This axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Verse Text as Cited
The sending down of the Book is from God, the Mighty, the Wise.
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “The sending down of the Book is from God, the Mighty, the Wise,” in his conception of the Book and its sending down?
Shahrur employs the verse among those in which the formula “the sending down of the Book” occurs, citing it as evidence that “the Book” in this context encompasses, in his view, the Mother of the Book, the Detailed Book, and the seven oft-repeated verses together. In his presentation, he connects this sending down with its extension over twenty-three years; the accompanying evidence does not establish the claim of “cognitive publicization.”
Shahrur considers verse 2 of Al-Ahqaf an example of the formula “the sending down of the Book,” and takes “the Book” in it to encompass the Mother of the Book, the Detailed Book, and the seven oft-repeated verses together. Shahrur says that the sending down of the entire Book occurred over twenty-three years, and he uses the formula “the sending down of the Book” rather than specifying a separate verse for the sending down of the Mother of the Book.
Evidence and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 145.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence does not support the description of “the sending down of the Book” as indicating cognitive publicization.
- This is an account of Shahrur’s use of the verse, not independent proof of the validity of his division of the Book’s components.
- Links to other verses or concepts should not be created merely because they share the term “sending down.”
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Brief Reading
Shahrur uses it to affirm the expression “the sending down of the Book” as indicating comprehensiveness and as connected to the process of cognitive publicization.
Axes
- Linguistic and semantic
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- The sending down of the Book: 2
- Cognitive publicization: 1
- The Book: 1
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It supports the semantic distinction in his method of reading the Book.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 145: He treats it as additional evidence for the expression “the sending down of the Book,” in order to affirm its comprehensiveness and its connection to the process of cognitive publicization.
- Concept: The sending down of the Book
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “{The sending down of the Book is from God, the Mighty, the Wise} (Al-Jathiyah 2, Al-Ahqaf 2).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.