This thematic entry 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.
The Verse Text as Cited
And you construct reservoirs, so that perhaps you may live forever.
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ The Poets 129? What does “installations” mean in his reading, and what place does it occupy in his argument about the people of Hud?
Shahrur employs the verse as evidence that the people of Hud, according to his reading, constructed basins or facilities to collect rainwater in a mountainous environment with abundant rainfall. He makes the meaning of “installations” central to his inference, linking it to al-muṣannaʿah as a basin for rainwater.
Shahrur interprets “installations” in the verse as the plural of maṣnaʿ, and links al-muṣannaʿah to a basin in which rainwater is collected. He infers from the verse that the people of Hud built facilities for collecting rainwater, as part of his description of their homeland as a mountainous region with heavy rainfall but no rivers or watercourses.
Citation and Location
Qur’anic Stories, vol. 2 — p. 52.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s reading and its inferential function; it does not independently establish, historically or archaeologically, that the people of Hud built these facilities.
- The citation does not explain the meaning of “so that perhaps you may live forever,” nor does it build an independent semantic distinction upon it.
- The lexical reference mentioned in the citation is part of Shahrur’s presentation; this passage does not provide independent lexicographical documentation.
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Brief Reading
He treats it as evidence that the people of Hud built facilities to collect rainwater in the mountains.
Themes
- Narrative and historical
- Political and social
Related Concepts
- Installations: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to installations within a reading of material adaptation to the environment.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Example: 1
Instances of Use
- Qur’anic Stories, vol. 2, p. 52: He treats it as evidence that the people of Hud built facilities to collect rainwater in the mountains.
- Concept: installations
- Function of the verse here: example
- Textual citation: “As evidenced by His saying, exalted is He: {And you construct reservoirs, so that perhaps you may live forever} (The Poets 129).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.