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
And in truth We sent it down, and in truth it descended
Reader’s answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ God’s saying, “And in truth We sent it down, and in truth it descended,” in his conception of revelation?
Shahrur employs the verse to support his conception of “abstract revelation”: the sending down, in his view, consists of information that comes to the Prophet from outside his brain rather than from his own activity, through “Gabriel,” understood as objective laws. He connects this to his assumption that direct reception requires the absence of consciousness and the suspension of the senses. Yet the verse itself, in the attached excerpt, does not spell out this mechanism; rather, Shahrur cites it at the conclusion of his theoretical construction.
Shahrur cites Al-Isra’ 105 in the context of defining “abstract revelation” as a material revelation that comes from outside the Prophet’s brain, not from his brain’s own activities, and through “Gabriel,” which he describes as objective laws. Before citing the verse, Shahrur constructs the hypothesis that the direct arrival of information in the brain, bypassing the senses, requires the recipient’s absence from consciousness; he therefore regards the Prophet’s absence from consciousness during revelation as unsurprising within his conception.
Excerpt and location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 323.
Limits of the reading
- There is one excerpt, and it is truncated at its end, but it includes the point at which the verse is cited and Shahrur’s direct formulation of its function in his argument.
- The excerpt does not establish that the expression “descended” means the transfer of revelation to the Prophet’s heart; this addition appears in the original reader’s answer and does not appear in the attached quotation.
- The excerpt does not provide independent evidence for the validity of the scientific hypothesis concerning the suspension of the senses and the absence of consciousness; rather, Shahrur presents it as the basis of his theory.
- The mere occurrence of the verse at the end of the paragraph should not be turned into proof that its wording itself states all the elements of “abstract revelation.”
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Brief reading
The verse grounds the idea of abstract revelation by highlighting that the sending down occurred outside the Prophet’s awareness before being transferred to his heart.
Axes
- Faith-based
- Methodological
Related concepts
- Abstract revelation: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It constitutes a foundational point in the construction of Shahrur’s conception of the nature of revelation.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Foundational: 1
Instances of use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 323: He employs it to establish that the sending down occurred outside the Prophet’s awareness and was then transferred to his heart, as a prelude to the idea of abstract revelation.
- Concept: Abstract revelation
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual excerpt: “By virtue of God’s saying, {And in truth We sent it down, and in truth it descended} (Al-Isra’ 105), that is, the translation of the Qur’an into Arabic took place outside Muhammad’s awareness (PBUH).”
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.