Romans 22

5 min read

This verse recurs in Shahrur’s work because it makes the diversity of languages and colors a sign among God’s signs, rather than a social contingency requiring erasure. It thus enters into his conception of human plurality and universality.

Text of the Verse as Cited

And among His signs are the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors

Reader’s Answer

Question

Where does Shahrur employ Romans 22, and what is the meaning of diversity in it and its function in his argument?

Shahrur employs the verse in The State and Society (p. 64) to include the diversity of religious communities, nationalities, and ethnicities among the laws and norms of creation, and to establish the principle of the equality of these identities in existence and the rejection of their elimination. In his argument, the verse supports treating this as among the higher ideals that are not subject to voting.

Shahrur considers the diversity of religious communities, nationalities, and ethnicities to be among God’s laws and norms in creation, citing Romans 22 as evidence. He connects this diversity with the equality of religious communities, nationalities, and ethnicities in existence, and holds that eliminating a national, ethnic, or religious-community identity contradicts God’s norms. The function of the verse here is to support the inclusion of the diversity of religious communities, nationalities, and ethnicities among the higher ideals that are not subject to voting.

Citation and Location

The State and Society — p. 64.

Limits of the Reading

  • The citation does not describe the verse as a call to “mutual acquaintance.”
  • The citation does not ground cultural diversity in Romans 22; rather, it presents this under a later heading, citing verses from Hud.
  • The citation does not explicitly state that the diversity of languages and colors negates all hierarchy, although it does affirm the equality of religious communities, nationalities, and ethnicities in existence.
  • This citation does not establish an independent, detailed meaning for languages or colors beyond employing the verse in the stated argument.

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Brief Reading

Shahrur reads the verse as evidence that diversity is part of God’s norms in the world. Plurality in language and color is not a basis for hierarchy, but a sign of the ordering of human beings in diverse forms within creation.

Axes

  • Political and social
  • Human and ethical
  • Methodological
  • diversity: 2
  • universality: 2
  • diversity of languages: 2
  • natural laws: 2
  • pluralism: 2
  • ethnic diversity: 2
  • signs of God: 2

Its Place in the Conceptual Network

The verse is connected to pluralism, universality, and the norms of social life. It is close to the verses that make human diversity a sphere for mutual acquaintance rather than exclusion.

Role of the Verse in the Argument

  • Support: 5
  • Foundation: 1
  • Example: 1

Summary of Its Presence in the Atlas

  • The diversity of languages and colors is a norm in creation.
  • It is connected to pluralism and universality.
  • It appears in readings of human society and norms.

Contexts of Use

  • Islam and Humanity: He cites it to affirm that linguistic, cultural, and ethnic diversity is part of the cosmic signs ordained for mutual acquaintance.
    • Concept: diversity
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual citation: “{ And among His signs are … the diversity of your languages and your colors … } (Romans 22)”
  • Islam and Faith, p. 52: He employs it to affirm that the diversity of languages and cultures is a sign for the worlds and that Islam transcends narrow affiliations.
    • Concept: universality
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual citation: “{… Indeed, in that are signs for the worlds}”
  • The State and Society, p. 64: He cites it as evidence that the diversity of languages and colors is governed by merciful natural laws, akin to the laws of cosmic creation.
    • Concept: diversity of languages
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual citation: “The Qur’an placed in a single verse the diversity of colors and languages alongside the creation of the heavens and the earth, saying—Exalted is He—: {And among …}”
  • The State and Society, p. 64: He employs it to establish a natural explanation for the diversity of languages, then builds on this the emergence of nationalities.
    • Concept: natural laws
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual citation: “That is, the diversity of people’s languages and colors is subject to merciful natural laws, like the creation of the heavens and the earth.”
  • The State and Society, p. 237: He makes it evidence that the diversity of languages, colors, and ethnicities is a divine norm that may not be eliminated.
    • Concept: pluralism
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual citation: “For these are among God’s laws and norms in His creation, as in His saying: {And among His signs …} (Romans 22).”
  • The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 23: He builds on it in regarding the diversity of languages and colors as among God’s norms that may not be eliminated or confiscated.
    • Concept: ethnic diversity
    • Function of the verse here: foundation
    • Textual citation: “As in His saying: {And among His signs are the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors} (Romans 22).”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 58: He uses it as an example of God’s signs in nature that fall within the clear Book and are subject to diversification and human knowledge.
    • Concept: signs of God
    • Function of the verse here: example
    • Textual citation: “{And among His signs are the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors} (Romans 22).”

This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas