This axis brings together 2 instances of Muhammad Shahrur’s use of this verse in his books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The verse text as cited

… BUT HE WAS A HANIF, A MUSLIM…

Brief reading

The verse supports linking Islam to the Abrahamic hanifiyya, while negating later religious affiliations from Abraham.

Axes

  • faith-related
  • narrative and historical
  • linguistic and semantic
  • Hanifiyya: 2
  • Negation of Judaism and Christianity from Abraham: 2

Its place in the conceptual network

It enters a network that establishes the precedence of hanifiyya over later religious names.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Support: 2

Instances of use

  • Islam and Faith, p. 12: Cites it to link Islam to the Abrahamic hanifiyya rather than to later religious affiliations.
    • Concept: Hanifiyya
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: «{ ABRAHAM WAS NEITHER JEW NOR CHRISTIAN, BUT HE WAS A HANIF, A MUSLIM… } (Aal Imran 67).»
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 409: Uses it to show that hanifiyya precedes Judaism and Christianity, and that it is a universal Islamic attribute.
    • Concept: Negation of Judaism and Christianity from Abraham
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: «God, exalted be He, said: {ABRAHAM WAS NEITHER JEWISH NOR CHRISTIAN, BUT HE WAS A HANIF, A MUSLIM …} (Aal Imran 67).»

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