Āl ʿImrān 44

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This axis brings together 6 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The text of the verse as cited

That is from the reports of the unseen which We reveal to you, and you were not among them …

Reader’s answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Āl ʿImrān 44 in his discussion of the unseen and revelation?

Shahrur employs the verse as evidence that the story of Mary related in it is among the “reports of the unseen” revealed to the Prophet, and that the Prophet was not present at the people’s drawing of lots over Mary’s guardianship. This citation occurs within his division of the unseen, rather than as independent evidence for a broader theory of the sources of knowledge.

Shahrur cites Āl ʿImrān 44 among examples of the “unseen of the past”: events that occurred before the Prophet’s time and that he did not witness, whose knowledge reaches him through revelation.

Evidence and location

Islam and Humanity — p. 40.

Limits of the reading

  • The available precise evidence is one instance, from Islam and Humanity, p. 40.
  • The other attached pieces of evidence do not establish a direct use of Āl ʿImrān 44; they address other verses or topics and therefore should not be incorporated into this page’s argument.
  • This passage alone does not warrant attributing a comprehensive definition of the unseen to the verse itself; Shahrur presents it as an example within a broader division of the unseen.

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Brief reading

For Shahrur, the verse is used to distinguish the unseen from report, and to affirm that the information here is not based on direct presence.

Axes

  • Narrative and historical
  • Methodological
  • Linguistic and semantic
  • Presence: 3
  • Reports of the unseen: 2
  • The unseen: 2
  • Unseen report: 2
  • Absence of witnesses: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It is connected to the concept of presence and to the limits of information and report.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Support: 4
  • Distinction: 1
  • Example: 1

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • The unseen and report
  • Denial of direct presence
  • A linguistic entry point into information

Instances of use

  • Islam and Humanity, p. 40: He uses it to affirm that the Prophet received reports of the unseen through revelation, not through personal knowledge.
    • Concept: reports of the unseen
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “- { That is from the reports of the unseen which We reveal to you … } (Āl ʿImrān 44)”
  • The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 49: He compares it with al-Isrāʾ 39 to say that “that” there refers to commands and prohibitions, just as it refers here to reports of the unseen.
    • Concept: the unseen
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “It reminds us of His saying, Exalted is He: {That is from the reports of the unseen which We reveal to you…} Āl ʿImrān 44”
  • Qur’anic Stories, vol. 1, p. 147: He adduces the verse to show that nabaʾ negates direct presence, distinguishing it from khabar, which requires the narrator’s presence and witnessing of the event.
    • Concept: presence
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “{And you were not among them …} … and this is a clear negation of presence in nabaʾ. As for khabar, its narrator must have been present.”
  • Qur’anic Stories, vol. 2, p. 147: He adduces the verse to show that nabaʾ negates the narrator’s presence, because the verse denies that the addressee was present when the event occurred.
    • Concept: presence
    • Function of the verse here: distinction
    • Textual evidence: “We find that he does not stop at this… but continues, saying: {And you were not among them when they cast their pens…} And this is a clear negation of presence in nabaʾ.”
  • the Book and the Qur’an, p. 83: He regards the story of Mary as an example of Qur’anic stories being communication about the unseen, rather than eyewitness reporting.
    • Concept: unseen report
    • Function of the verse here: example
    • Textual evidence: “When we read His saying, Exalted is He, concerning what happened to Mary in her childhood: {That is from the reports of the unseen which We reveal to you}”
  • the Book and the Qur’an, p. 83: He adduces the denial of presence to establish that Qur’anic nabaʾ is not eyewitness information but unseen communication.
    • Concept: absence of witnesses
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “… (Āl ʿImrān 44) … and this is a clear negation of presence in nabaʾ.”

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

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas