This axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
The people of Noah denied the messengers
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “The people of Noah denied the messengers,” in his discussion of Noah, and what distinction does he build upon it?
Shahrur employs the verse as evidence that, before Noah’s mission, his people denied God’s messengers sent to them. He places this within his distinction between Noah as the first human prophet to receive revelation and the existence of earlier messengers/warners for his people; thus, for him, the verse does not constitute evidence that Noah himself was preceded by human prophets.
Shahrur cites the verse as evidence that, before Noah’s mission, Noah’s people denied God’s messengers sent to them. He connects this inference to his proposition that Noah was the first human prophet to receive revelation, while speaking of messengers and warners who preceded his mission to his people.
Citation and Location
Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 2 — p. 12.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not state that these messengers were human prophets before Noah; rather, in its context, it describes them as messengers/warners and presents them as personified angels.
- The citation does not establish, from the verse alone, that the term “messengers” indicates a plurality of independent messengers in every Qur’anic usage; this is how Shahrur employs it in this instance.
- The phrasing “they encountered messengers before Noah” is temporally imprecise; the more accurate wording in the citation is: before Noah’s mission, not before his existence or before his prophethood altogether.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
It is cited as evidence that Noah’s people encountered messengers before Noah and denied them.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Faith-related
Related Concepts
- Denial of the messengers: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It belongs to the network of denial of the messengers as a recurring historical pattern.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 2, p. 12: It is cited as evidence that Noah’s people encountered messengers before him and denied them.
- Concept: Denial of the messengers
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “Before Noah’s mission, his people denied God’s messengers sent to them, as indicated by His exalted saying: {The people of Noah denied the messengers} (The Poets 105).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for constructing the atlas.