This axis 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
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Brief reading
He employs it to read the basmala within the framework of mercy, and to link it to the thematic contrast between the message and fighting.
Axes
- Faith-based
- Linguistic and semantic
Related concepts
- Basmala: 2
- Mercy: 2
Its place in the conceptual network
It connects the opening of the discourse to the meaning of mercy that governs it.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Support: 1
- Context: 1
Instances of use
- Drying up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 35: He opposes the traditional interpretation that makes «al-Rahman» merely an intensive form of «al-Rahim», and rereads it within the framework of mercy and predominance.
- Concept: Basmala
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: «{بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ} (الفاتحة ١)»
- The corresponding traditional reading: the traditional claim that it is padding, or that al-Rahman is an intensive form of al-Rahim
- Drying up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 39: He mentions the basmala to compare the mercy of the message with the subject of fighting in Surat al-Tawbah, explaining its omission by the absence of mercy in the surah’s subject matter.
- Concept: Mercy
- Function of the verse here: Context
- Textual evidence: «لم يبدأها الله — تعالى — بِرِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ﴾ (الفاتحة ١)»
Related books
This page is presented within the general methodology of building the atlas.