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.
Text of the verse as cited
… And those who take protectors apart from Him [say], “We worship them only so that they may bring us nearer to God in closeness”
Reader’s answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “We worship them only so that they may bring us nearer to God in closeness,” in interpreting the Arab polytheists’ attitude toward idols?
Shahrur employs the verse to indicate that, in his view, the Arab polytheists did not deny God as Creator; rather, they made idols into protectors and intermediaries whom they claimed would bring them nearer to Him. He therefore describes their worship of idols as “a kind of connection with God in their own claim,” rather than worship that they regarded as separate from God or as a substitute for Him.
Shahrur maintains that the polytheists knew God as Creator, citing in the same passage Qur’an 31:25. He infers from Al-Zumar 3 that the polytheists considered their worship of idols a means of drawing nearer to God, calling this “a kind of connection with God in their own claim.”
Citation and location
Islam and Faith — p. 256.
Limits of the reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s formulation and inference, but it does not offer a detailed discussion of the verse’s meaning or of other exegetical readings.
- This passage alone does not establish that Shahrur places all forms of seeking intercession or mediation under a single ruling; his specific statement concerns the Arab polytheists’ belief regarding idols, as he understands it from the verse.
- The description “connection with God” is Shahrur’s explanatory term in the context of his discussion, not wording found in the text of the verse itself.
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Brief reading
He uses it to clarify that, in their own view, their worship of idols was a connection with God rather than exclusive worship.
Axes
- Faith-related
- Linguistic and semantic
Related concepts
- Polytheism: 2
Its place in the conceptual network
It is connected to polytheism as a distorted religious conception in ancient consciousness.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Support: 1
Instances of use
- Islam and Faith, p. 256: He cites it to argue that, in their view, their worship of idols was a kind of connection with God, not exclusive worship.
- Concept: Polytheism
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “{… And those who take protectors apart from Him [say], ‘We worship them only so that they may bring us nearer to God in closeness’…} (Al-Zumar 3).”
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.