This axis brings together 2 places where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The verse text as it appears
He said, “Do you worship what you carve?”
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 the craft of carving.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Legislative
Related concepts
- Idol worship: 2
- Carving: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It connects criticism of heritage with the distinction between the act of worship and the act of making.
The role of the verse in the argument
- Criticism of heritage: 1
- Distinction: 1
Places of use
- State and Society, p. 184: He uses it to highlight the completion of the art of carving in the time of Abraham and its connection to the spread of idols and statues.
- Concept: Idol worship
- Function of the verse here: Criticism of heritage
- Textual evidence: «As indicated by His – تعالى – words through Abraham to his people: {He said, “Do you worship what you carve?”} (As-Saffat 95)»
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 526: He distinguishes between the prohibition of idol worship and the permissibility of the craft of carving itself.
- Concept: Carving
- Function of the verse here: Distinction
- Textual evidence: «The Islamic creed did permit carving and did not forbid it at all. So Abraham’s objection to his people was to idol worship, not to making them, and this is clear in His تعالى words: {He said, “Do you worship what you carve?”}»
Related books
This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.