Al-Tawbah 117

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This axis brings together 3 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

Text of the Verse as Cited

God has indeed turned in mercy to the Prophet and the Emigrants and the Helpers

Reader’s Answer

Question

How does Shahrur employ al-Tawbah 117 to argue that the Prophet exercised independent judgment in managing events and that not all his actions constituted general legislation?

Shahrur reads the mention of God’s repentance toward the Prophet in the verse as evidence of the possibility of error in the executive capacity of prophethood. In the context of the Expedition of Hardship, he links it to the Prophet’s permission for the hypocrites to remain behind from fighting. He consequently regards this as contingent management subject to review, rather than general legislative communication.

Shahrur presents al-Tawbah 117 among examples of discourse addressed to the Prophet in the context of events and military campaigns, and classifies this domain as that of contingent executive instructions. He interprets the verse specifically as indicating an executive error committed by the Prophet and those with him, identifying that error as his permission for the hypocrites to remain behind from fighting.

Citation and Location

Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 140.

Limits of the Reading

  • Identifying the permission for the hypocrites to remain behind as the executive error is Shahrur’s interpretation of the verse, not a detail stated by the verse itself here.
  • This citation establishes Shahrur’s mode of employing the verse in his argument; it does not settle the validity of the interpretation or other exegetical readings of the verse.

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Brief Reading

For Shahrur, the verse is read as evidence of independent judgment in the capacity of prophethood, and of the fact that certain events are to be understood as executive error rather than general legislation.

Axes

  • Methodological
  • Narrative and historical
  • Legislative
  • Prophethood and independent judgment: 3
  • Executive error: 2

Its Place in the Conceptual Network

It serves to distinguish between the capacity of communication and the capacity of independent judgment, and between a general ruling and a specific event.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Foundational: 1
  • Supporting: 1
  • Critique of the tradition: 1

Instances of Use

  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 251: He cites it as evidence that the Prophet, in the capacity of prophethood, exercised independent judgment and was not infallible, as a prelude to his distinction between prophethood and messengerhood.
    • Concept: prophethood and independent judgment
    • Function of the verse here: foundational
    • Textual citation: “{God has indeed turned in mercy to the Prophet and the Emigrants and the Helpers} (al-Tawbah 117)”
  • Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 16: He cites it to establish that the Prophet, in the capacity of prophethood, exercised independent judgment and was not infallible, in contrast to the capacity of messengerhood, in which he communicated infallibly.
    • Concept: prophethood and independent judgment
    • Function of the verse here: supporting
    • Textual citation: “{ God has indeed turned in mercy to the Prophet and the Emigrants and the Helpers } (al-Tawbah 117)”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 140: He interprets it as evidence of an executive error in permitting the hypocrites to remain behind from fighting, rather than as general legislation.
    • Concept: executive error
    • Function of the verse here: critique of the tradition
    • Textual citation: “And His saying, { God has indeed turned in mercy to the Prophet … }, indicates an executive error they committed.”

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