This axis gathers 3 instances 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 MY SERVANTS ASK YOU ABOUT ME, THEN I AM NEAR. I ANSWER THE CALL OF THE CALLER WHEN HE CALLS UPON ME. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, that they may be rightly guided.
Brief reading
The verse is read as indicating that divine nearness here is nearness of response and accompaniment, and that the address in it is directed to the individual supplicant.
Axes
- Faith
- Human and ethical
Related concepts
- Nearness: 3
- Individual supplication: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It is connected to the idea of direct response and to criticism of collective supplication in rituals.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Example: 2
- Foundation: 1
Instances of use
- The State and Society, p. 213: He builds on the verse to argue that divine response is to the individual supplicant, not to the group, and therefore rejects collective supplication in rituals.
- Concept: individual supplication
- Function of the verse here: foundation
- Textual evidence: «Because God does not respond to supplication except individually … according to His – تعالى – saying: - AND WHEN MY SERVANTS ASK YOU ABOUT ME, THEN I AM NEAR. I ANSWER THE CALL OF THE CALLER WHEN HE CALLS UPON ME … (Al-Baqara 186)»
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 109: He cites it to explain the use of nearness in the sense of accompaniment/response, not only in the spatial sense.
- Concept: nearness
- Function of the verse here: example
- Textual evidence: «– { AND WHEN MY SERVANTS ASK YOU ABOUT ME, THEN I AM NEAR } (Al-Baqara 186).»
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 110: He cites it as an example of using nearness to bring near what is thought to be distant.
- Concept: nearness
- Function of the verse here: example
- Textual evidence: «{ AND WHEN MY SERVANTS ASK YOU ABOUT ME, THEN I AM NEAR } (Al-Baqara 186).»
Related books
This page is presented within the general method of constructing the atlas.