This locus brings together 2 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
Indeed, We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him
Reader’s response
Question
How does Shahrur employ God’s saying, “Indeed, We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him,” in his conception of the history of revelation?
Shahrur employs the verse for a historical reading that makes Noah the beginning of revelation to humanity and the first human prophet to receive revelation. He understands the verse’s sequence—revelation to Noah, then to the prophets after him—as specifying the beginning of this history. This is his own interpretive conclusion, rather than a meaning explicitly stated by the verse on its own.
Shahrur holds that Noah was the first human prophet to receive revelation, citing An-Nisa 163 directly.
Citation and location
Qur’anic Stories, vol. 2 — p. 12.
Limits of the reading
- This record establishes how Shahrur employs the verse; it does not determine the correctness of his conclusion or whether it is the only possible interpretation.
- The text of the verse alone is not sufficient, according to the accompanying citation, to establish the claim of the “first human prophet” in a detailed historical formulation; it is a claim that Shahrur explicitly states he derives from the verse.
- Other claims in the citation concerning messengers prior to Noah or filial piety are not included on this page, because they rely on other verses and are not necessary for explaining the function of An-Nisa 163 here.
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Brief reading
For Shahrur, the verse serves to establish Noah’s position at the beginning of the history of human revelation within a historical reading of revelation.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Methodological
Related concepts
- Revelation: 2
- Noah’s priority: 2
Its place in the concept network
It is connected to the idea of ordering the beginnings of revelation and constructing a historical sequence of the message.
Role of the verse in the argument
- Foundational: 1
- Supportive: 1
Instances of use
- Qur’anic Stories, vol. 2, p. 12: He makes it the basis for considering Noah the first human prophet to receive revelation.
- Concept: revelation
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual citation: “As indicated by God’s saying, addressing His noble Prophet (PBUH), { Indeed, We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him… } (An-Nisa 163)”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 267: He uses it to affirm that Noah was the first with whom the history of modern human revelation began in his reading.
- Concept: Noah’s priority
- Function of the verse here: supportive
- Textual citation: “And in order to show that Noah was the first of all human beings to receive revelation … God said: { Indeed, We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah … }”
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.