This axis gathers 1 locus of use of these verses in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking them to the concepts and arguments that appear around them.
Text of the Verses as Cited
Indeed, those who harm God and His Messenger—God has cursed them in this world and the Hereafter and prepared for them a humiliating punishment. * And those who harm believing men and believing women without their having earned it have borne a slander and a manifest sin.
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ Qur’an 33:57–58 to explain the difference between harming the Messenger and harming believers?
Shahrur employs the two verses within the context of verses 56–58 to distinguish between the Prophet’s status as a believer and his status as a messenger: the Prophet falls within the general body of believers on the one hand, but harming him in respect of his message has, in Shahrur’s reading, a more severe consequence before God, as indicated by its association in verse 57 with curse and humiliating punishment. Verse 58, meanwhile, establishes the prohibition of harming believing men and women without right; the Prophet falls within this generality insofar as he is a believer, without the two verses explicitly equating the two punishments or detailing all forms of harm.
Shahrur reads verses 57–58 in connection with what precedes them, especially the verse on sending blessings upon the Prophet, in order to resolve what he sees as a problem in the meaning of the believers’ blessings upon him. According to Shahrur, the Prophet is among the believers, and thus he is included in the general prohibition against harming believing men and women in verse 58. From verse 57’s specific mention of harming God and His Messenger, and its reference to curse and humiliating punishment, Shahrur understands that harming the Prophet in his capacity as a messenger has a more far-reaching and more severe consequence before God than his inclusion in the general prohibition against harming believers.
Citation and Location
Islam and Faith — p. 255.
Limits of the Reading
- This page documents Shahrur’s reading at this locus; it does not present the meaning of the verses as the only or agreed-upon meaning.
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s distinction between harming the Prophet as a messenger and harming believers generally, but it does not establish the formulation “severance from mercy” as an explicit, independent consequence.
- One should not infer that verse 58 encompasses verse 57 in a way that nullifies the Messenger’s specific designation, nor derive specific forms of harm not mentioned in the citation.
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Brief Reading
Shahrur cites them to clarify that harming the Messenger has a more severe consequence because it severs one from mercy, while harm falls under the general category of harming believers.
Axes
- Human and Ethical
- Faith-Based
Related Concepts
- Harm: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It links harm to the status of mercy and responsibility for one’s actions toward the Messenger and the believers.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Loci of Use
- Islam and Faith, p. 255: He cites them to clarify that harming the Messenger has a more severe consequence because it severs one from mercy, whereas harm falls within the general category of harming believers.
- Concept: Harm
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “The two verses immediately following it are: {INDEED, THOSE WHO HARM GOD AND HIS MESSENGER… AND THOSE WHO HARM THE BELIEVERS…} (Al-Ahzab 57–58).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.