This axis brings together 1 locus of 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 it is not the word of a poet; little do you believe.
Reader’s Answer
The Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ God’s saying, “And it is not the word of a poet,” in explaining the nature of the Revelation?
Shahrur employs the verse to affirm that the Revelation, in his reading, is not poetry and should not be received according to the logic of poetry. He links the negation of poetry from it to its being truthful, corresponding to reality and natural laws, and free of frivolity.
Shahrur regards the verse as a truthful statement denying that the Revelation is the speech of a poet. He holds that the importance of this negation lies not in defining the Prophet’s non-poetic biography, but in warning against viewing the Revelation, or dealing with its verses, as poetry is viewed or its lines are treated. Shahrur places this usage within a broader principle of his: the “Wise Revelation” is truthful, corresponds to reality and natural laws, and is free of frivolity; he then distinguishes it from poetry, which he describes as imaginative and illusory in its presentation.
Evidence and Location
Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 89.
Limits of the Reading
- This presents Shahrur’s use of the verse in the documented locus; it is not an exhaustive interpretation of the verse or a judgment on poetry as a literary genre.
- The evidence supports Shahrur’s distinction between the Revelation and poetry, and his rejection of receiving the verses according to the logic of poetry, but it does not explain all the linguistic or contextual implications of the surah.
- The description of poetry as illusion or imagination represents Shahrur’s polemical formulation in this passage; it does not entail that the verse itself asserts all these descriptions.
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Brief Reading
Shahrur regards it as a truthful statement indicating that the Revelation is not poetry and that its purpose precludes treating it according to the logic of frivolity.
Axes
- Methodological
- Faith-related
Related Concepts
- Frivolity: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It supports the distinction between revelation and poetry within the methodology of reading.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
Loci of Use
- Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 89: He regards it as a truthful statement indicating that the Revelation is not poetry, and that its importance lies in preventing its treatment according to the logic of poetry.
- Concept: Frivolity
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “Thus, when He—exalted is He—says: { And it is not the word of a poet; little do you believe } (Al-Haqqah 41), … this is a truthful statement.”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology of constructing the atlas.