This axis brings together 1 instance 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
{Neither their meat nor their blood reaches God, but what reaches Him from you is piety. Thus He has subjected them to you so that you may magnify God for having guided you. And give glad tidings to those who do good.}
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur use Hajj 37, what distinction does he establish in this passage, and what function does it serve in his argument?
Shahrur uses the verse in Qur’anic Stories, vol. 1, p. 262, when discussing the offering of sacrifices and sacrificial animals, in order to place this subject within the framework of piety. Its function in the passage is to support this framing, not to provide an independent explanation of the meaning of piety or to construct a detailed contrast between the ethical and the ritual.
Shahrur places the subject of offering sacrifices and sacrificial animals within the framework of piety, citing Hajj 37 to confirm this framework. The distinction established at the location of the verse is between meat and blood on the one hand, and piety on the other; Shahrur uses this distinction to direct attention to the framework of piety in relation to sacrifices and sacrificial animals.
Citation and Location
Qur’anic Stories, vol. 1 — p. 262.
Limits of the Reading
- The cited passage does not explain the meaning of “piety” as a definition or technical term in Shahrur’s thought.
- The cited passage does not state that sacrificial animals are to be understood as exclusively ethical, or that their ritual function is negated.
- The cited passage does not establish a claim of synonymy or non-synonymy between the terms of the verse or related terms.
- The verse’s function in this passage is to confirm the framing of sacrifices and sacrificial animals through piety, without further elaboration of the argument’s structure.
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Brief Reading
Shahrur uses it to affirm that the criterion of sacrifice is piety, not meat and blood, thereby placing sacrificial animals within an ethical dimension.
Axes
- Human and ethical
- Legal
Related Concepts
- Piety: 2
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It connects worship to ethical meaning rather than to material substance alone.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Contexts of Use
- Qur’anic Stories, vol. 1, p. 262: He uses the verse to affirm that the criterion of sacrifice is piety, not meat and blood, thereby placing sacrificial animals within an ethical rather than material-ritual dimension.
- Concept: Piety
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “The Wise Revelation confirms this point, as the Exalted says: {Neither their meat nor their blood reaches God…} (Hajj: 37)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.