This axis brings together 2 loci where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Verse as Cited
Knower of the unseen, He does not disclose His unseen to anyone * except to a messenger whom He approves …
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Al-Jinn 25–28 in his discussion of the unseen?
In the available evidence, Shahrur employs the verses to define the “unseen of the future” as what will occur until the Day of Resurrection, including resurrection, gathering, and reckoning. He then immediately cites the text of the verses as referring to this type of unseen, emphasizing that God discloses none of His unseen except to a messenger whom He approves.
Shahrur presents Al-Jinn 25–28 after defining the “unseen of the future” as what will occur until the Day of Resurrection, including resurrection, gathering, and reckoning, and states that this unseen is what the verses refer to.
Evidence and Location
Islam and Humanity — p. 40.
Limits of the Reading
- The only evidence directly connected to the verses is excerpted and ends before Shahrur completes the phrase, “two matters of the utmost importance.”
- The other evidence is not suitable for supporting this page, because it concerns Paradise, Hell, and time, and does not mention Al-Jinn 25–28.
- The claim that knowledge of the unseen is confined to the Qur’an alone should not be attributed to Shahrur on this page before an explicit passage establishing this is provided.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
They establish the idea that God discloses the unseen only to a messenger whom He approves, and that knowledge of it is to be sought from the text of the Qur’an alone.
Axes
- Faith-based
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- the unseen: 2
- nearness: 2
- messenger: 1
- the Qur’an: 1
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It delineates the limits and source of knowledge of the unseen.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Foundation: 1
- Example: 1
Usage Loci
- Islam and Humanity, p. 40: He builds on it to argue that God discloses the unseen only to a messenger whom He approves, and that knowledge of the unseen is to be sought from the text of the Qur’an alone.
- Concept: the unseen
- Function of the verse here: Foundation
- Textual evidence: “{ Say: I do not know whether what you are promised is near … } (Al-Jinn 25–28)”
- Toward New Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 109: He uses it to highlight that nearness here relates to the time of the promise, not to physical distance.
- Concept: nearness
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: “– { Say: I do not know whether what you are promised is near, or whether my Lord will set for it a term } (Al-Jinn 25).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.