Al-Zukhruf 22

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This locus gathers 6 instances of Muhammad Shahrur’s use of this verse in his books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The verse as cited

Rather, they said, “We found our fathers upon a community, and we are guided by their traces.”

Brief reading

In Shahrur’s work, the verse is deployed in criticizing blind adherence to inheritance and the appeal to the fathers’ legacy in the face of change.

Loci

  • Human and ethical
  • Political and social
  • Methodological
  • Tradition: 2
  • Imitation of forebears: 2
  • Ancestral familiarity: 2
  • Shirk: 2
  • Critique of imitation: 2
  • Community: 2

Its place in the conceptual network

It is linked to the critique of imitation and to revealing the effect of ancestral familiarity in shirk.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Support: 3
  • Critique of heritage: 3

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • Critique of inherited imitation
  • Linked to ancestral familiarity
  • Present in the critique of social shirk

Instances of use

  • Islam and Humanity: He cites it to show that the polytheist clings to inheritance and does not acknowledge his shirk.
    • Concept: Tradition
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: «{ بَلْ قَالُوا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَى أَثَارِهِمْ مُهْتَدُونَ } (Al-Zukhruf 22).»
  • Islam and Humanity: He employs it to show that the polytheist justifies his rejection of change and development by appealing to the fathers’ legacy.
    • Concept: Imitation of forebears
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of heritage
    • Textual citation: «And when the polytheist is asked to believe in development and change, he rejects that and excuses himself by saying that this is what he inherited from his forebears: { بَلْ قَالُوا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ … } (Al-Zukhruf 22).»
  • The State and Society, p. 18: He uses it to describe blind following of inherited tradition as an affliction that affects all nations, not polytheists alone.
    • Concept: Ancestral familiarity
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of heritage
    • Textual citation: «This disease is mentioned in His – exalted – saying: {bَلْ قَالُوا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ…} (Al-Zukhruf 22),»
    • Counter-traditional reading: The assumption that it is specific to the polytheists of Arabia
  • The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, pp. 13-14: He cites it to show that shirk appears in the language of conduct and ancestral following, not in the explicit verbal naming of it.
    • Concept: Shirk
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: «How do the polytheists express themselves in the revelation? {بَلْ قَالُوا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا…} (Al-Zukhruf 22)»
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 25: He cites it together with the previous verse to affirm the rejection of imitation and blind following of the fathers.
    • Concept: Critique of imitation
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of heritage
    • Textual citation: «{بَلْ قَالُوا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِمْ مُهْتَدُونَ} (Al-Zukhruf 22)»
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 170: He uses it to demonstrate that umma means path, method, and course, not merely a human collectivity.
    • Concept: Community
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: «{بَلْ قَالُوا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ…} (Al-Zukhruf 22).»

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

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas