This thematic entry 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.
The Verse as Cited
{And those who, when reminded of the signs of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind}
Reader’s Answer
The Question
Where does the verse occur, what distinction does Shahrur draw in reading it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The verse occurs in Surat al-Furqan (73). Shahrur reads it among the attributes of the “imams of the God-conscious,” linking the signs of lordship to natural phenomena and to belief in material data, science, and reason, in contrast to Sufi ecstatic extravagances, the miracles of saints, and superstition. In his argument, the verse serves to support his description of these imams as possessing a scientific, materialist method in life.
Shahrur treats al-Furqan 73 as a distinct item among the attributes of the imams of the God-conscious, rather than as a description applying to all people. He interprets the signs of lordship as natural phenomena and makes their understanding through belief in matter, science, and reason one of the foundations of the method of the imams of the God-conscious. Shahrur contrasts this scientific-material orientation with Sufi ecstatic extravagances, the miracles of saints, and superstition, in order to define the nature of the God-consciousness intended in his argument.
Citation and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 471.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation states this understanding in the context of its discussion of the imams of the God-conscious in “Muhammad’s Furqan”; it does not offer a detailed explanation of the wording of the verse from the standpoint of language or inherited exegesis.
- The citation does not establish that this interpretation is the agreed meaning of the verse outside Shahrur’s framework.
- The attribute of the imams of the God-conscious addressed by the citation should not be generalized to all people, because Shahrur himself restricts this context to them.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
For Shahrur, the verse establishes an understanding of the signs of lordship as natural phenomena to be read through a scientific intellect rather than superstition.
Themes
- Faith-based
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Signs of lordship: 2
- Natural phenomena: 1
- Science: 1
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It belongs to the network linking faith and natural knowledge.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Foundational: 1
Instances of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 471: He makes it evidence that the imams of the God-conscious read the signs of lordship as natural phenomena and science, rather than superstition.
- Concept: Signs of lordship
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual citation: “The second command came as a distinct item in His saying {And those who, when reminded of the signs of their Lord…}”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.