This axis brings together 1 locus where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
… And if they had associated partners [with God], what they had been doing would surely have come to nothing.
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur cite the verse, how does he distinguish associating partners [with God], and what function does it serve in his argument?
Shahrur cites the verse in the book «Islam and the Human Being», in a passage whose number is not specified. He uses it as support for linking associating partners [with God] to following declarations of prohibition or permissibility attributed to God without basis in the Book, and to the consequence he mentions: the nullification of deeds. The cited passage does not independently establish anything about the ethical value of human conduct.
Shahrur presents following those who issue rulings of permissibility and prohibition contrary to what God’s Book brings as associating partners [with God] and as casting doubt on God’s oneness, in the context of his discussion of neither adding to nor subtracting from what God has prohibited in His Book. He employs Al-An’am 88 to support his statement that this association nullifies a person’s other deeds, and he calls on the Muslim to beware of having his deeds nullified by associating created beings in the worship of God.
Citation and Location
Islam and the Human Being — location not specified.
Limits of the Reading
- The location within the book is not stated in the cited passage, so no chapter or page can be identified.
- The cited passage does not state that the verse concerns “the ethical value of human conduct”; therefore, that cannot properly be made the function of the verse on this page.
- The cited passage does not provide a comprehensive general definition of associating partners [with God] in Shahrur’s thought; rather, it establishes this specific application in the context of declaring things permissible or prohibited and following statements attributed to God.
- The cited passage does not establish a relation of synonymy or a terminological distinction between other terms.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
Shahrur cites it to argue that associating partners [with God] nullifies deeds and affects the ethical value of human conduct.
Axes
- Human and ethical
- Faith-based
Related Concepts
- Nullification of deeds: 2
- Associating partners [with God]: 1
- Ethical value: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected with linking faith to the fate of ethical action.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Loci of Use
- Islam and the Human Being: He cites it to argue that associating partners [with God] nullifies deeds and threatens the ethical value of human conduct.
- Concept: Nullification of deeds
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “{ That is God’s guidance … and if they had associated partners [with God], what they had been doing would surely have come to nothing } (Al-An’am 88)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.