This verse appears in Shahrur’s work as part of the construction of the covenant, where worship is inseparable from benevolence and justice in dealings. It brings together worship of God and kindness toward parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy.
The verse as it appears
You shall worship none but God, and show kindness to parents, relatives, and orphans
Brief reading
The verse is read by him within a network of ethical and social duties. Worship here is not isolated from good speech and benevolence; rather, it enters into a covenantal structure that binds a person’s relationship with God to their relationship with people.
Axes
- Human and ethical
- Political and social
- Legislative
Related concepts
- Covenant: 5
- Orphans: 2
- Benevolence: 2
- Good treatment: 2
Its place in the conceptual network
The verse is connected to the covenant, worship, benevolence, orphans, and good treatment. Its significance lies in making religious duty tethered to its practical effect in society.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Foundational: 4
- Support: 3
Summary of its presence in the atlas
- It enters into the structure of the covenant.
- It brings worship together with benevolence.
- It is linked to good treatment and orphans.
Places of use
- Islam and Faith, p. 77: He cites it among the set of foundational texts for preserving the orphan’s property and showing dutiful care for the orphan as an ethical and legislative value.
- Concept: Orphans
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual witness: «{… You shall worship none but God, and show kindness to parents, relatives, and orphans…} (Al-Baqarah 83).»
- Islam and Faith, p. 77: He uses it among the covenant/commandment clauses to incorporate benevolence toward orphans and kin into the structure of worship.
- Concept: Benevolence
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual witness: «- {… You shall worship none but God, and show kindness to parents, relatives, and orphans…} (Al-Baqarah 83).»
- Islam and Faith, p. 109: He makes it a model for the covenantal clauses that unite worship with benevolence, prayer, and zakat.
- Concept: Covenant
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual witness: «{And when God took the covenant of the Children of Israel: You shall worship none but God…} (Al-Baqarah 83).»
- Islam and Faith, p. 109: He uses it as proof that the covenant brings together worship of God with prayer and zakat, that is, between Islam and faith.
- Concept: Covenant
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual witness: «In the Wise Revelation, there are examples of the clauses of the covenant of the Children of Israel, as in His saying تعالى: {And when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel …} (Al-Baqarah 83).»
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 111: He invokes it to strengthen the meaning of good treatment toward all people, whatever their beliefs may be.
- Concept: Good treatment
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual witness: «This prohibition is consistent… with His saying — تعالى —: {And speak to people good words} (Al-Baqarah 83)»
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 294: He uses it to define the covenant as a set of commitment clauses, then compares the marriage covenant and professional oath to it.
- Concept: Covenant
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual witness: «The Wise Revelation has clarified for us the clauses of the covenant of the Children of Israel, according to His saying — تعالى —: {And when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel …} (Al-Baqarah 83).»
- A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 66: He uses the verse to define the covenant as a bundle of commitment clauses that a person undertakes voluntarily.
- Concept: Covenant
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual witness: «The Wise Revelation has clarified for us the clauses of the covenant of the Children of Israel, according to His saying تعالى: { And when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel … } (Al-Baqarah 83).»
Related books
- Islam and Faith
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism
- A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation
This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.