This axis brings together 3 instances of the use of these verses in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking them to the concepts and arguments that appear around them.
The text of the verses as cited
And set forth for them the parable of two men: We gave one of them two gardens … And I do not think that the Hour will ever come … He is God, my Lord, and I do not associate anyone with my Lord.
Reader’s answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the parable of the two owners of the gardens in Al-Kahf 32–38 to explain polytheism and monotheism?
Shahrur employs the parable as an example of the idea that polytheism occurs, in his reading, when phenomena and things are described as enduring; whereas monotheism consists in describing them as changing and perishing. He connects this to the statement of the owner of the two gardens: “I do not think that this will ever perish,” and then to his companion’s contrastive reply: “He is God, my Lord, and I do not associate anyone with my Lord.”
Shahrur explicitly states that polytheism arises by describing phenomena as enduring, while monotheism arises by describing them as changing and perishing, and he makes the example in Surat Al-Kahf 32–38 the locus for explaining this.
Evidence and location
Islam and Faith — p. 112.
Limits of the reading
- This presents how Shahrur employs the verses; it does not establish their sole or universally agreed-upon exegetical meaning.
- The available evidence is from the book “Islam and Faith,” not from “Islam and the Human Being”; therefore, this use should not be attributed to the second book without independent evidence.
- The evidence does not establish a broader elaboration of the concept of the “law of change and annihilation” beyond the explicit contrast between endurance and change and perishing.
Continue from here
Brief reading
The story is taken as a model for explaining polytheism in lordship through attributing endurance to things and denying the law of change and annihilation.
Axes
- Faith-related
- Human and ethical
Related concepts
- Polytheism in lordship: 3
- Endurance and annihilation: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It connects belief in endurance with the human stance toward transformation and disappearance.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Example: 2
- Foundation: 1
Instances of use
- Islam and the Human Being: He takes the parable in Al-Kahf as a model for explaining polytheism in lordship through attributing endurance to things and rejecting the law of change and annihilation.
- Concept: Endurance and annihilation
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: “{ And set forth for them the parable of two men … } (Al-Kahf 32–38).”
- Islam and the Human Being: He turns the parable into a model through which he explains how polytheism arises when endurance is attributed to phenomena and change and annihilation are denied.
- Concept: Polytheism in lordship
- Function of the verse here: Foundation
- Textual evidence: “It has already been explained how polytheism arises by describing phenomena as enduring … through the example presented to us by the Almighty in Surat Al-Kahf: { And set forth for them the parable of two men … } (Al-Kahf 32–38).”
- Islam and Faith, p. 112: He employs the story of the two men to explain that supposing blessings will remain as they are constitutes polytheism in lordship and a denial of the law of change and disappearance.
- Concept: Polytheism in lordship
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: “Through the example presented to us by the Almighty in Surat Al-Kahf: { And set forth for them the parable of two men … } (Al-Kahf 32–38).”
Related books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.