This locus brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
And We have sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming what came before it of the Book and exercising authority over it
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ God’s saying, “confirming what came before it of the Book and exercising authority over it,” in his interpretation of the relationship between the Qur’an and the Book?
Shahrur employs the verse to argue that “the true Book” is the Qur’an together with the detailing of the Book, and that it confirms what came before it of the Book. He connects the description “exercising authority” with the function of preserving the structure of the Book and its detailing from human interpretations entering the verses of legal rulings, relying on the fixed number of verses, their ordering, and their locations within the surahs.
Shahrur defines “the true Book” in the context of the verse as the Qur’an together with the detailing of the Book, and says that it came confirming what came before it of the Book. Shahrur links the authority exercised in the verse to safeguarding the verses of legal rulings from the entry of human interpretation, explaining this by the fixed number of verses, their ordering, and their locations.
Citation and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 101.
Limits of the Reading
- The attached text breaks off while Shahrur is explaining “the Qur’an’s second function”; it therefore does not establish his full account of the meaning of “authority” beyond this point.
- The phrasing “preservation and oversight” summarizes the direction of the argument, but the available citation states more specifically that interpretive reasoning is prevented from entering legal rulings through the fixed structure of the text.
- The citation here does not provide a detailed comparison with earlier books, nor an independent proof of all the implications of the term “exercising authority.”
- This is an account of Shahrur’s use of the verse as presented in the source, not a preference for a linguistic or traditional exegetical interpretation of its meaning.
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Brief Reading
Shahrur adduces it to argue that the Qur’an confirms what preceded it and then exercises authority over it through preservation and oversight.
Axes
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Authority: 2
- Confirmation: 1
- Preservation: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It establishes a composite relationship between earlier books and the Qur’an.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Foundational: 1
Instances of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 101: He adduces it to argue that the Qur’an confirms what preceded it and then exercises authority over it through preservation and oversight.
- Concept: authority
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual citation: “… in His saying, exalted be He, {And We have sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming … and exercising authority over it}”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.