Al Imran 159

3 min read

This page gathers four places where verse Al Imran 159 is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, highlighting from them the image of shura and gentleness in building the state and in the relationship with people. Its central point is that it brings consultation together with softness, and links them to the manner of calling and to the position of leadership in the civil state.

Text of the verse as cited

{… AND CONSULT THEM IN THE MATTER …}

Brief reading

Shahrur reads the verse as a foundation for shura in the civil state, and also cites it to show that the discourse of da’wa is based on gentleness, not harshness. From this point, he makes it a witness that consultation is not a peripheral detail, but part of constructing the political and social relationship in the reading he presents.

Axes

  • Political and social
  • Human and ethical
  • Methodological
  • Shura: 4
  • Gentleness: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

The verse moves within a network that links shura with gentleness and with the formulation of politics. For this reason, it appears in the atlas when discussing the civil state and the discourse of da’wa, because its presence in Shahrur goes beyond exhortation to organizing the relationship between leadership and people in the public sphere.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Support: 3
  • Foundation: 1

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • A foundation for shura in his view
  • Linked to gentleness in discourse
  • Present in the conception of the civil state

Pages in the atlas that refer to this verse

These links gather the pages that rely on the verse or make it part of the argument within the atlas.

Places of use

  • State and Society, p. 300: he makes it the foundation of shura in the civil state and reads it within the historical structure, not outside it.
    • Concept: Shura
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual witness: “How was the saying of the Almighty: {… AND CONSULT THEM IN THE MATTER} (Al Imran 159) understood in early Islam and in Islamic history?”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 188: he cites it as evidence that da’wa is based on gentleness, not harshness and hardness of heart.
    • Concept: Gentleness
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual witness: “{AND HAD YOU BEEN HARSH AND HARD-HEARTED, THEY WOULD HAVE DISPERSED FROM AROUND YOU} (Al Imran 159).”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 245: he cites it as evidence that the Prophet dealt with gentleness and consultation, which is consistent with his view of religion as a human discourse.
    • Concept: Shura
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual witness: “And he says: {AND HAD YOU BEEN harsh and hard-hearted… AND CONSULT THEM IN THE MATTER} (Al Imran 159)”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 134: he relies on it to affirm that the Messenger legislated in his state after consultation, not through direct legislative revelation in every detail of politics.
    • Concept: Shura
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual witness: “Based on what God instructed him in His saying: { AND CONSULT THEM IN THE MATTER } (Al Imran 159),“

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

Graph View

Backlinks4

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas