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.
The Verse Text as Cited
And thus We sent it down as an Arabic judgment…
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur place Al-Ra’d 37, what distinction does he employ, and what function does the verse serve in his argument?
Shahrur cites Al-Ra’d 37 on p. 145 under the heading “Sending Down,” specifically as an example of the sending down of the Mother of the Book. Its function at this point is to support his division of instances of sending down according to what is sent down: the Qur’an, the Mother of the Book, and the Book as a whole.
Shahrur places Al-Ra’d 37 in the section “Sending Down” as evidence for the sending down of the Mother of the Book. The distinction presented here is between the sending down of the Qur’an, the sending down of the Mother of the Book, and the sending down of the Book as a whole; Al-Ra’d 37 serves as the specific evidence for the second category.
Evidence and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 145.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence does not independently explain the meaning of “an Arabic judgment,” nor does it establish that it means a rejection of “linguistic making.”
- In the excerpt, the evidence does not present a distinction between “sending down” and “revelation”; it merely begins the heading “Revelation” without elaboration.
- This passage alone does not establish the details of the definition of the Mother of the Book or its relation to the remaining divisions of the Book.
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Brief Reading
He treats it as one of the texts concerning the sending down specific to the Mother of the Book, in order to affirm that it possesses the quality of a revealed Arabic judgment, not merely linguistic making.
Axes
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Mother of the Book: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It enters into a network distinguishing between sending down and linguistic judgment.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 145: He treats it as one of the texts concerning the sending down specific to the Mother of the Book, in order to establish that it possesses the quality of a revealed Arabic judgment, not merely linguistic making.
- Concept: Mother of the Book
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “{And thus We sent it down as an Arabic judgment…} (Al-Ra’d 37).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.