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.
The Verse Text as Cited
That is how We recompensed them for their transgression, and indeed, We are truthful.
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “That is how We recompensed them for their transgression,” in understanding the prohibition of certain foods for the Children of Israel?
Shahrur reads the verse as an explanation for a prohibition specific to those who became Jews: in his view, it was a punishment for transgression, rather than the establishment of a fixed prohibition for all people or all messages. He presents it as an example within his conception of the differences among legislations across nations and eras, and of what he calls the provisional nature of some rulings in earlier messages.
Shahrur uses the verse as an example that the prohibition of certain foods for those who became Jews was a punishment connected to their transgression. He links this example to his broader idea that the legislations of earlier messages may differ according to nations and times, and that some of them were provisional and were subsequently abrogated in later messages.
Citation and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 142.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes that Shahrur invokes the verse in his discussion of differences and provisionality in legislation, but the excerpt does not provide an independent detailed account of all food rulings or of the history of the lifting of each specific ruling.
- Describing the prohibition as “temporary” is understood here within the framework of Shahrur’s discussion of provisional and abrogated legislations between messages, not as a ruling derived from this sentence alone apart from the rest of the verse’s and the Book’s context.
- This citation alone does not establish the source’s adoption of the reading; rather, it establishes a direct presentation of Shahrur’s use of it.
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Brief Reading
The verse is used to show that the prohibition of certain wholesome foods for the Children of Israel was a temporary historical punishment, not an eternal ruling.
Axes
- Legislative
- Narrative and historical
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Prohibition: 2
- Easing of legislation: 2
- Jewish legislation: 2
- Transgression: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to the gradual development of legislation and to the idea of easing in later messages.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 2
- Example: 1
Instances of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 142: He cites it to state that the prohibition imposed on the Children of Israel was a contingent historical punishment connected to transgression, not an eternal ruling.
- Concept: prohibition
- Function of the verse here: example
- Textual citation: “{.. That is how We recompensed them for their transgression, and indeed, We are truthful.} (Al-An’am 146)”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 384: He cites it to argue that Christ came to ease some rulings of Moses’ law and permit some of what had been forbidden to the Jews.
- Concept: easing of legislation
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “As evidenced by the mention of the People of the Book and what was sent down to them … We offer an example in the following verses: … and this is what verse 146 of Surat al-An’am detailed.”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 390: He cites it to show that Jewish legislation imposed stricter dietary restrictions, followed by easing in the later message.
- Concept: Jewish legislation
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “– {And upon those who became Jews We prohibited every animal with claws …} (Al-An’am 146)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.