This locus brings together 2 instances 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
{Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book for the people in truth … and you are not a guardian over them}
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur read God’s saying: {Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book for the people in truth… and you are not a guardian over them}?
The verse shows that the Book was sent down “for the people,” and that the consequences of guidance and error return to the human being himself, while the Messenger is denied the status of guardian over them. In the available evidence, Shahrur cites the verse within a sequence of verses affirming this denial of the Messenger’s guardianship over people; it is therefore appropriate to attribute to him its use in establishing the limits of the Messenger’s function in communicating and reminding, rather than bearing people’s choices or being accountable for them.
The verse states that the Book was sent down “for the people in truth,” links guidance and error to the self, and denies that the Messenger is a guardian over people. Shahrur employs the verse within a pattern of verses in which phrases recur such as: “I am not a guardian over you,” “We have not sent you as a guardian over them,” and “you are not a controller over them.”
Evidence and Location
State and Society — p. 303.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence establishes that Shahrur cites Al-Zumar 41 among verses denying guardianship, but it does not include an extensive explanation by him of the concept of “people” or of the domains of social and political responsibility.
- This passage alone does not establish further details concerning how the principle is applied in legislation or the state; such details are therefore not attributed to it here.
- The other available evidence concerns Al-Zumar 30 rather than Al-Zumar 41, and thus cannot serve as direct evidence for this page.
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Brief Reading
Shahrur uses it to affirm that the message is a communication to all people, and that responsibility for acceptance and choice lies with them, not with the Messenger.
Axes
- Political and social
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Communication to people: 2
- Guardianship: 2
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It is connected to the concept of communication as opposed to guardianship in organizing the relationship between the Messenger and people.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 2
Instances of Use
- State and Society, p. 303: He uses it to establish that the Book is addressed to all people, but that responsibility for acceptance rests with them alone.
- Concept: Communication to people
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “- {Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book for the people in truth … and you are not a guardian over them} (Al-Zumar 41),”
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 245: He uses it to show that the Messenger’s function is communication, not guardianship over people, and that guidance and error return to their choice.
- Concept: Guardianship
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “And He says: {Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book for the people in truth… and you are not a guardian over them (Al-Zumar 41)}”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.