This axis gathers 1 place where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The verse text as it appears
We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between them in play (16) If We had wanted to take a diversion, We would have taken it from Us, if We were to do so (17)
Brief reading
For Shahrur, these two verses come to affirm that creation is founded on a responsible meaning, not on futility, in keeping with the human being’s accountability for his or her action.
Axes
- Faith-based
- Methodological
Related concepts
- Divine justice: 2
- Human responsibility: 1
- Rejection of futility: 1
Its place in the network of concepts
It is connected to the concept of divine justice and serves the rejection of views that negate human choice.
The role of the verse in the argument
- Support: 1
Occurrences of use
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 225: He uses it to highlight that creation is neither futile nor a game, and thus does not accord with deterministic views that attribute choice to God alone and negate human responsibility.
- Concept: Divine justice
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “And with His explicit statement, Most High: {We did not create the heaven and the earth…} (al-Anbiya 16, 17).”
Related books
This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.