This axis brings together 1 occurrence 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
Those who believe in God and His messengers—they are the truthful ones and the witnesses in the sight of their Lord; for them are their reward and their light.
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does the verse occur, how does Shahrur distinguish the witness from one killed in battle, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The verse occurs in Surat al-Hadid (19). Shahrur invokes it to reject restricting the concept of the witness and witnesshood to those killed in battle, because the verse ascribes the description of witnesses to those who believe in God and His messengers. Its function here is to overturn the interpretive restriction that he criticizes.
Shahrur objects to restricting the concepts of witnesshood and the witness to those killed in battle, citing al-Hadid 19 as evidence that the description of witnesses pertains to those who believe in God and His messengers.
Citation and Location
Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism — p. 76.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s rejection of restricting the witness to one killed in battle, but the passage does not provide an exhaustive definition of the concept of the witness.
- The citation does not establish whether “the witness” and “the truthful one” are synonymous or distinct; thus, the page does not rest on a linguistic claim concerning the two terms.
- A reference to another verse about Uhud appears in the citation, but the accompanying text is incomplete; therefore, no detailed claim is drawn from it here.
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Brief Reading
The verse shows that witnesses are not restricted to those killed in battle; rather, it encompasses a broader meaning connected to faith.
Axes
- Faith-related
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Witnesshood: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It contributes to redefining the concept according to its Qur’anic usage.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Distinction: 1
Occurrences of Use
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 76: He makes it evidence that witnesses are not restricted to those killed in battle; rather, the verse includes those who believe in God and His messengers.
- Concept: Witnesshood
- Function of the verse here: Distinction
- Textual citation: “Contrary to His—Exalted be He—saying: {THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN GOD AND HIS MESSENGERS—THEY ARE THE TRUTHFUL ONES AND THE WITNESSES IN THE SIGHT OF THEIR LORD…} (al-Hadid 19).”
- Corresponding traditional reading: restricting witnesses to those killed in the path of God
Related Books
This page is presented within the overall methodology for building the atlas.