This axis gathers 1 instance of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The verse text as cited
And when it is said to them, “Follow what Allah has revealed,” they say, “Rather, we follow what we found our fathers upon.” Even if their fathers understood nothing and were not guided?
Brief reading
The verse is read here as a critique of clinging to inherited tradition merely because it is inherited, as an obstacle to renewal and ijtihad.
Axes
- Methodological
- Political and social
Related concepts
- Paternal familiarity: 2
Its place in the conceptual network
It is connected to the critique of unjustified adherence to what is familiar.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Critique of tradition: 1
Instances of use
- State and Society, p. 18: He cites it to affirm that clinging to inherited tradition merely because it is inherited is an epistemic illness that hinders renewal and ijtihad.
- Concept: Paternal familiarity
- Function of the verse here: Critique of tradition
- Textual evidence: “And His, Exalted be He, saying: {And when it is said to them, ‘Follow what Allah has revealed…’} (Al-Baqarah 170).”
- The corresponding traditional reading: The assumption that it is specific to the polytheists of the Arabs
Related books
This page is presented within the general methodology of building the atlas.