This axis brings together 1 locus where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
﴿… HAVE YOU DISBELIEVED IN THE ONE WHO CREATED YOU …﴾
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where do verses 35–37 of al-Kahf occur, what do associationism and the related distinction mean for Shahrur, and what function do the verses serve in his argument?
The verses occur in Surat al-Kahf (35–37), within the dialogue between the two owners of the gardens. Shahrur cites them in his explanation of associationism: among its meanings is the belief in permanence or the cessation of change in something other than God. He adds that it includes attributing God’s qualities to another or associating another with Him in supplication and worship. In this context, the verses serve as Qur’anic evidence within his presentation of this conception, together with his distinction between associationism and disbelief, insofar as associationism may be unavowed.
Shahrur presents associationism as the belief in permanence or the cessation of development and change in something other than God, and he regards attributing God’s qualities to another or making another a partner in supplication and worship as associationism. Shahrur distinguishes associationism from disbelief by holding that associationism may be an unavowed state, unlike disbelief, which he describes as overt in the context cited. Verses 35–37 of al-Kahf appear here as Qur’anic evidence that Shahrur adduces while explaining the meaning of associationism and its connection to attributing to others what belongs exclusively to God.
Evidence and Location
Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism — p. 44.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence does not provide a detailed interpretation of all the words of the verses or of the context of the story of the two owners of the gardens.
- The evidence does not establish that every Qur’anic use of associationism is limited to the meanings mentioned here.
- The evidence does not explain an additional conceptual relationship between the words of the verses merely because they occur in the same context.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
The verses are employed to clarify associationism as attributing permanence and continuance to other than God, or as associating others in worship.
Axes
- Faith-related
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It links the doctrinal meaning of associationism with the connotation of permanence and continuance.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Example: 1
Loci of Use
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 44: He employs it to define associationism as attributing the qualities of permanence and continuance to other than God, or as associating others in worship.
- Concept: Associationism
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: “{… HAVE YOU DISBELIEVED IN THE ONE WHO CREATED YOU …} (al-Kahf 35–37).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.