This thematic entry brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
And he cast down the tablets and seized his brother by the head, dragging him toward himself
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ Al-A’raf 150 in his discussion of Moses’ revelation, and what distinction does he draw?
Shahrur cites the verse within an argument linking Moses’ revelation to the tablets: he describes this revelation as auditory and holds that it had a written or transcribed form on the tablets. For him, the verse serves as narrative evidence of the presence of physical tablets in the story.
Shahrur regards auditory revelation as a form of revelation particular to Moses, alongside other forms, including inspiration. He links Moses’ auditory revelation to the tablets and describes it as having come as sound and in a transcribed or written form, drawing on the verse concerning writing on the tablets and on the scene of their being cast down in Al-A’raf 150.
Citation and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 324.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not explain the verse’s terms linguistically, nor does it specify the material of the tablets or how Moses received the sound.
- This passage alone does not establish a general ruling concerning synonymy, or its negation, among the terms for revelation, writing, and transcription.
- The connection here is specific to Shahrur’s use of the verse in this passage and is insufficient to establish all the details of his theory of the types of revelation.
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Brief Reading
He uses it as narrative evidence for the connection between Moses’ revelation and the revealed physical tablets.
Themes
- Narrative and historical
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Tablets: 2
- Mosaic revelation: 1
- Material: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to the context of Moses and to the material signs of revelation.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 324: He uses it as narrative evidence for the connection between Moses’ revelation and the revealed physical tablets.
- Concept: Tablets
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “And His saying: {… And he cast down the tablets and seized his brother by the head, dragging him toward himself} (Al-A’raf 150).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.