This thematic entry brings together 2 instances of this verse’s use in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
Nūn. By the pen and what they inscribe.
Answer to the Reader
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur read the Almighty’s saying, “Nūn. By the pen and what they inscribe,” in the context of human knowledge?
Shahrur employs the verse in constructing his conception of human knowledge: for him, the “pen” is not limited to an instrument of writing, but signifies “pruning” (taqlīm) in the sense of distinction. That is, human knowledge of existence advances through differentiating and classifying things. He connects this with what he calls inscribing lines in the study of existence.
Shahrur interprets the “pen” here as “pruning” (taqlīm), that is, distinction in scientific terminology, and makes distinction a path to human knowledge that is amenable to demonstration and proof.
Evidence and Location
The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought — p. 37.
Limits of the Reading
- The direct citation establishing this use is from The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 37.
- No additional relationship to other verses should be inferred merely from the occurrence of the word “pen,” unless Shahrur explicitly states that relationship in direct evidence.
- The excerpt mentions inscribing lines, but its ending is truncated; therefore, it is limited to stating its association with distinction and the study of existence, without completing a definition that does not appear in full in the evidence.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
For Shahrur, the verse establishes the connection of human knowledge with the instrument of distinction and inscription, and interprets the pen as a sign of classification and understanding.
Themes
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Pen: 3
- Distinction: 1
- Classification: 1
- Human knowledge: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is directly connected to the network of concepts of knowledge and distinction in his reading of the Book.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Foundational: 2
Instances of Use
- The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, pp. 37–38: He relies on it in his theory of knowledge to connect human understanding with the means of distinction and scientific inscription.
- Concept: pen
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual evidence: “It comes through the ‘pen,’ that is, pruning… as stated in His—Exalted be He—saying: {Their … and what they inscribe} (The Pen 1).”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 281: Building on the verse, he argues that the nūn and the pen symbolize distinction and classification in human knowledge.
- Concept: pen
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual evidence: “For the text says: ‘… that in His saying, Exalted be He, {They inscribe} (The Pen 1). … Therefore, He follows it with His saying {And the pen}. … Thus, the sound nūn increased the pruning of things … hence He said {Nūn. By the pen and what they inscribe}.’”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.