Al-Qasas 59

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

Text of the verse as cited

And your Lord would not destroy the towns until He had sent to their mother town a messenger reciting to them Our verses. And We would not destroy the towns except while their people were wrongdoers.

Reader’s Answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Al-Qasas 59 in his discussion of the “mother of towns” and the destruction of towns?

Shahrur employs the verse to link the “mother of towns” to Mecca, then reads the destruction of unjust towns as a social law: in his interpretation, unicity and the rejection of the other lead a town to self-destruction. He places Muhammad’s mission at the end of the “age of towns” and the beginning of the “age of cities.” These are Shahrur’s interpretive additions to the wording of the verse, not conclusions stated by the text of the verse alone.

In Shahrur’s reading, the verse makes the “mother of towns” a description of Mecca, in view of its connection to God’s House and the pilgrimage rite. Shahrur interprets the destruction of unjust towns socially, linking it to monistic thought, hatred and rejection of the other, and the dominance of a privileged class that blocks development, rather than merely treating destruction as a historical report. Shahrur holds that Muhammad’s mission signals, within his conception of social history, the end of the “age of towns” and the beginning of the “age of cities.”

Citation and Location

State and Society — p. 135.

Limits of the Reading

  • The citation establishes the attribution of this interpretive construction to Shahrur, but it does not demonstrate from the wording of the verse alone that the “mother of towns” is Mecca or that wrongdoing means monism and rejection of the other.
  • This citation does not establish the claim that Mecca’s special status prevents the establishment of a city project there; therefore, this claim is not included in the answer on the basis of this passage.
  • Describing destruction as “self-destruction” is part of Shahrur’s social interpretation, not a neutral, generally accepted explanation of the verse.

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Brief Reading

The verse is made a basis for distinguishing Mecca as the mother of towns, and for showing that warning precedes destruction and that the city arises after the proof has been established.

Axes

  • Narrative and historical
  • Political and social
  • Mother of towns: 2
  • Warning: 2
  • City: 2

Its Place in the Conceptual Network

It is connected to the concept of the transition from the town to the city, and from warning to the establishment of society.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Foundational: 3

Atlas Pages That Refer to This Verse

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

Instances of Use

  • State and Society, p. 135: He uses it to identify Mecca as the mother of towns, then to explain that its warning precedes destruction and that its special status prevents the establishment of the city project there.
    • Concept: Mother of towns
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual citation: “It was described as the mother of towns in His—Exalted is He—saying: {And your Lord would not destroy the towns …} (Al-Qasas 59).”
  • State and Society, p. 142: He cites it as evidence that the destruction of a town occurs only after a messenger has been sent in its mother town—that is, after the proof has been established against it.
    • Concept: Warning
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual citation: “{And your Lord would not destroy the towns until He had sent to their mother town a messenger} (Al-Qasas 59).”
  • The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, pp. 15, 20: He builds upon it the transition of society from the monistic town to the pluralistic city through the messenger’s message.
    • Concept: City
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual citation: “{And your Lord would not destroy the towns until He had sent to their mother town a messenger…} (Al-Qasas 59).”

This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.

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Backlinks4

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas