is a kind of sharing in knowledge.
    • Concept: Limits of knowledge
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of the inherited tradition
    • Textual evidence: “Whoever claims to understand God’s Book as a whole … is in fact claiming to share God’s knowledge in light of His, the Exalted, saying: {… AND WHOEVER HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THE BOOK} (Ar-Ra’d 43)”
  • The Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation: A Guide, p. 14: He employs it to deny any claim to absolute mastery of God’s Book, and therefore to criticize the inherited interpretation that claims to explain the entire Book.
    • Concept: Limits of interpretation
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of the inherited tradition
    • Textual evidence: ”{ AND THOSE WHO DISBELIEVE SAY, ‘YOU ARE NOT A MESSENGER.’ SAY, ‘GOD IS SUFFICIENT AS WITNESS BETWEEN ME AND YOU, AND WHOEVER HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THE BOOK’ } (Ar-Ra’d 43)”
    • Countervailing traditional reading: interpretation from beginning to end as an absolute understanding of the Book
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 90: He cites it to affirm that claiming absolute mastery of the Book is a kind of sharing in God’s knowledge, which he rejects.
    • Concept: Knowledge of the Book
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: “In light of His, the Exalted, saying: { AND THOSE WHO DISBELIEVE SAY, ‘YOU ARE NOT A MESSENGER.’ SAY, ‘GOD IS SUFFICIENT AS WITNESS BETWEEN ME AND YOU, AND WHOEVER HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THE BOOK’ } (Ar-Ra’d 43).”

This page is presented within the general method of atlas construction.

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Backlinks2

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas