This axis brings together 1 instance 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

I do not worship what you worship

Reader’s answer

Question

How does Shahrur employ God’s saying, “I do not worship what you worship,” to explain the meaning of worship?

Shahrur employs the verse as evidence that ʿabada conveys abasement, submission, and obedience; accordingly, he understands the negation of worship in it as a negation of submission to what the addressees worship.

Shahrur places the verse “I do not worship what you worship” among his evidences for the first meaning of ʿabada: humiliation and submission.

Evidence and location

the Book and the Qur’an — p. 275.

Limits of the reading

  • The evidence cites the verse as a linguistic example of the meaning of ʿabada and does not offer a detailed interpretation of the surah’s context or of the identity of what the addressees worship.
  • This passage alone does not establish further details concerning the nature of worship or its rulings.

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Brief reading

The verse is used to affirm that worship is understood here as a religious practice disavowed in relation to the opponent’s objects of worship.

Axes

  • Linguistic and semantic
  • Faith-related
  • Worship: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It contributes to explaining the signification of worship in the context of doctrinal differentiation.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Support: 1

Instances of use

  • the Book and the Qur’an, p. 275: He cites it to affirm the use of worship in the sense of a religious practice disavowed in relation to the opponent’s objects of worship.
    • Concept: worship
    • The verse’s function here: support
    • Textual evidence: “And His saying {I DO NOT WORSHIP WHAT YOU WORSHIP} (The Disbelievers 2).”

This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.