Al-Shura 38

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

Text of the Verse as Cited

And those who respond to their Lord, establish prayer, and whose affairs are conducted by consultation among themselves…

Reader’s Answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “and whose affairs are conducted by consultation among themselves”?

Shahrur employs the verse as an entry point to a contemporary understanding of shura, which he associates with democracy: for him, it is a collective exercise of freedom, based first on freedom of expression, the existence of opinion and counter-opinion, and equality among differing opinions. He does not present it as a practice of fixed form; rather, he links its patterns to the social, economic, political, and cognitive structure of society throughout its history.

Shahrur presents the verse “and whose affairs are conducted by consultation among themselves” in his explanation of the concept of shura in Islam, placing the description “democracy” in parentheses at the opening of this explanation. He defines shura as an exercise of freedom by a group of people within a cognitive, ethical, aesthetic, and customary frame of reference. Shahrur makes freedom to express one’s opinion, the existence of opinion and counter-opinion, and equality in freedom of expression among differing opinions among the primary foundations of shura. He holds that the practice of shura takes successive historical forms and develops according to the social, economic, and political structure of society and its cognitive ground; it is therefore neither understood nor practiced outside this structure.

Evidence and Location

State and Society — p. 300.

Limits of the Reading

  • The evidence does not establish that Shahrur derives from the verse alone a specific constitutional or electoral system; rather, he maintains that the forms of shura change historically according to the structure of society.
  • The occurrence of the verse in a list of verses in another piece of evidence is insufficient to establish an independent meaning for it; the direct evidence here is the passage in which Shahrur explicitly discusses the verse and the concept of shura.
  • The phrase “acceptance of the other and plurality” may, within the limits of the evidence, be approximated to the existence of opinion and counter-opinion and equality in freedom of expression among differing opinions; any broader meaning of pluralism, however, is not established by this passage alone.

Continue From Here

Brief Reading

The verse is taken as a basis for the principle of shura as a social and political practice grounded in acceptance of the other and plurality.

Axes

  • Political and social
  • Human and ethical
  • Shura: 3
  • Pluralism: 2

Its Place in the Network of Concepts

It enters the network of concepts as a starting point for organizing public affairs and relations among people.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Support: 2
  • Foundation: 1

Atlas Pages That Refer to This Verse

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

Contexts of Use

  • Islam and Faith, p. 23: He cites it among the ethical laws and social practices that fall within righteous action.
    • Concept: shura
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “- {And those who respond to their Lord … and whose affairs are conducted by consultation among themselves…} (Al-Shura 38).”
  • State and Society, p. 300: He understands it as a general principle for the life of civil society, based on acceptance of the other and pluralism of opinion.
    • Concept: pluralism
    • Function of the verse here: foundation
    • Textual evidence: “The first verse is verse 38 of Surat al-Shura: {and whose affairs are conducted by consultation among themselves, and who spend from what We have provided them}”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 134: He employs it to support the idea that the management of public affairs in the prophetic state was based on shura.
    • Concept: shura
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “And His statement: {and whose affairs are conducted by consultation among themselves} (Al-Shura 38),”

This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas