This locus gathers 2 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Verse text as cited
SAY, “IF THE ALL-MERCIFUL HAD A CHILD, I WOULD BE THE FIRST OF THE WORSHIPERS”
Brief reading
Shahrur uses it to distinguish the meaning of “the worshipers” here from conventional worship, making it closer to disbelief or aversion.
Axes
- Linguistic and semantic
- Faith-related
Related concepts
- Worship: 2
- Disbelief: 2
Its place in the conceptual network
It is linked to resetting the word according to context, not merely according to common usage.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Distinction: 2
Instances of use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 276: makes the verse evidence for the opposite meaning of worship here, namely aversion and disbelief if what contradicts monotheism were established.
- Concept: worship
- Function of the verse here: distinction
- Textual evidence: “It also came with the meaning of arrogance, pride, and superiority in the Almighty’s saying: {SAY, IF THE ALL-MERCIFUL HAD A CHILD, I WOULD BE THE FIRST OF THE WORSHIPERS} (Al-Zukhruf 81).”
- A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 58: interprets “the worshipers” here as meaning disbelievers/sinners, not in its usual devotional sense.
- Concept: disbelief
- Function of the verse here: distinction
- Textual evidence: “The meaning of disobedience is mentioned in the Almighty’s saying: { SAY, IF THE ALL-MERCIFUL HAD A CHILD, I WOULD BE THE FIRST OF THE WORSHIPERS } (Al-Zukhruf 81), that is, I would be the first to disbelieve in it.”
Related books
This page is presented within the general method of constructing the atlas.