This axis brings together 2 instances of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
… God has permitted trade and prohibited usury…
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “God has permitted trade and prohibited usury,” in his reading of economic activity?
Shahrur employs the verse to affirm that “value added” is the foundation of the economy and economic activity, making the Qur’anic distinction between trade and usury the basis of this assertion. The cited passage does not merely define usury or detail the rules of transactions.
Shahrur presents Al-Baqarah 275 under the heading: “Affirming that value added is the foundation of the economy and economic activity.” In this passage, Shahrur relies on the Qur’anic phrase that distinguishes between trade and usury: “God has permitted trade and prohibited usury.”
Citation and Location
Islam and Faith — p. 83.
Limits of the Reading
- The cited passage does not establish that Shahrur places usury here under the category of “prohibitions that affect public morality”; this formulation does not appear in the accompanying text.
- The cited passage does not define the meaning of “value added” or explain the practical criterion for distinguishing trade from usury.
- The later reference in the cited passage to “the prohibition of multiplied usury” appears as a brief heading, and is therefore insufficient on its own to establish the details or limits of his position.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
The verse establishes the distinction between trade and usury, while placing usury among the prohibitions that affect public morality.
Axes
- Legislative
- Human and Ethical
Related Concepts
- Usury: 3
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It is connected to the vocabulary of ethical economics and the distinction between what is fundamental and what is prohibited.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Foundation: 1
- Example: 1
Contexts of Use
- Islam and Faith, p. 83: It serves as a basis for presenting trade as the foundation of economic activity and highlighting the distinction between it and usury.
- Concept: usury
- Function of the verse here: foundation
- Textual citation: “- {… God has permitted trade and prohibited usury…} (Al-Baqarah 275).”
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 153: He includes the prohibition of usury in his list of categorical prohibitions on which he relies in constructing public morality.
- Concept: usury
- Function of the verse here: example
- Textual citation: “As for the eleventh, it is the prohibition of usury in His—Exalted is He—statement: { God has permitted trade and prohibited usury }”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.