This axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that arise around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
Indeed, We created the human being from a mixed drop, to test him; so We made him hearing and seeing.
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur cite the verse “so We made him hearing and seeing” in the discussion of anthropomorphism and divine attributes?
Shahrur does not present the verse as evidence for likening God to human beings. Rather, he mentions it as an argument invoked by those who permit anthropomorphism: they say that God described the human being as “hearing and seeing,” just as He described Himself. Shahrur then rejects the conclusion of this line of reasoning, because conceiving divine attributes on the model of human attributes and parts ultimately, in his account, renders God composite, which he considers incompatible with His oneness and uniqueness.
In the cited passage, Qur’an 76:2 appears as an argument of those who permit anthropomorphism, not as a direct statement of Shahrur’s position. The argument attributed to the proponents of anthropomorphism is that God described the human being as “hearing and seeing” while describing Himself with hearing and sight. In his critique of this argument, Shahrur concludes that this conception makes God composite of parts and regards it as negating divine unity and uniqueness.
Source and Location
Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 29.
Limits of the Reading
- The cited passage does not establish that Shahrur interprets “hearing and seeing” in the verse with a specific meaning concerning human capacities; rather, it establishes his use of it in presenting the argument for anthropomorphism.
- The cited passage does not provide a positive account of how Shahrur affirms or interprets divine attributes; what it offers is a critique of the conclusion he attributes to anthropomorphists.
- It is not valid to construct an additional relationship between this verse and the verses on divine attributes merely because they share the terms hearing and sight, unless a cited passage establishes that relationship.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
The verse is mentioned in the context of criticizing its use as evidence for anthropomorphism, because this understanding leads to the composition of the divine essence.
Axes
- Theological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Human attributes: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It enters into the network of distinguishing between human descriptions and what is unfitting for the divine essence.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Critique of tradition: 1
Contexts of Use
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 29: Those who permit anthropomorphism invoke it to say that the human being himself was described with attributes, after which Shahrur critiques this reasoning because it leads to the composition of the divine essence.
- Concept: human attributes
- Function of the verse here: critique of tradition
- Textual witness: “{ Indeed, We created the human being from a mixed drop, to test him; so We made him hearing and seeing } (The Human 2).”
- Corresponding traditional reading: proponents of anthropomorphism
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.