This axis brings together 2 instances 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
O My servants who believe, indeed My earth is vast, so worship Me alone.
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where is the verse located, what distinction makes it Shahrurian, and what function does it serve in his argument concerning Meccan and Medinan revelation?
The verse is Al-‘Ankabut 56. Shahrur cites it as an example of an address directed to those who believe while classifying the verse as Meccan; its function, therefore, is to refute the sufficiency of the form of address alone for classifying verses as Meccan and Medinan.
Shahrur presents Al-‘Ankabut 56 as a Meccan verse addressing those who believe. He uses this example to challenge the classification of Meccan and Medinan material based on contrasting an address to people in Mecca with an address to those who believe in Medina.
Citation and Location
Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 1 — p. 83.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s use of the verse in critiquing the criterion of address in classifying Meccan and Medinan material; it does not establish a complete alternative criterion for classification.
- It cannot be inferred from this citation that every verse addressing those who believe is Meccan; rather, it establishes, in Shahrur’s presentation, the existence of Meccan examples employing this address.
- The page does not address the occasion of revelation or the verse’s detailed meaning beyond its function in this argument.
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Brief Reading
He uses it to critique treating an address to believers as a sufficient marker of Medinan revelation, since the formula alone is insufficient for making a chronological judgment.
Axes
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Meccan and Medinan: 2
- Critique of the Meccan–Medinan division: 2
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It serves an approach that rejects reductionism in classifying revelation.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Distinction: 2
Instances of Use
- Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 1, p. 83: He cites it as evidence that an address to “those who believe” does not necessarily mean that verses are Medinan, because the Qur’an contains Meccan verses with this form of address.
- Concept: Meccan and Medinan
- Function of the verse here: Distinction
- Textual citation: “Such as His saying, exalted be He: {O My servants who believe, indeed My earth is vast, so worship Me alone} (Al-‘Ankabut: 56).”
- Corresponding traditional reading: Al-Wahidi’s proposition: “And ‘O you who believe’ is Medinan.”
- Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 2, p. 83: He mentions the verse as an example showing that an address to believers does not necessarily mean Medinan revelation, since the formula alone is insufficient for making a chronological judgment.
- Concept: Critique of the Meccan–Medinan division
- Function of the verse here: Distinction
- Textual citation: “For in the Wise Revelation there are verses that address those who believe and are nevertheless Meccan, such as His saying, exalted be He: {O My servants who believe, indeed My earth is vast, so worship Me alone} (Al-‘Ankabut: 56).”
- Corresponding traditional reading: The traditional association between addressing believers and Medinan status.
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.