This axis brings together 2 places where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The verse text as it appears
BE CONSTANT IN THE PRAYERS AND THE MIDDLE PRAYER, AND STAND BEFORE GOD IN DEVOUT OBEDIENCE
Brief reading
Shahrur interprets it to mean that the prayers here are the ritual prayer, while rejecting the restriction of the middle one to the afternoon prayer.
Axes
- legislative
- faith-based
Related concepts
- middle prayer: 2
- prayer: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It is connected to distinguishing the types of prayer and determining its devotional place.
The verse’s role in the argument
- distinguishing: 1
- support: 1
Instances of use
- Islam and Faith, p. 256: He interprets the prayers here as the ritual prayer, and disagrees with the interpretation that confines the middle one to the afternoon prayer.
- concept: middle prayer
- function of the verse here: distinguishing
- textual evidence: “As for His saying, exalted is He: {BE CONSTANT IN THE PRAYERS AND THE MIDDLE PRAYER AND STAND BEFORE GOD IN DEVOUT OBEDIENCE} (al-Baqarah 238), here it is the plural of prayer”
- corresponding traditional reading: some exegetes claim that it is the afternoon prayer
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, pp. 29-30: He cites it to affirm that prayer is a regulated act of worship, but its performance details are determined by the numerical obligation and the manner, not by the general text alone.
- concept: prayer
- function of the verse here: support
- textual evidence: “… {BE CONSTANT IN THE PRAYERS AND THE MIDDLE PRAYER AND STAND BEFORE GOD …} (al-Baqarah 238)”
Related books
This page is presented within the general methodology of building the atlas.