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
And He has enumerated everything by number.
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “And He has enumerated everything by number,” in his conception of knowledge?
Shahrur employs the verse to indicate that numerical enumeration represents, in his conception, an elevated form of knowledge: he connects it to the cognitive distinction between quantities and qualities, and to understanding natural phenomena through their measurable relations. Here, he does not present the verse as an independent ruling on the methodology of science; rather, he cites it within his philosophical framework, which regards mathematical knowledge as the highest level of scientific knowledge.
Shahrur describes “numerical enumeration” as “the highest type of sciences,” citing The Jinn 28 in support. He links numerical enumeration to a process of cognitive distinction between different qualities, between quantity and quality, and between quantities that express different qualities. In Shahrur’s presentation, quantitative knowledge plays a role in understanding nature and its laws, and he connects this to the possibility of employing that understanding for human benefit.
Evidence and location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 297.
Limits of the reading
- The evidence establishes Shahrur’s way of employing the verse, but it is not by itself sufficient to establish that this is its only or universally agreed-upon exegetical meaning.
- The quoted text does not state that all knowledge is confined to counting or mathematics; rather, Shahrur elevates the status of enumeration within his conception of the relationship between quantity and quality.
- Describing enumeration as “the highest type of sciences” is a judgment attributed to Shahrur in this context, not an independent conclusion presented by the evidence as a detailed proof.
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Brief reading
Shahrur employs it to affirm that counting and enumeration represent a high degree of cognitive discrimination and a disciplined perspective in science.
Axes
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related concepts
- Enumeration: 2
- Number: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It is connected to the concept of quantitative precision in the construction of the epistemological reading.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Support: 2
Instances of use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 297: He employs it to support the idea that counting and enumeration are the highest degrees of cognitive discrimination.
- Concept: Enumeration
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “… or distinguishes between quantity and quality … then this is the highest type of classification … namely numerical enumeration, which we said is the highest type of sciences: {And He has enumerated everything by number} (The Jinn 28).”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 325: He uses it to establish that God’s knowledge is mathematically disciplined and includes the numerical enumeration of things.
- Concept: Number
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “{… And He has enumerated everything by number} (The Jinn 28)”
Related books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.