This locus brings together 2 instances 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
He said, “Do you worship what you carve?”
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ God’s saying, “He said, ‘Do you worship what you carve?’” in his discussion of sculpture and idols?
Shahrur employs the verse to distinguish between the act of carving and the worship of what is carved: in his reading, the objection concerns deifying and worshipping what human beings make, rather than the making of statues or sculpture as an artistic act. Elsewhere, he treats the verse as evidence that the art of sculpture had fully emerged by the time of Abraham, alongside the prevalence of idols and statues.
Shahrur reads the verse as a condemnation of worshipping what people carve, not as a condemnation of merely making carved objects. On the basis of this reading, he maintains that Islamic doctrine, in his view, does not prohibit sculpture absolutely; rather, it prohibits idol worship and paganism.
Citation and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 526.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not establish that the verse contains an independent and detailed jurisprudential ruling on all forms of sculpture; Shahrur articulates this ruling within the framework of his own reading.
- The text of the verse alone does not establish the historical sequence presented by Shahrur concerning the development of statues or the completion of the art of sculpture in Abraham’s time.
- Shahrur’s description of his position on sculpture should not be confused with attributing this detail directly to the wording of the verse.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
He uses it to highlight the presence of idols in an ancient historical context, while distinguishing between the prohibition of worship and the permissibility of sculpture.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Legislative
Related Concepts
- Idol worship: 2
- Sculpture: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It connects criticism of tradition with the distinction between a devotional act and a productive act.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Criticism of tradition: 1
- Distinction: 1
Instances of Use
- The State and Society, p. 184: He uses it to demonstrate the completion of the art of sculpture in Abraham’s time and its association with the spread of idols and statues.
- Concept: Idol worship
- Function of the verse here: Criticism of tradition
- Textual citation: “As evidenced by the saying of the Exalted, on Abraham’s tongue to his people: {He said, ‘Do you worship what you carve?’} (al-Saffat 95)”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 526: He distinguishes between the prohibition of idol worship and the permissibility of sculpture itself.
- Concept: Sculpture
- Function of the verse here: Distinction
- Textual citation: “Islamic doctrine has permitted sculpture and has not prohibited it absolutely. Abraham’s condemnation of his people concerned the worship of idols, not their making; this is clear in God’s saying: {He said, ‘Do you worship what you carve?’}”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.