This axis 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 Text of the Verse as Cited
Have you come to turn us away from that upon which we found our fathers?
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur cite Jonah 78, what is the meaning of the distinction he builds upon it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
Shahrur cites the verse in State and Society (p. 152) as one of two pieces of evidence condemning the principle of invoking what the forefathers practiced as an argument. Its function in his argument is to show that this principle may lead to attacking those who criticize it, and that the fanaticism arising from it may take the form of violence and bloody conflict.
Shahrur presents Jonah 78 alongside al-Zukhruf 23–24 as two pieces of evidence condemning the principle of adhering to what the forefathers were found to practice. He links this principle to attacking whoever attempts to criticize it, and notes that the fanaticism associated with it may, in some cases, turn into violence and bloody conflict.
Evidence and Location
State and Society — p. 152.
Limits of the Reading
- The attached evidence establishes the location in State and Society, not in Islam and Humanity.
- The evidence does not explicitly call the opponents “reformers” or characterize the issue as “renewal”; these two expressions are therefore not attributed to Shahrur here.
- The evidence does not establish an independent terminological distinction beyond the critique of the principle of invoking the inheritance of the forefathers and the effects he mentions.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
For Shahrur, the verse is used to critique resistance to renewal on the grounds of preserving the inheritance of the forefathers, and to expose the tendency toward rigid imitation.
Axes
- Political and social
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Rejection of renewal: 2
- Forefatherism: 2
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It is linked to forefatherism as an obstacle to change.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Critique of heritage: 2
Contexts of Use
- Islam and Humanity: He uses it as an example of resistance to reformers on the grounds of preserving the inheritance of the forefathers.
- Concept: Rejection of renewal
- Function of the verse here: Critique of heritage
- Textual evidence: “{ They said, ‘Have you come to turn us away from that upon which we found our fathers …’ } (Jonah 78)”
- State and Society, p. 152: He cites it to embody the imitators’ rejection of any change on the grounds of preserving the inheritance of the forefathers.
- Concept: Forefatherism
- Function of the verse here: Critique of heritage
- Textual evidence: “{They said, ‘Have you come to turn us away from that upon which we found our fathers…’} (Jonah 78).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.