This theme 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 Text as Cited
Indeed, this Qur’an recounts to the Children of Israel most of that over which they differ
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ God’s saying, ﴿Indeed, this Qur’an recounts to the Children of Israel most of that over which they differ﴾, in his reading of Qur’anic stories?
Shahrur employs the verse to argue that the Qur’an presents to the Children of Israel a broad range of the narrative issues over which they disagreed, particularly those connected with the stories of the Torah. He therefore calls for comparing divergent historical and scriptural accounts with what the Qur’an relates, rather than basing the interpretation of Qur’anic stories on those accounts alone.
Shahrur links the verse to the existence of differences, which may reach the level of contradiction, in the reports transmitted about prophets and messengers, and proposes that the reader compare these reports with what the Qur’an presents in its stories.
Citation and Location
Qur’anic Stories, Vol. 2 — p. 7.
Limits of the Reading
- The verse itself says, “most of that over which they differ”; it therefore does not justify turning it into a claim that the Qur’an recounts every detail of the disagreements or every historical report.
- The cited passage does not explain a detailed criterion for comparing the Qur’an with Torah or archaeological accounts, nor does it demonstrate within the excerpt the preference for any particular partial story.
- It is not valid to infer a general position on the whole interpretive tradition from this passage alone; what is established here is Shahrur’s criticism of relying on the Torah to interpret Qur’anic stories.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
The verse is used to establish the idea that the Qur’an resolves narrative disagreements and provides a decisive account.
Themes
- Narrative and historical
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Qur’anic stories: 2
- Stories: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to the function of stories in clarification and historical resolution.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Establishment: 1
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- Qur’anic Stories, Vol. 2, p. 7: He makes the verse evidence that the Qur’an provides a decisive account in matters over which the Children of Israel differed.
- Concept: Qur’anic stories
- Function of the verse here: Establishment
- Textual citation: “Perhaps he may see for himself the confirmation of His saying, Exalted is He: {Indeed, this Qur’an recounts to the Children of Israel most of that over which they differ} (Al-Naml 76).”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 397: He employs it to argue that the Qur’an addresses disagreements in stories not in order to make them legislation, but to resolve historical disagreement.
- Concept: stories
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “When He, Exalted is He, says: {Indeed, this Qur’an recounts to the Children of Israel most of that over which they differ} (Al-Naml 76).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.