This page gathers four instances of the use of Āl ʿImrān 85 in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, where it appears as an entry point to the question of Islam accepted by God. Its centrality lies in its distinction between the historical name of religion and the meaning Shahrur regards as the criterion of acceptance; questions of acceptance and religion thus revolve around it.
The Verse as Cited
And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.
Reader’s Answer
The Question
Where does Shahrur cite Āl ʿImrān 85, and what does he establish through it about Islam and its function in his argument?
Shahrur cites the verse in The Book and the Qur’an (p. 534), alongside Āl ʿImrān 19. He places it within his understanding of Islam as consonant with human innate nature, such that every person has a share of it, whether they know this or not. The passage does not state a detailed terminological distinction between Islam and religious community or historical identity.
Shahrur cites Āl ʿImrān 85 together with Āl ʿImrān 19 in a single context for understanding Islam. He links Islam to human innate nature and maintains that every person has a share of Islam, whether or not they recognize it.
Passage and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 534.
Limits of the Reading
- The passage does not explain a detailed definition of Islam or set out all its terminological components.
- The passage does not explicitly state that what is intended is to negate Islam as a historical identity or a particular religious community.
- The passage does not establish a claim about synonymy or non-synonymy between Islam and religion or religious community.
- The beginning of the passage is detached from an earlier context, so no further details of the argument may properly be built upon it.
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Brief Reading
Shahrur uses the verse to raise a question about the meaning of Islam in the Qur’anic text, rather than about religious community as a historical identity. Through it, he affirms that acceptance is tied to Islam and employs it to define the religion accepted by God, while keeping the meaning bound to the text itself rather than to later usage.
Axes
- Faith-related
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Islam: 2
- Acceptance: 2
- The accepted religion: 2
- Religion: 2
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
In the atlas, the verse is connected to the concepts of Islam, acceptance, and the accepted religion. It is central because, for Shahrur, it represents a gateway to defining Islam from within the Qur’an, and it gives this definition a decisive place in understanding religion and its relation to religious history.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Foundational: 2
- Context: 1
- Support: 1
Summary of Its Presence in the Atlas
- An entry point to his understanding of Islam
- Connected to acceptance and the accepted religion
- Distinguishes between the Qur’anic and historical meanings
Instances of Use
- Islam and the Human Being: He takes it as an entry point to the question of the meaning of Islam before God and urges a return to the Qur’anic text in order to understand it directly.
- Concept: Islam
- Function of the verse here: Context
- Textual witness: “Every time we pause at His, exalted be He, saying: { And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam … } (Āl ʿImrān 85)”
- Islam and the Human Being: He adduces it to show that Islam is the criterion accepted by God, regardless of ritual religious community.
- Concept: Acceptance
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual witness: “{ And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him … } (Āl ʿImrān 85)”
- Islam and Faith, p. 10: He makes the verse an entry point for posing the question of the correct meaning of Islam that God intends.
- Concept: The accepted religion
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual witness: “Every time we pause at His, exalted be He, saying: { And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him… } (Āl ʿImrān 85)”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 534: He uses it to affirm that Islam is the religiously accepted standard even when historical religious communities differ.
- Concept: Religion
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual witness: “And His saying: { And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him… }”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.