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.
The Verse Text as Cited
So remind; you are only a reminder. You are not a controller over them.
Reader’s Answer
The Question
Where does Shahrur cite Al-Ghashiyah 21–22, what distinction does he draw, and what function do the two verses serve in his argument?
The citation appears in State and Society, p. 236. In this passage, Shahrur distinguishes between freedom of belief and choice and freedom to express one’s opinion, and he makes the verses from Al-Ghashiyah support for establishing freedom of expression as a right bestowed upon people, which may neither be taken away nor subjected to a vote.
Shahrur employs Al-Ghashiyah 21–22 to support his assertion that freedom to express one’s opinion is bestowed upon all people, that no one has the right to take it away, and that it is not subject to a vote. In the same presentation, Shahrur differentiates between “freedom of belief and choice” and “freedom to express one’s opinion,” citing a separate Qur’anic passage for each.
The Evidence and Its Location
State and Society — p. 236.
Limits of the Reading
- The cited passage does not provide a detailed linguistic interpretation of “reminder” or “controller.”
- The cited passage does not state that freedom of belief and freedom of expression are synonymous, or that either entails the other; rather, it presents them as separate items.
- The description of the messenger’s function as reminding rather than coercing is evident in the attached verse text, but the cited passage explicitly focuses on the conclusion of freedom of expression and does not develop an independent explanation of the messenger’s function.
- This passage alone does not establish legal or institutional details for how freedom of expression is to be protected.
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Brief Reading
He uses it to establish the right to freedom of expression, while making the messenger’s function one of reminding rather than coercing.
Axes
- Methodological
- Political and Social
Related Concepts
- Freedom of expression: 3
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It contributes to constructing a conception founded on the rejection of coercion and the affirmation of the right to speak.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Foundational: 2
Instances of Use
- State and Society, p. 236: He employs it to establish that freedom of expression is a right that may neither be taken away nor subjected to coercion.
- Concept: Freedom of expression
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual witness: “In His saying: {So remind; you are only a reminder (21). You are not a controller over them} (Al-Ghashiyah 21, 22)”
- The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 23: He makes it evidence for freedom of expression and for the messenger’s function as reminding rather than coercing and controlling.
- Concept: Freedom of expression
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual witness: “In His saying: {So remind; you are only a reminder … You are not a controller over them} (Al-Ghashiyah 21, 22)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for constructing the atlas.