This axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
He is God
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the phrase “He is God” in Al-An’am 3 when discussing masculine pronouns?
Shahrur uses the phrase as an example of how the predominance of the masculine form in Arabic Qur’anic discourse may lead some people to imagine that God is masculine. He then rejects this misconception in the context of his discussion of God’s equality between the sexes.
Shahrur states that the discourse in the Wise Revelation came predominantly in the masculine form, linking this to its descent at the end of what he calls the “age of masculinity.” He cites the phrase “He is God” (Al-An’am 3) as an example of what led some people to think that God is masculine.
Citation and Location
Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 132.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes the location of Shahrur’s use of the phrase in his discussion, but it is not sufficient on its own to establish a general linguistic theory about the gender of Arabic pronouns.
- Linking the phrase to equality between the sexes is an argumentative context for Shahrur in the accompanying text, rather than an explicit indication derived from Al-An’am 3 alone.
- The excerpt does not provide evidence that the pronoun “He” indicates or negates biological sex in Arabic grammar; therefore, a detailed grammatical analysis should not be attributed to Shahrur here.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
He uses it to respond to the misconception that God is masculine because of Arabic pronouns.
Axes
- Linguistic and semantic
- Faith-related
Related Concepts
- The divine essence: 2
- Arabic pronouns: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It helps regulate linguistic understanding away from human projections.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Distinction: 1
Instances of Use
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 132: He uses it in the context of responding to those who imagine that God is masculine because of Arabic pronouns.
- Concept: the divine essence
- Function of the verse here: distinction
- Textual citation: “some of them [think] that God is masculine; { He is God } (Al-An’am 3),”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.