This axis brings together 2 loci where this verse is used in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the verse as cited
{.. I shall inform you of the interpretation of that which you were unable to bear patiently}
Reader’s answer
Question
Where does the verse occur, what does interpretation mean for Shahrur in it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The verse occurs in the story of Moses and the righteous servant in Surat al-Kahf (78). Shahrur makes it an example of interpretation as what events ultimately lead to later; he relates it to the righteous servant’s informing Moses of the outcomes of the actions he could not patiently endure. The verse serves to construct his claim that the complete, total interpretation of the Qur’an will occur only on the Day of Resurrection.
Shahrur reads the statement, “I shall inform you of the interpretation …,” in al-Kahf 78 as informing Moses of what the events carried out by the righteous servant would ultimately lead to. In Shahrur’s argument, the verse functions as an example clarifying interpretation as the end or outcome of events, within his preface to the claim that the complete, total interpretation of the Qur’an takes place on the Day of Resurrection.
Citation and location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 172.
Limits of the reading
- This reading is limited to the meaning explicitly stated by the citation in the location mentioned.
- The citation does not establish a general, comprehensive definition of interpretation beyond the examples mentioned; rather, it states here that interpretation is connected to what events come to or end in.
- The citation does not establish a claim regarding synonymy or its absence among other terms.
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Brief reading
The verse is used as an example of interpreting actions according to their outcomes, and of the meaning of separation as a rupture in argument and position.
Axes
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related concepts
- Interpretation of events: 2
- Separation: 2
- Rupture: 1
- Outcome: 1
Its place in the network of concepts
It is connected to a reading method that relates the apparent meaning to its semantic outcome.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Example: 1
- Support: 1
Usage loci
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 172: It is cited as evidence that the righteous servant informed Moses of what the actions would later lead to.
- Concept: Interpretation of events
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual citation: “{.. I shall inform you of the interpretation of that which you were unable to bear patiently}”
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 248: He uses the verse to reinforce the meaning of separation as a rupture in argument and position before turning to the separation of spouses.
- Concept: Separation
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “The word ‘between’ occurs in the verse: { He said, ‘This is a separation between me and you’ }, for there is ‘separation,’ that is, a difference between Moses’s argument and that of the righteous servant.”
Related books
This page is presented within the general methodology for constructing the atlas.