This axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
When the earth is shaken with its quake
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur cite the verse, how does he employ it in his argument, and does the citation establish a particular semantic distinction?
Shahrur cites the verse in the book The State and Society (p. 13), as part of his critique of the idea of the “end of history.” He connects it to a moment in which human beings imagine that they have become gods through the advancement of knowledge and development, after which life on earth suddenly ends. Its function in the passage is to support his conception of the end of history, not to explain the verse’s wording or establish a semantic distinction between it and other terms.
Shahrur employs the verse in the context of his discussion of the “end of history,” connecting it to a state in which human beings imagine that they have become gods as a result of the advancement of knowledge and development, and to the sudden end of life on earth. In his argument, the verse serves to reinforce his warning against unicity and to link the continuation of pluralism to confronting this challenge.
Citation and Location
The State and Society — p. 13.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not offer an independent linguistic or semantic interpretation of the verse’s terms.
- The citation does not establish a distinction between “the earthquake” and any other Qur’anic term, nor does it establish a claim of synonymy or a denial of synonymy.
- The expression “epistemic arrogance” is a possible editorial summary; the wording of the citation concerns human beings’ imagining that they have become gods through the advancement of knowledge and development.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
He presents it as an example of the moment of final collapse when human beings reach the height of epistemic arrogance.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Faith-based
Related Concepts
- End of history: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to the end of history as an image of the breaking of human arrogance.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Example: 1
Instances of Use
- The State and Society, p. 13: He employs it as an example of the moment of final collapse when human beings reach the height of epistemic arrogance and imagine that they have become gods.
- Concept: End of history
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual citation: “For His saying—Exalted is He—: {When the earth is shaken with its quake} (The Earthquake 1).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.