al-Rum 30

5 min read

This verse occupies a special place in Shahrur’s project because, in his reading, it establishes the relationship between religion and human fitra. It is central to him because it makes legislation itself connected to what people are naturally constituted upon, not to what is imposed on them from outside their nature.

The verse as cited

So set your face toward the religion, inclining to truth, [adhering to] the fitra of Allah upon which He created people… THAT IS THE RIGHT RELIGION…

Brief reading

Shahrur understands the verse to mean that the right religion is what accords with fitra, and that hanifiyya is not a departure from the human being but a return to his sound inclination. From here, fitra becomes for him the key to understanding the relationship between religion, righteous action, and changing legislation.

Axes

  • Faith-related
  • Human and ethical

Its place in the network of concepts

The verse is linked to fitra, hanifiyya, the right religion, and righteous action. It is central because it gives his project a basis for linking the fixed to the human, and for making rulings connected to human nature rather than detached from it.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Foundation: 9
  • Support: 2

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • Fitra is the key to its presence.
  • It is linked to hanifiyya and the right religion.
  • It is used to connect legislation to human nature.

Pages in the atlas that refer to this verse

These links gather the pages that rely on the verse or make it part of the argument within the atlas.

Usages

  • Islam and the Human Being: takes it as evidence that Islam is the religion of fitra and that righteous action is in harmony with sound human inclination.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: «{ FA-AQIM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN FITRATA ALLAHI … } (al-Rum 30)»
  • Islam and Faith, p. 9: makes the verse the basis for Islam being the religion of fitra, and derives from it the meaning of the right religion as that which accords with human nature.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: «{ FA-AQIM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN FITRATA ALLAHI… DHALIKA AL-DINU AL-QAYYIM… } (al-Rum 30).»
  • Islam and Faith, p. 16: repeats it to confirm that the basis of Islam and righteous action is harmony with human fitra.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: «{ FA-AQIM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN FITRATA ALLAHI… } (al-Rum 30).»
  • Islam and Faith, p. 87: employs it to connect religion with human fitra and to interpret hanifiyya as inclination and legislative change.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: «{ FA-AQAM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN FITRATA ALLAHI… } (al-Rum 30).»
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 406: makes it the basis for linking legislation to a natural, changing hanifiyya within fixed bounds.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: «He linked the phrase “.. FITRATA ALLAHI ALLATI FATARA AL-NASA ALAYHA..” (al-Rum 30) with the phrase: no change in Allah’s creation»
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 250: cites it to support the idea that Islam is the religion of fitra and that true religiosity is in harmony with human nature, not coercion.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: «{ FA-AQIM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN FITRATA ALLAHI… } (al-Rum 30)»
  • Guide to Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 15: cites it to state that hanifiyya and fitra are enduring foundations for evolving human legislation.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: «{ FA-AQIM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN … } (al-Rum 30).»
  • Guide to Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, pp. 44-45: makes it the basis for defining hanifiyya as observing changes without departing from constants.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: «And His saying: { FA-AQIM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN FITRATA ALLAHI … } (al-Rum 30).»
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 10: opens the book with the verse to establish the idea that religion is based on the fixed divine fitra before entering into the construction of its reformist methodology.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: «{ FA-AQIM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN… } (al-Rum 30).»
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 91: employs it to support his claim that religion is directed to the fitra of all human beings, not to a specific historical group.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: «And His saying — exalted —: { FA-AQAM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN FITRATA ALLAHI ALLATI FATARA AL-NASA ALAYHA … } (al-Rum 30)»
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 119: makes it the basis for his idea that legislation moves within the limits of human fitra and develops with society.
    • Concept: fitra
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: «This is all confirmed by God’s — exalted — saying: { FA-AQAM WAJHAKA LID-DINI HANIFAN FITRATA ALLAHI … } (al-Rum 30).»

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

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Backlinks4

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas