This axis brings together 2 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking them to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Verse Text as Cited
You were the best community brought forth for humankind: you enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in God.
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur cite Āl ʿImrān 110, what distinction does he draw from it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The citation appears in Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 170. He makes the verse evidence that those addressed become an “ummah” through the homogeneity of their conduct in enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in God; its function is to support his explanation of the concept of the ummah as a group united by shared conduct.
Shahrur cites Āl ʿImrān 110 when discussing the designation of a group as an “ummah.” He explains the addressees’ being an ummah in the verse through the homogeneity of conduct represented by enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in God.
Citation and Location
Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism — p. 170.
Limits of the Reading
- The attached citation appears on p. 170, not on pp. 158–161 mentioned in the current usage.
- The citation does not explicitly state that enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong is a general function, as opposed to a privilege of religious scholars; this distinction therefore cannot be established from this passage alone.
- The citation does not establish the claim of “excellence” as a judgment independent of the description of the ummah and the homogeneity of its conduct.
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Brief Reading
The verse is read as establishing that the community’s excellence is tied to a general function, not to a religious monopoly held by a particular group.
Axes
- Political and social
- Human and ethical
Related Concepts
- Excellence of the community: 2
- The community: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It falls within a conception that makes the ummah a behavioral framework connected to enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
- Foundation: 1
Instances of Use
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, pp. 158–161: He cites it to argue that enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong is a general function within the ummah, not a privilege of religious scholars.
- Concept: Excellence of the community
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “And His saying—the Exalted—: {You were the best community brought forth for humankind…}”
- Opposing traditional reading: He criticizes al-Razi’s interpretation, which linked excellence to a philosophical cause and gave precedence to one element over another.
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 170: He takes it as an example that the ummah is defined by behavioral homogeneity connected to enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.
- Concept: The community
- Function of the verse here: Foundation
- Textual citation: “{You were the best community…} (Āl ʿImrān 110)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.