This axis brings together 3 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Verse Text as Cited
“And I did not do it of my own accord. That is the interpretation of that over which you could not bear patiently.”
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “And I did not do it of my own accord. That is the interpretation of that over which you could not bear patiently”?
In an explicit citation, Shahrur employs the verse to argue that the acts of the righteous servant in the story did not proceed from his personal command, but rather from revelation from God. He therefore rejects associating this exception with claims of “ladunni knowledge” attributed by some people to individuals after the cessation of revelation. He also presents the difference between “tasṭaʿ” and “tastaṭīʿ” as a semantic question intended to exclude redundancy, rather than as a complete proof in the available citation that Moses “did not exert sufficient effort.”
How Shahrur employs the verse: He reads the phrase “And I did not do it of my own accord” as a declaration that the righteous servant’s act was by revelation from God rather than personal discretion, and makes this the basis for criticizing those who claim a ladunni knowledge that justifies their actions after the cessation of revelation. Citation and location: In The State and Society, p. 248, Shahrur states explicitly that God says at the end of the story that the righteous servant’s act was revelation, then declares that revelation ceased after the Messenger and that no one has the right to claim it.
Citation and Location
The State and Society — p. 248.
Limits of the Reading
- In the cited evidence, the verse does not indicate that any later person is granted exceptional authority to override the law or justify his actions in the name of ladunni knowledge.
- No specific detailed meaning can be derived merely from the difference between the two forms “tasṭaʿ” and “tastaṭīʿ” without another text explicitly establishing it.
- The citation from The Book and the Qur’an concerning the distinction between “speech” and “saying” in Al-Kahf 5 has no inferential connection to this verse and is therefore not used here.
Continue from Here
- The State and Society
- The story of Moses and the righteous servant symbolizes the conflict between knowledge and law
- Islam and Faith
- The Book and the Qur’an
Brief Reading
The verse is used to highlight the limits of Moses’s patience, then to critique the claim of ladunni knowledge, while regarding it as a conclusion that reveals the event’s outcome.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Patience: 2
- Revelation: 2
- End of the event: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It links narrative, interpretation, and methodological critique of certain traditional readings.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Example: 2
- Critique of tradition: 1
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.
Related Structural Theses
Instances of Use
- Islam and Faith, p. 257: He uses the omission of the tāʾ in tasṭaʿ to argue that Moses did not exert sufficient effort in patience compared with the effort he exerted later.
- Concept: patience
- Function of the verse here: example
- Textual citation: “- {… ‘And I did not do it of my own accord. That is the interpretation of that over which you could not bear patiently.’} (Al-Kahf 82).”
- The State and Society, p. 248: He cites it as evidence that the righteous servant’s act was a discontinued special revelation, using it to reject the Sufis’ claim to ladunni knowledge.
- Concept: revelation
- Function of the verse here: critique of tradition
- Textual citation: “At the end of the story, God states unambiguously that what the righteous servant did was revelation from God—Exalted is He—: {‘And I did not do it of my own accord …’} (Al-Kahf 82).”
- Corresponding traditional reading: ladunni knowledge of the saints
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 172: He treats it as a conclusion confirming that interpretation is the end to which the events arrived.
- Concept: end of the event
- Function of the verse here: example
- Textual citation: “And after completing the interpretation, he said: {.. ‘That is the interpretation of that over which you could not bear patiently.’}”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.