Al-Baqarah 124

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This thematic axis brings together 3 instances 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 when his Lord tested Abraham with words, which he fulfilled, He said, “Indeed, I am making you a leader for the people.”

Reader’s Answer

Question

Where does the verse occur, how does Shahrur distinguish testing, and what function does it serve in his argument?

The verse occurs in al-Baqarah 124. Shahrur reads Abraham’s testing in it as a personal test with a specific subject matter, concerning a set of objective laws to be understood, and links his completion of this test to Abraham’s being made a leader for the people.

Shahrur places the verse within the context of his distinction between personal testing and the testing he describes as a general objective law; in his view, personal testing is specific in subject matter and particular to the individual. Shahrur interprets Abraham’s testing as involving a set of objective laws that were to be understood, and maintains that Abraham succeeded in this, citing al-Baqarah 124 and Abraham’s being made a leader for the people.

Citation and Location

A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation — p. 52.

Limits of the Reading

  • The cited passage does not define the “words” as the stars, the sun, or the moon.
  • The cited passage does not establish that the test was “induction,” nor does it explain its method.
  • The cited passage does not state that imamate is an advancement in knowledge or leadership; it merely mentions being made a leader after Abraham’s success in the test.
  • It is not valid to attribute the details of the use mentioned from the book “The State and Society” to this citation, because its attached location is from “A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation.”

Continue from Here

Brief Reading

The verse establishes the idea that imamate came after Abraham’s testing, and that the test was an entry point to advancement in knowledge and leadership.

Axes

  • Narrative and historical
  • Methodological
  • Testing by words: 2
  • Imamate: 2
  • Testing: 2

Its Place in the Network of Concepts

It is connected to the sequence of Abraham’s story and to the method of testing as a path to empowerment.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Foundational: 1
  • Support: 1
  • Example: 1

Instances of Use

  • The State and Society, p. 184: He builds on it the idea that the words of testing are the stars, the sun, and the moon, and that Abraham became a leader after passing the test of induction.
    • Concept: Testing by words
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual citation: “And Abraham became a leader for the people after succeeding in the examination with which God tested him, as indicated by His saying—Exalted is He—: {And when his Lord tested Abraham with words …} (al-Baqarah 124).”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 170: He cites it to affirm that Abraham is a leader and that his imamate is connected to the particularity of conduct rather than lineage.
    • Concept: Imamate
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: “{… He said, ‘Indeed, I am making you a leader for the people’ …} (al-Baqarah 124).”
  • A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 52: He makes Abraham’s testing an example of human success in understanding objective laws and adhering to them.
    • Concept: Testing
    • Function of the verse here: Example
    • Textual citation: “God Almighty tested Abraham with a set of objective laws … according to His saying: {And when his Lord tested Abraham with words …} (al-Baqarah 124).”

This page is presented within the atlas’s general atlas construction methodology.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas