Al-A'raf 156

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This axis brings together 3 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

Text of the verse as cited

… AND MY MERCY ENCOMPASSES EVERY THING; SO I SHALL PRESCRIBE IT FOR THOSE WHO ARE GOD-FEARING …

Reader’s Answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur employ God’s saying, “AND MY MERCY ENCOMPASSES EVERY THING; SO I SHALL PRESCRIBE IT FOR THOSE WHO ARE GOD-FEARING…” in his discussion of mercy and punishment?

Shahrur employs the verse to argue that God’s mercy is vast and that punishment is limited, while stressing that the prescription of mercy for a particular group occurs “by His decision” and is connected to the qualities mentioned by the verse, including God-consciousness, giving alms, and belief in the signs.

When citing Al-A’raf 156, Shahrur explicitly states that God’s mercy is vast and His punishment limited. He explains that the selection of mercy for those possessing certain qualities is a divine decision, relying on the passage of the verse that mentions God-consciousness, giving alms, and belief in the signs.

Evidence and Location

Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism — p. 19.

Limits of the Reading

  • The sole direct evidence linking Shahrur to Al-A’raf 156 is from the book Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 19; it is sufficient to establish this specific use.
  • The evidence from Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 61, concerns the universality of the message and verses Al-Anbiya 107 and Al-A’raf 158, and does not establish a claim connected to Al-A’raf 156; it is therefore not used here.
  • The evidence does not establish that Shahrur set out, in this passage, a detailed theory of the conditions of mercy or of the fate of individuals; it is not valid to extend his statement to such matters without further evidence.
  • The phrase “good deeds have multiple sources” occurs in the evidence, but its precise interpretive connection to the structure of Al-A’raf 156 is not elaborated in the excerpt; it is therefore not made a central claim about the verse.

Continue From Here

Brief Reading

The verse highlights the vastness of God’s mercy and that it is greater than punishment, while indicating that mercy is prescribed for particular groups by God’s will.

Axes

  • Faith-based
  • Human and ethical
  • Mercy: 3
  • Selection of mercy: 2
  • Exhortation: 1
  • Intimidation: 1
  • Prophetic: 1

Its Place in the Conceptual Network

It places mercy at the center of the relationship between faith and divine selection.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Support: 3

Instances of Use

  • Islam and the Human Being: He cites it to establish the vastness of God’s mercy and that it is greater than punishment.
    • Concept: mercy
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “{ … He said, ‘My punishment—I afflict with it whom I will, and My mercy encompasses every thing…’ } (Al-A’raf 156)”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 19: He adduces it to argue that God’s mercy is prescribed for specified groups by His decision, and that mercy is greater than punishment.
    • Concept: selection of mercy
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “{… AND MY MERCY ENCOMPASSES EVERY THING; SO I SHALL PRESCRIBE IT …} (Al-A’raf 156)”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 61: He adduces it to deny that prophetic exhortation takes the form of the absolute intimidation depicted by the traditional report.
    • Concept: mercy
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “This is not the Muhammadan prophetic method in exhortation and reminding, which is founded upon His—exalted is He—saying: { He said, ‘My punishment—I afflict with it whom I will, and My mercy encompasses every thing’ }”

This page is presented within the atlas’s general atlas-building methodology.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas