Al-Hijr 9

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This verse occupies a methodological position in Shahrur because it establishes the idea of the preserved remembrance. From this basis he proceeds to distinguish between the remembrance, the Book, and the Qur’an, and to treat Qur’anic terms as precise technical terms.

The verse as it appears

{Indeed, We have sent down the Remembrance, and indeed, We will surely preserve it}

Brief reading

The verse is read by him to mean that preservation pertains to the remembrance, which opens the door to distinguishing between the names the text uses for itself. Thus, the meaning of preservation here is not present merely as a general statement, but as a linguistic and methodological entry point.

Axes

  • Linguistic and semantic
  • Methodological
  • the remembrance: 5
  • preservation of the remembrance: 2
  • revelation and preservation: 2
  • textual stability: 2

Its position in the network of concepts

The verse is connected to preservation, remembrance, the Book, and the Qur’an. It is important because it supports one of Shahrur’s tools for arranging terminology within revelation.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Foundational: 5
  • Support: 2

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • The remembrance is preserved and stable.
  • It establishes the distinction between the remembrance, the Book, and the Qur’an.
  • It appears as a linguistic and methodological entry point.

Places of use

  • State and Society, p. 73: He uses it to affirm that the preservation of the remembrance also includes preserving the linguistic course in which revelation was formulated.
    • Concept: preservation of the remembrance
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “And that God gave us the line of development of the Arabic language with the credibility of His – تعالى – saying: {Indeed, We have sent down the Remembrance, and indeed, We will surely preserve it} (al-Hijr 9),”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 20: He uses it to establish that the subject of his study is the preserved remembrance, from which he then proceeds to distinguish it from the Book and the Qur’an.
    • Concept: the remembrance
    • Function of the verse here: foundational
    • Textual evidence: “relying on the results of using the scientific historical method in studying the verses of the remembrance, which God undertook to preserve: {Indeed, We have sent down the Remembrance, and indeed, We will surely preserve it} (al-Hijr 9)”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 34: He makes the verse a starting point for rereading the remembrance on a linguistic-historical basis, not on the basis of the exegetical tradition.
    • Concept: the remembrance
    • Function of the verse here: foundational
    • Textual evidence: “We carried out a new reading of the remembrance that God undertook to preserve: {Indeed, We have sent down the Remembrance, and indeed, We will surely preserve it} (al-Hijr 9)”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 40: He takes it as an entry point for discussing the terms remembrance, Book, Qur’an, and Furqan as different, non-synonymous expressions.
    • Concept: the remembrance
    • Function of the verse here: foundational
    • Textual evidence: “The Exalted said: {Indeed, We have sent down the Remembrance, and indeed, We will surely preserve it} (al-Hijr 9). Alongside the term ‘remembrance’ in the muṣḥaf we find the following terms: ‘the Book,’ ‘the Qur’an,’ and ‘the Furqan.‘”
    • Counter-traditional reading: the claim that the three terms are synonymous
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 156: He makes it evidence that revelation pertains to the remembrance in terms of its preserved and recited form.
    • Concept: revelation and preservation
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: “And he summed up revelation with the saying: ﴿Indeed, We have sent down the Remembrance, and indeed, We will surely preserve it﴾”
  • A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 32: He defines the remembrance as the preserved spoken form of all the verses of the Book, not as an explanation or interpretation.
    • Concept: the remembrance
    • Function of the verse here: foundational
    • Textual evidence: ”{ Indeed, We have sent down the Remembrance, and indeed, We will surely preserve it } (al-Hijr 9).”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 43: He relies on it to prove that the Qur’anic text is preserved and fixed in its verbal form and does not undergo change.
    • Concept: textual stability
    • Function of the verse here: foundational
    • Textual evidence: ”{ Indeed, We have sent down the Remembrance, and indeed, We will surely preserve it } (al-Hijr 9).”

This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.

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