This locus 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.
Text of the Verse as Cited
He has sent down to you the Book with the truth
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does the verse occur, what distinction does Shahrur draw between khabar (report) and nabaʾ (tidings), and what function does the verse serve in his argument?
The verse occurs in Al Imran (3). Shahrur employs it, together with Fatir 31, to establish that the Book/the Qur’an is described as “truth” (haqq), not as “correct” (sawab). In the same passage, he distinguishes between khabar and nabaʾ: for him, a khabar may be true or false, erroneous or correct, whereas a nabaʾ may be reality or illusion. The verse therefore serves to support the description of revelation as truth within this distinction, rather than to establish that every nabaʾ is identical with truth.
Shahrur links Al Imran 3 to the description of the Book/the Qur’an as truth, contrasting this description with the term “correctness,” which he says the text does not use here. At this point, Shahrur distinguishes between khabar and nabaʾ: a khabar, for him, may be true or false, erroneous or correct, whereas a nabaʾ may be reality or illusion.
Citation and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 82.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not explicitly state that “the Qur’anic nabaʾ” is intrinsically true; rather, it cites a verse concerning the Book and another verse concerning what was revealed of the Book.
- The citation does not establish the synonymity of “the Book” and “the Qur’an,” nor does it explain the full exegetical context of Al Imran 3.
- Shahrur’s distinction must not be reversed into the claim that nabaʾ admits only reality; in the citation, he explicitly states that it may be reality or illusion.
- Describing the verse as negating the notion that revelation is “merely a report susceptible to error” requires qualification: the citation presents this possibility as part of the definition of khabar and does not formulate the same statement as a direct judgment on the verse.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
The verse is cited to support the claim that the Qur’anic nabaʾ is intrinsically true, not merely a report susceptible to error.
Axes
- Faith-based
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Truth: 3
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It belongs to a network that distinguishes between truth and ordinary report.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 2
Instances of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 82: He cites it to establish that the Qur’anic nabaʾ is truth, not merely correctness or a report that may admit error.
- Concept: truth
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “{And We revealed to you of the Book—it is the truth} (Al Imran 3)”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 82: He uses it to support the idea that the sending down came accompanied by truth, rather than as a report open to verification or falsification.
- Concept: truth
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “And {He has sent down to you the Book with the truth} (Al Imran 3).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.