This axis gathers 1 instance 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
THE FIRE, THEY ARE EXPOSED TO IT MORNING AND EVENING; AND ON THE DAY THE HOUR ARISES: “ADMIT PHARAOH’S PEOPLE TO THE SEVEREST PUNISHMENT.”
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Ghafir 46 in his conception of what occurs between death and resurrection?
Shahrur employs the verse to argue that the “image” acquired by a person at death remains fixed until the Day of Resurrection. He reads the distinction between being exposed to the Fire “morning and evening” and Pharaoh’s people being admitted to the “severest punishment” on the day the Hour arises as a negation of bodily bliss or punishment before bodily resurrection and judgment. This presents his reading, not an assertion of the verse’s agreed-upon meaning.
Shahrur states that, in his reading, Ghafir 46 indicates the permanence of the image acquired at death from death until the Hour arises. He distinguishes between exposure to the Fire before the Hour and entry into the severest punishment on that day, and infers from this that bodily bliss and punishment occur only after bodily resurrection and material judgment. On the basis of this conception, Shahrur provisionally accepts the idea of “the punishment of the grave” if it is understood symbolically as the final image seen by the deceased at death, and he states that the matter requires further study and investigation.
Citation and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 321.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s use of the verse and his inference, but it does not provide independent proof that this is the verse’s only or agreed-upon meaning.
- The expression “psychological image” in the page summary is narrower than the wording of the citation; the text speaks of “the image acquired at death” without calling it “psychological” at this point.
- The citation does not establish additional details concerning the nature or mechanism of this image; therefore, no unmentioned details should be attributed to it.
- Shahrur’s reading of the punishment of the grave here is provisional and cautious, as he explicitly says that the subject requires further study and investigation.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
He understands it to mean that the psychological image remains after death until the Day of Resurrection, while denying bodily punishment before resurrection.
Axes
- Theological
- Narrative and Historical
Related Concepts
- Barzakh: 2
- Death: 1
- Day of Resurrection: 1
- Psychological image: 1
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It is connected to the concept of the barzakh and the limits of what occurs after death.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 321: He makes the verse evidence for the permanence of the psychological image after death until the Day of Resurrection, while denying punishment and the body before resurrection.
- Concept: Barzakh
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “He said of Pharaoh’s people, {THE FIRE, THEY ARE EXPOSED TO IT MORNING AND EVENING; AND ON THE DAY THE HOUR ARISES: ‘ADMIT PHARAOH’S PEOPLE TO THE SEVEREST PUNISHMENT.’} (Ghafir 46). Here we note His statement … that is, the permanence of the image from death until the Hour arises.”
- Corresponding traditional reading: He understands the punishment of the grave symbolically, rather than as direct bodily punishment after burial.
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.