This axis brings together 2 loci where this verse is used in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking them to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the verse as cited
… AND GAVE WEALTH, DESPITE HIS LOVE FOR IT…
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ God’s saying, “and gave wealth, despite his love for it,” in Al-Baqarah 177, and does this establish that social spending goes beyond zakat?
Shahrur employs the verse in two connected contexts: in Islam and Faith, he cites it among verses used to demonstrate the deep-rooted love of wealth in human beings, making spending an act that runs contrary to this inclination; and in Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, he cites the verse in full alongside the verse on the designated recipients of alms (Al-Tawbah 60), in the context of his statement that he distinguishes “these two types of alms.” Therefore, the claim most strongly supported by the documentation is that Shahrur distinguishes between the giving mentioned as part of righteousness in Al-Baqarah 177 and alms with the specified recipients in Al-Tawbah 60. Describing this distinction as “general social spending that goes beyond specific zakat,” however, is a possible interpretive summary, but it does not appear in this wording in the accompanying excerpt.
Shahrur cites Al-Baqarah 177, and the phrase “and gave wealth, despite his love for it,” in the context of discussing the love of wealth as a human inclination, and the fact that giving and spending wealth runs counter to this inclination.
Citation and Location
Islam and Faith — p. 23.
Limits of the Reading
- The excerpt from Islam and Faith does not explain the designated avenues of spending in Al-Baqarah 177; rather, it uses the verse within an argument about the love of wealth and the way spending runs counter to this inclination.
- The excerpt from Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence establishes the existence of a distinction between two types of alms, but the excerpt does not provide Shahrur’s detailed definition of each type or its rulings.
- The mere juxtaposition of the two verses should not be turned into a definitive equation between “giving wealth” in Al-Baqarah 177 and a specific juristic term, unless an additional text explains this specification.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
Shahrur cites it to argue that spending wealth despite one’s love for it is among the acts of righteousness, and that spending has a general social dimension that goes beyond specific zakat.
Axes
- Human and ethical
- Political and social
Related Concepts
- Righteousness: 2
- Spending: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to expanding the concept of righteousness into an organized social and financial practice.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 2
Contexts of Use
- Islam and Faith, p. 23: He cites it to argue that spending wealth despite one’s love for it is among the acts of righteousness and beneficence.
- Concept: righteousness
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “- {… BUT RIGHTEOUSNESS IS [IN] ONE WHO BELIEVES IN GOD AND THE LAST DAY … AND GAVE WEALTH, DESPITE HIS LOVE FOR IT…} (Al-Baqarah 177).”
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 106: He uses it to distinguish between Islam’s general spending and zakat specific to believers, deriving from it the elements of general social spending.
- Concept: spending
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual citation: “- { RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT THAT YOU TURN YOUR FACES TOWARD THE EAST … AND GAVE ZAKAT … } (Al-Baqarah 177).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.