Al-Fajr 20

3 min read

This axis brings together 1 instance 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

And you love wealth with an immense love.

Reader’s answer

Question

Where does Shahrur employ verse 20 of al-Fajr, what is the meaning of the distinction he constructs through it, and what function does it serve in his argument?

Shahrur employs the verse in Islam and Faith (p. 23), within a critical discussion of counting rituals, including zakat, among the pillars of Islam. He presents love of wealth as an innate human inclination, then contrasts it with zakat as the giving out and spending of wealth. The verse therefore serves as support for his argument that zakat, in this respect, is not consonant with innate nature as he defines it in the same passage.

Shahrur cites al-Fajr 20 when presenting the view that the human being is naturally disposed to love and hoard wealth, linking this to the instinct of self-preservation. In this passage, Shahrur distinguishes between the human inclination toward wealth and hoarding it, on the one hand, and zakat as the giving out and spending of wealth, on the other, presenting them as opposites. Within the structure of his argument, the verse functions as supporting evidence for his objection to regarding zakat as an innate pillar of Islam, according to his conception of innate nature as inclinations toward which the self naturally tends.

Citation and location

Islam and Faith — p. 23.

Limits of the reading

  • The citation establishes Shahrur’s use of the verse in this argument, but it is not by itself sufficient to establish a comprehensive interpretation of the verse.
  • The citation does not establish synonymy or a technical distinction between similar Qur’anic terms.
  • The attached text ends while quoting another verse; the analysis therefore confines itself to the explicit connection between the verse from al-Fajr, love of wealth, and zakat.

Continue from here

Brief reading

The verse is mentioned as an example of the human inclination toward wealth, clarifying the meaning of zakat and its opposition to this inclination.

Axes

  • Human and ethical
  • Legislative
  • Love of wealth: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It serves to demonstrate the tension between human nature and financial purification.

Role of the verse in the argument

  • Example: 1

Instances of use

  • Islam and Faith, p. 23: He uses it to clarify that zakat runs counter to the human being’s innate inclination to hoard wealth.
    • Concept: Love of wealth
    • Function of the verse here: Example
    • Textual citation: “- {And you love wealth with an immense love} (al-Fajr 20).”

This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.

Graph View

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas