Al-Nazi'at 31–33

4 min read

This axis brings together 4 instances of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

Text of the verse as cited

He brought forth from it its water and its pasture * and set its mountains firmly * as a provision for you and for your livestock

Reader’s answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur read God’s saying, “as a provision for you and for your livestock,” and what does he infer from it about livestock?

Shahrur employs the verses to define “livestock” functionally: for him, they are domesticated grass-eating animals. He connects this to the very structure of the verse; water and pasture are a shared “provision” for people and livestock. He therefore excludes wild animals and carnivorous animals from this term. This is his own interpretive reading, not a claim that the verses provide an exclusive technical definition of livestock.

Shahrur cites the phrase “its water + its pasture = a provision for you and for your livestock” as evidence that livestock, in his basic definition, are domesticated animals that eat grass. On the basis of this definition, Shahrur excludes wild animals, as well as animals with claws and fangs even if they are tame, from the category of livestock.

Citation and location

Qur’anic Narrative, Vol. 2 — p. 49.

Limits of the reading

  • This presents Shahrur’s reasoning as it appears in the cited passage; it is not an independent linguistic or jurisprudential preference.
  • The verses mention water, pasture, and provision; the qualification “domesticated” and the lists of excluded animals are part of Shahrur’s interpretive construction.
  • This passage does not support a broader claim about “daily human needs” or a general theory of linguistic signification; its direct subject is water, pasture, and the definition of livestock.
  • One direct citation is sufficient here; the other repeated citations add no independent evidence.

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Brief reading

For Shahrur, the verse appears as an entry point for defining livestock and provision, linking them to people’s daily needs and to linguistic signification rather than to a narrow conventional meaning.

Axes

  • Linguistic and semantic
  • Political and social
  • Human and ethical
  • Pasture: 2
  • Domesticated livestock: 2
  • Provision: 2
  • Women: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It is connected to a network of concepts that makes benefit and shared living part of his understanding of provision and civilization.

Role of the verse in the argument

  • Foundational: 3
  • Supporting: 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.

Instances of use

  • Qur’anic Narrative, Vol. 2, p. 49: He defines livestock as grass-eating animals that live on water and pasture and belong to the system of provision for human beings.
    • Concept: Pasture
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual citation: “{ He brought forth from it its water and its pasture * and set its mountains firmly * as a provision for you and for your livestock} (Al-Nazi’at 31–33)”
  • Qur’anic Narrative, Vol. 2, p. 49: He makes the verse the basis for defining livestock as domesticated herbivorous animals associated with pasture and water.
    • Concept: Domesticated livestock
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual citation: “Livestock, in origin, are domesticated grass-eating animals, in His saying, Most High, { He brought forth from it its water and its pasture …} (Al-Nazi’at 31–33)”
  • the Book and the Qur’an, p. 498: He cites it to argue that provision includes that from which humans and livestock alike benefit, and is not exclusive to human beings alone.
    • Concept: Provision
    • Function of the verse here: Supporting
    • Textual citation: “He said, {Bring forth from it its water and its pasture … as a provision for you and for your livestock} (Al-Nazi’at 31–33)”
  • the Book and the Qur’an, p. 504: He links al-nisāʾ, in the sense of things that come later, to the desire for fashion and renewal in consumer goods.
    • Concept: Women
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual citation: “And all renewed things … the Qur’an subsumed under one term: women.”

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

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Backlinks2

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas