Al-Baqarah 255

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This axis gathers 2 loci where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The text of the verse as cited

And they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills.

Reader’s Answer

Question

Where does Shahrur deploy the verse, what distinction does he derive from it, and what function does it serve in his argument?

Shahrur deploys the verse in the Book and the Qur’an (p. 230) to link the human apprehension of information to means that God has willed: hearing, sight, and the heart. He makes the association of the heart with hearing and sight the basis for distinguishing the beginning of human thought from what he attributes to animals as a reflexive heart. In this passage, the verse serves to support his conception of the means of human knowledge, rather than to establish a detailed contrast between human knowledge and divine knowledge.

Shahrur interprets the phrase “except what He wills” as meaning that the information encompassed by human beings comes through means willed by God, which he identifies as hearing, sight, and the heart. Shahrur links the heart to hearing and sight in order to distinguish the beginning of human thought from animals; he describes animals as having hearing, sight, and a reflexive heart, rather than a human heart. Here, the verse functions in Shahrur’s argument by supporting his claim that human apprehension of information is conditioned by the stated means of knowledge.

Citation and location

the Book and the Qur’an — p. 230.

Limits of the reading

  • The citation does not explicitly state that the verse establishes a contrast between human knowledge and God’s complete epistemic comprehension; this extension is therefore not established in the page’s answer.
  • The citation does not provide an independent, comprehensive exegesis of the verse, but rather deploys part of it within its discussion of hearing, sight, and the heart.
  • The citation does not establish a relationship between this verse and other verses merely on the basis of similar wording.

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Brief reading

For Shahrur, the verse indicates the limits of human knowledge through the senses, in contrast to God’s complete epistemic comprehension.

Axes

  • Faith-based
  • Linguistic and semantic
  • Sensory knowledge: 2
  • Epistemic comprehension: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It is connected to the network of concepts that distinguishes between limited human perception and God’s all-encompassing knowledge.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Foundational: 1
  • Supportive: 1

Loci of use

  • the Book and the Qur’an, p. 230: He adduces it as evidence that human apprehension of knowledge occurs only through means willed by God: hearing, sight, and the heart.
    • Concept: sensory knowledge
    • Function of the verse here: foundational
    • Textual citation: “Here we understand His saying, exalted be He: {.. And they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills} (Al-Baqarah 255).”
  • the Book and the Qur’an, p. 325: He cites it to show that the knowledge of created beings is limited in comparison with God’s complete comprehension.
    • Concept: epistemic comprehension
    • Function of the verse here: supportive
    • Textual citation: “{.. And they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills…} (Al-Baqarah 255).”

This page is presented within the general methodology for constructing the atlas.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas