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
“Indeed, I think, O Moses, that you are bewitched.”
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur read the term “I think” (aẓunnuka) in Pharaoh’s statement to Moses: “Indeed, I think, O Moses, that you are bewitched”?
Shahrur uses the verse as an example showing that the verb ẓanna is among the verbs that can bear two opposing meanings depending on the context. He places Pharaoh’s statement to Moses within the usage of ẓann meaning doubt or accusation, rather than certainty; in his presentation, the sentence expresses Pharaoh’s accusatory judgment that Moses is “bewitched.”
Shahrur holds that ẓanna in Arabic bears two opposing meanings: doubt on the one hand and certainty on the other. He cites Qur’an 17:101, “Then Pharaoh said to him, ‘Indeed, I think, O Moses, that you are bewitched,’” among his examples of ẓann in the sense opposite to certainty—that is, doubt.
Citation and Location
the Book and the Qur’an — p. 275.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes that Shahrur includes the verse among examples of ẓann on the side of doubt, but the excerpt does not provide a detailed analysis of the dialogue’s structure or the verse’s full context.
- Describing the statement as an “accusation” is an explanation closely derived from Pharaoh’s saying “bewitched” and from Shahrur’s classification of the term under doubt; it is not an independent term quoted from him in the citation.
- This citation does not establish a detailed rule for determining when ẓann means certainty or doubt, apart from his reliance on the differing Qur’anic usages that he presents.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
The verse is cited to confirm that ẓann here means accusation and doubt, not certainty.
Axes
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Ẓann: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to a semantic distinction that determines the meaning of the term within Qur’anic usage.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- the Book and the Qur’an, p. 275: He places it among examples of ẓann meaning accusation and doubt rather than certainty.
- Concept: Ẓann
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “And His saying: {Then Pharaoh said to him, ‘Indeed, I think, O Moses, that you are bewitched’} (Al-Isra 101).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.