This axis brings together 2 loci in which this verse is used in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Verse as Cited
Say: Obey God and the Messenger…
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur cite Āl ʿImrān 32, what does obedience mean for him, and what function does it serve in his argument?
Shahrur cites the verse in the book «Islam and Faith» (p. 86) in the course of his discussion of the meaning of obedience. He presents obedience as voluntary compliance, distinct from coercion, and connects it to the responsibility of the one who obeys for his or her choice. For him, the verse functions as Qur’anic evidence within this linguistic grounding, rather than as evidence, in the accompanying citation, concerning those in authority or the representation of God.
Shahrur defines obedience as voluntary compliance and choice, contrasting it with coercion based on compulsion. He links obedience to responsibility, because obedience, in his view, proceeds from conviction and choice in implementing the decisions of the one obeyed. Āl ʿImrān 32 appears in Shahrur as evidence within his presentation of the meaning of obedience and its relation to choice, alongside Āl ʿImrān 132.
Citation and Location
Islam and Faith — p. 86.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not address those in authority, nor does it establish a rejection of turning them into representatives of God.
- The citation does not set forth a political ruling or a theory of the ruler’s authority.
- In this presentation, the citation contrasts obedience with coercion, and does not permit this to be generalized to every use of the term in the Qur’an without further evidence.
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Brief Reading
The verse establishes a distinction between voluntary obedience and imposed obedience, while rejecting the transformation of those in authority into representatives of God.
Axes
- Faith-related
- Political and social
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Obedience: 3
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It is connected to the recalibration of the concept of obedience within the social and political sphere.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Grounding: 1
- Distinction: 1
Loci of Use
- Islam and Faith, p. 86: He draws on it to distinguish voluntary obedience from coercion, and to argue that obedience can only occur through free will.
- Concept: obedience
- Function of the verse here: grounding
- Textual citation: «{ Say: Obey God and the Messenger… } (Āl ʿImrān 32),»
- State and Society, p. 21: He includes it with other verses on obedience to show that obedience is not a single degree, and that conflating its forms leads to turning those in authority into representatives of God.
- Concept: obedience
- Function of the verse here: distinction
- Textual citation: «{Say: Obey God and the Messenger. But if they turn away, then God does not love the disbelievers} (Āl ʿImrān 32),»
- Corresponding traditional reading: conflating the connected obedience to God and His Messenger with the separate obedience to those in authority
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.