al-A‘rāf 199

This verse appears in Shahrur’s work in order to clarify the meanings of pardon and custom, especially when discussing charity and spending. It helps him understand spending from within society, rather than as a financial obligation detached from it.

The verse text as cited

TAKE THE FORGIVENESS, ENJOIN WHAT IS CUSTOMARY, AND TURN AWAY FROM THE IGNORANT

Brief reading

Shahrur reads the verse as an entry point to spending through pardon, that is, through what exceeds need, and through custom, which takes account of the condition of society. For this reason, he does not treat it as a vague general command, but links it to organizing charity and non-obligatory spending.

Axes

• Human and ethical
• Legislative
• Political and social

Related concepts

• Pardon: 4
• Custom: 3
• Voluntary zakat: 2

Its place in the conceptual network

The verse is connected to pardon, custom, charity, and spending. It is important because it links financial behavior to the condition of society and its capacity.

The verse’s role in the argument

• Support: 5
• Context: 1
• Foundational: 1

Summary of its presence in the atlas

• Pardon and custom are the keys to the reading.
• Charity is understood as surplus.
• It appears in non-obligatory spending.

Places of use

• Islam and Man: He makes it the basis for saying that the regulation of commands and prohibitions must take account of the customs of society so long as they do not conflict with the prohibitions.
  • Concept: custom
  • Function of the verse here: support
  • Textual evidence: «{ خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ } (al-A‘rāf 199)»
• Islam and Faith, p. 81: He mentions it as an uncited reference to determine that charity/spending is the surplus pardon beyond need.
  • Concept: pardon
  • Function of the verse here: context
  • Textual evidence: «It is the pardon that the Almighty commanded His noble messenger to take in the verse of al-A‘rāf 199.»
• The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 96: He cites it to establish that charity is the pardon that the Messenger was commanded to take, not merely an absolute financial giving.
  • Concept: pardon
  • Function of the verse here: support
  • Textual evidence: «It is the pardon that the Almighty commanded His noble messenger to take in the verse of al-A‘rāf 199.»
• The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 96: He makes it a reference for defining charity as pardon and as giving free of reproach and harm.
  • Concept: pardon
  • Function of the verse here: support
  • Textual evidence: «and does not taint it with reproach or harm, nor await from it reward or benefit; it is the pardon that the Almighty commanded His noble messenger to take in the verse of al-A‘rāf 199.»
• The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 97: He makes it evidence that zakat in the Meccan phase was voluntary and a financial surplus, not a specified obligation.
  • Concept: voluntary zakat
  • Function of the verse here: support
  • Textual evidence: «And zakat in Mecca before the migration, as indicated by the verse of al-A‘rāf 199, was a surplus of money paid voluntarily by the well-off believers»
• Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 179: He uses it to say that the absence of a text in Sa‘d’s case required ruling by custom, not resorting to a later report.
  • Concept: custom
  • Function of the verse here: foundational
  • Textual evidence: «He should have ruled according to custom in the absence of a text, acting on the saying of the Almighty: { خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ … }»
• Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 94: He employs it to show that the criterion for command and prohibition is custom and human values, not historical devices or inflated abrogation.
  • Concept: custom
  • Function of the verse here: support
  • Textual evidence: «If so, do you mean that His saying – تعالى –: { خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ } (al-A‘rāf 199) …»

Related books

• Islam and Man
• Islam and Faith
• The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna
• Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence

This page is presented within the general methodology of atlas construction.