This thematic entry 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.
Text of the Verse as Cited
Have the people of the towns then felt secure that Our might will come upon them by night while they are asleep?
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur situate Qur’an 7:97, what does “the towns” mean for him in it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
Shahrur places the verse in the context of warning monolithic societies of extinction or severe punishment. He understands “the towns” here as a monolithic society that does not accept pluralism and difference, rather than as a village in the ordinary sense. For him, the verse functions as Qur’anic evidence for this warning.
Shahrur interprets “the people of the towns” in the verse as monolithic societies that do not accept pluralism and difference, not towns in the ordinary sense of a village. Shahrur employs Qur’an 7:97 as evidence that the Wise Revelation warned monolithic societies of extinction or severe punishment.
Evidence and Location
Towards New Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 129.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence does not establish a comprehensive interpretation of every occurrence of the term “towns” in the Qur’an.
- The evidence does not set out a detailed mechanism for the meaning of pluralism and difference, or criteria for describing a society as monolithic.
- The explanation is limited to Shahrur’s reading as presented in this passage and does not determine the meanings of the verse in other exegetical works.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
He interprets the towns here as monolithic societies that reject pluralism, rather than merely geographical villages.
Themes
- Political and social
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Towns: 2
- Societies: 1
- Pluralism: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It shifts the meaning of towns from place to social structure.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- Towards New Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 129: He interprets the towns here as monolithic societies that reject pluralism, rather than merely geographical villages.
- Concept: towns
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual evidence: “{ Have the people of the towns then felt secure that Our might will come upon them by night while they are asleep? } (Al-A’raf 97),”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.