What Is Meant Here
“Al-ma’ruf” is a term that appears in Shahrur within the phrase “enjoining what is recognized.” What is established in this corpus is that he traces it back to the root “‘a-ra-fa” (ع رف), and that he does not merge the act of enjoining what is recognized with other acts associated with it in the verses.
What Is Attributed to Shahrur
In his presentation of the principle of enjoining what is recognized and forbidding what is reprehensible, Shahrur affirms the term’s linguistic origin: “Linguistically, al-ma’ruf came from the root ‘ع رف,’ from which come al-ma’rif and al-ta’rif.”
He also emphasizes the distinction among the associated acts: “Enjoining what is recognized is one thing; forbidding what is reprehensible is a second thing; doing good and calling for it is a third thing; and believing in God and calling to monotheism is a fourth thing.”
Accordingly, for him, enjoining what is recognized is not equated here with doing good, forbidding what is reprehensible, or calling to monotheism. See al-Tawbah 112.
Atlas Explanation
This entry helps establish a fixed minimum boundary: “enjoining what is recognized” should not be turned into a collective designation for all the good acts mentioned alongside it; the text before us explicitly states their difference.
As for “customs” (al-a’raf), Shahrur presents them, in another text, as “a set of local traditions that may differ from one country to another within the same homeland.” But this does not, by itself, establish that “al-ma’ruf” and “customs” are synonymous; therefore, the relationship between them remains unresolved on this page.
Qualified Inference
The pairing of al-ma’ruf with al-munkar may be read as a specific framework in Shahrur’s discussion of distinct acts, rather than as an automatic substitute for doing good. This is an inference from his explicit distinction among the acts, not a complete definition of al-ma’ruf itself.
Open Question and Limits of the Evidence
The evidence provided does not permit a definitive conclusion that al-ma’ruf is what society accepts in every time and place, or that it changes as custom and context change. Nor does it permit a definitive conclusion that it differs from prohibition in the manner stated in the previous formulation. Both claims require a direct text defining al-ma’ruf or explicitly linking it to custom and social change.
For further reading: al-ma’ruf and al-munkar change socially, the contemporary reading methodology, legislation and limits, Luqman 15, and the Shahrur glossary.