This entry brings together 2 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 as Cited
﴿And when We substitute one sign in place of another …﴾
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur read the Almighty’s saying, ﴿And when We substitute one sign in place of another﴾, in al-Nahl 101?
Shahrur reads the verse, together with al-Baqara 106, as evidence for the succession of the “heavenly messages” and the change in the rulings they contain throughout history, rather than as referring to the replacement of one Qur’anic sentence by another. He explicitly states that the “sign” here is the heavenly message, not the Qur’anic sentence, and cites the addition of rulings that had not previously existed—such as inheritance rulings—as an example of this legislative trajectory.
Shahrur relies on al-Nahl 101 and al-Baqara 106 to understand substitution and abrogation within the succession of messages and the historical development of Islam from Noah to Muhammad. In this argument, Shahrur defines the “sign” as “the heavenly message,” not “the Qur’anic sentence.”
Citation and Location
Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 109.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s particular reading of the meaning of “sign,” but does not, in its immediate context, provide a detailed linguistic or contextual analysis of al-Nahl 101 on its own.
- The phrase “the change of laws” summarizes the direction of the citation, but its text speaks more precisely of heavenly messages and the addition of new rulings, rather than of a detailed terminological division between “law” and “general rulings.”
- The accompanying citation from “Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism” is not connected to al-Nahl 101, so it cannot serve as evidence for this page despite the book’s appearance in the usage field.
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Brief Reading
The verse is invoked to clarify the meaning of substitution and to connect it to changes in laws and general rulings, rather than to changes in the text of the muṣḥaf.
Axes
- Legislative
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Abrogation: 3
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It establishes an understanding of abrogation as a transition between messages.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Foundational: 1
- Supporting: 1
Usage Locations
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 51: It invokes it together with al-Baqara 106 to establish substitution, then links it to changes in laws rather than to rulings within a single law.
- Concept: abrogation
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual citation: “And His saying—Exalted is He—: {When We substitute one sign in place of another …} (al-Nahl 101)”
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 109: It uses it together with al-Baqara 106 to affirm that substitution occurs in messages and general rulings, not in the muṣḥaf as a fixed text.
- Concept: abrogation
- Function of the verse here: supporting
- Textual citation: “And His saying: {And when We substitute one sign in place of another, and God knows best what He sends down} (al-Nahl 101)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.