This axis brings together 1 locus in which this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
“I admonish you lest you be among the ignorant.”
Reader’s Response
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ God’s statement to Noah, “I admonish you lest you be among the ignorant,” in his discussion of the infallibility of prophets?
Shahrur uses the verse as evidence that a prophet may receive divine reproach in matters of independent reasoning. He therefore distinguishes between the infallibility of messengers in conveying the message and the absence of absolute infallibility for prophets outside this sphere.
Shahrur distinguishes between the message, whose domain he defines as declaration of what is permitted and prohibited, commands and prohibitions, and in which infallibility is necessary for its bearer and transmitter; and prophethood, within which he places knowledge, wisdom, guidance, and independent reasoning. According to Shahrur, independent reasoning in the field of prophethood may be right or wrong, and divine reproach of prophets is thus understood when they fail to reach the correct judgment in their reasoning. Shahrur explicitly cites the phrase from Hud 46, “I admonish you lest you be among the ignorant,” as an example of this reproach directed at prophets.
Evidence and Location
Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 93.
Limits of the Reading
- The argument here rests on a single piece of evidence within the context of presenting Shahrur’s theory, not on a detailed exegesis of the verse or a comparison with the views of exegetes.
- The accompanying text states that reproach occurs when independent reasoning fails to reach the correct judgment according to Shahrur’s conception, but it does not explain in detail how every part of the context of Noah’s story is connected to this classification.
- Shahrur’s use of the verse should not be turned into a claim that everything prophets do outside the conveyance of revelation is erroneous, or that the verse alone settles the broader disagreement over the concept of infallibility.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
It serves as an example that prophets may be reproached for unsound independent reasoning, thereby negating absolute infallibility outside the message.
Axes
- Methodological
- Faith-related
Related Concepts
- Prophethood and independent reasoning: 2
- Reproach: 1
- Infallibility: 1
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It supports the distinction between the limits of infallibility and its relation to human independent reasoning.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Example: 1
Usage Loci
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 93: He uses it as an example that prophets may be reproached for unsound independent reasoning, thereby negating their absolute infallibility outside the message.
- Concept: prophethood and independent reasoning
- Function of the verse here: example
- Textual evidence: “As in His statement to Noah: { ‘I admonish you lest you be among the ignorant’ } (Hud 46).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.