Luqman 30

3 min read

This axis 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

That is because God is the Truth, and what they invoke apart from Him is falsehood

Reader’s Answer

Question

Where does the verse occur, what does the distinction within it mean for Shahrur, and what function does it serve in his argument?

The verse occurs in Luqman 30. Shahrur employs it to distinguish between God being “the Truth” and human conceptions of Him; even the most abstract conceptions, in his view, do not correspond to God’s existence in its true reality. It supports his argument concerning the development and limits of human conceptions, rather than a general opposition between truth and illusion.

Shahrur cites Luqman 30 after discussing the development of human conceptions of God, linking it to the idea that human conceptions—both ancient and future—do not correspond to God’s existence in its true reality. The verse’s function in the argument is to clarify the difference between God’s existence as it truly is and human conceptions of Him, including the most highly abstract of those conceptions.

Citation and Location

The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought — p. 36.

Limits of the Reading

  • The citation does not establish that the verse founds an opposition between “truth” and “illusion” as terms in the argument.
  • The citation does not describe human conceptions as “non-corresponding representations” in general terms; rather, it confines its discussion to human conceptions of God.
  • The citation does not establish an independent meaning for the term “falsehood” outside the context of distinguishing between God’s existence and human conceptions of Him.

Continue From Here

Brief Reading

The verse is used to establish the opposition between truth and what stands against it in the form of falsehood or illusion, while highlighting the difference between true meaning and human representation.

Axes

  • Faith-based
  • Linguistic and semantic
  • truth: 2
  • falsehood and illusion: 1
  • falsehood: 1
  • illusion: 1
  • the opposition between reality and representations: 1

Its Place in the Network of Concepts

It enters the network of truth, falsehood, and illusion as a verse that marks the boundary between signification and nonexistence.

Role of the Verse in the Argument

  • Support: 1
  • Distinction: 1

Instances of Use

  • The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 36: reinforces the same opposition between divine reality and non-corresponding human representations.
    • Concept: truth
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: “- {That is because God is the Truth …} (Luqman 30)”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 286: cites it to argue that falsehood, for him, is not an epistemic error but an illusion with no objective existence.
    • Concept: falsehood and illusion
    • Function of the verse here: Distinction
    • Textual citation: “Because it is an illusion, and we do not call it an error, in accordance with His—Exalted be He—saying: {That is because God is the Truth …} (Luqman 30).”

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

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas