This entry gathers 1 instance 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 the Messenger will say, “My Lord, indeed my people have taken this Qur’an as abandoned.”
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur employ Al-Furqan 30, what distinction does he make in it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
Shahrur employs the verse in «the Book and the Qur’an» (p. 115), within his assertion that later scientific knowledge helps in understanding the Qur’an and that it was not available in the Prophet’s time. In his reading, he distinguishes between the Messenger’s “people,” whom he identifies as the Arabs, and the Muslim “community”; thus, he extends the verse’s applicability, in his view, to the Arabs, including the Companions and the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Its function in the passage is to provide evidence for his claim regarding the unavailability of that knowledge at the time.
Shahrur interprets the Messenger’s “people” in the verse as the Arabs, distinguishing them from the Muslims, whom he calls the Messenger’s “community”; in this interpretation, he makes the verse applicable to the Arabs, including the Companions and the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Shahrur uses the verse as evidence in the context of his assertion that the scientific knowledge that aids in understanding the Qur’an was not available in the Prophet’s time.
Citation and Location
the Book and the Qur’an — p. 115.
Limits of the Reading
- At this point, the citation does not explain the meaning of “abandonment” as a specific practical practice.
- The citation does not state explicitly that the Arabs did not engage with the Qur’an as an interpreted text; rather, it connects the verse to the unavailability of scientific knowledge in the Prophet’s era.
- The distinction between “people” and “community” here is Shahrur’s assertion and argument in this passage; the citation does not establish an independent linguistic judgment beyond this usage.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
The verse supports the idea that the Arabs in the Prophet’s time practically abandoned the Qur’an and did not engage with it as an interpreted text.
Axes
- Faith-based
- Political and social
Related Concepts
- Abandonment of the Qur’an: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It links society’s stance toward the text with its function of guidance.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- the Book and the Qur’an, p. 115: He cites it as evidence that the Arabs in the Prophet’s time did not engage with the Qur’an as an interpreted text, but rather practically abandoned it.
- Concept: Abandonment of the Qur’an
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “…as indicated by His saying, exalted be He: {And the Messenger will say, ‘My Lord, indeed my people have taken this Qur’an as abandoned.’}”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.