This page brings together four places where verse Aal Imran 191 is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, and it appears there as a foundational verse for the value of reflection. Its importance lies in making contemplation of creation part of religious knowledge, and in opening the way for explaining terms such as al-junub on the basis of their lexical meaning.
The verse as quoted
“Those who remember God standing and sitting …”
Brief reading
Shahrur relies on the verse to affirm that reflecting on the creation of the heavens and the earth is a valid path to knowledge. He also uses it to explain the meaning of thought as the analysis of perceptions, and to clarify the meaning of al-junub as a direction or side. In this way, the verse becomes a site that brings together knowledge and lexical signification.
Axes
- methodological
- faith-based
- lexical and semantic
Related concepts
- reflection: 3
- thought: 2
- al-junub: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
In the atlas, the verse is linked to reflection, thought, and al-junub. It is central because it places thinking within the religious domain itself, while at the same time allowing the reading to move from faith-based meaning to lexical meaning, without one separating from the other.
The role of the verse in the argument
- support: 2
- foundation: 1
- example: 1
Summary of its presence in the atlas
- It recurred in building the value of reflection
- It was used to explain the meaning of thought and al-junub
- It connects knowledge and lexical signification
Places of use
- The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 38: He cites it at the conclusion to affirm that reflecting on creation is part of the cognitively required religious method.
- concept: reflection
- function of the verse here: support
- textual evidence: «as in His – تعالى – saying: {Those who remember God… and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth…} (Aal Imran 191)»
- The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 39: He cites it to establish the value of profound scientific reflection as the path to an objective conception of existence, not merely devotional contemplation.
- concept: reflection
- function of the verse here: foundation
- textual evidence: «as in His – تعالى – saying: {Those who remember God … and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth …} (Aal Imran 191).»
- A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 60: He invokes it to show that thought is a process of analyzing the perceptions produced by the fu’ād.
- concept: thought
- function of the verse here: support
- textual evidence: «Thought is the process of analyzing perceptions … according to His saying تعالى: { … and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth … } (Aal Imran 191).»
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 110: He cites it to explain the root “junb” as a side or direction, not only as a juristic meaning.
- concept: al-junub
- function of the verse here: example
- textual evidence: «As for the meaning of side, as in His – تعالى – saying: {those who remember God standing, sitting, and on their sides} (Aal Imran 191).»
Related books
- The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought
- A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence
This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.