Al-Ma'idah 3

5 min read

This verse recurs in Shahrur’s project because, for him, it represents the sign of the completion of religion and the determination of the final sphere of prohibition. It is central for him because it closes the door to adding new prohibitions and links legislative perfection to the completion of divine favor.

The verse text as given

Forbidden to you are carrion, blood… Today I have perfected for you your religion…

Brief reading

Shahrur reads the verse as an announcement of the completion of religion in the final message, and of the fact that the prohibitions mentioned are the final limit in this domain. From here he makes it a principle that prevents extending prohibition beyond the text, while keeping the exception in its proper place, tied to necessity.

Axes

  • Legislative
  • Faith-based
  • Methodological
  • Completion of religion: 5
  • Perfection of religion: 3
  • Prohibition: 2
  • License: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

The verse is connected to the completion of religion, its perfection, prohibition, and license. It is central because it gives his project a final limit in the domain of prohibitions, and links the completion of religion to the clarity of limits.

The role of the verse in the argument

  • Foundational: 5
  • Support: 2
  • Critique of the tradition: 1

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • Completion of religion
  • Final limit on prohibitions
  • Its presence is fixed in the domain of prohibition

Pages in the atlas that refer to this verse

These links gather the pages that rely on the verse or make it part of the argument within the atlas.

Instances of use

  • Islam and the Human Being: He links through it the completion of religion with the sealing of prohibitions and their precise delimitation in the final message.
    • Concept: Completion of religion
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual evidence: ”{ … الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ … } (al-Ma’idah 3)”
  • Islam and Faith, p. 18: He takes it as evidence for the completion of Islam as a general religion with the Muhammadan message and the clarification of its pillars.
    • Concept: Completion of religion
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual evidence: ”{ … الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ … وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا… } (al-Ma’idah 3).”
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 412: He sees in it a minimum limit for dietary prohibitions, along with an indication of the completion of the message in this domain.
    • Concept: Perfection of religion
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual evidence: “The minimum limit in the prohibition of foods is mentioned … {… الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ …} (al-Ma’idah 3).”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 154: He uses the verse to determine that prohibition concerns the specific categories mentioned themselves, then builds on this to argue that going beyond what is lawful to what is unlawful is excess.
    • Concept: Prohibition
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual evidence: “We conclude from this that dozens of mouthfuls from the good things God has provided for us are lawful, and that a single mouthful of the prohibited categories is unlawful and is excess in and of itself.”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 206: He makes the verse the basis for saying that the death of the Messenger did not leave a religious vacuum, but only a political one.
    • Concept: Completion of religion
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual evidence: “We said that the death of the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him) did not create a religious vacuum… {الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ…} (al-Ma’idah 3).”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 92: He cites it to argue that saying the Qur’an needs something else would contradict the perfection of religion and the completion of favor.
    • Concept: Perfection of religion
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of the tradition
    • Textual evidence: “And this falsifies the saying of the Exalted: { الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي … } (al-Ma’idah 3).”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 107: He uses it to highlight that the exception found in the prohibitions is tied to dire necessity and food, not to all the other prohibitions.
    • Concept: License
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: ”- { فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِإِثْمٍ فَإِنَّ اللهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ } (al-Ma’idah 3).”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 154: He cites it within a listing of prohibitions to say that religion was completed with its final limits, including the prohibitions of food and slaughter.
    • Concept: Completion of religion
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: ”{ … الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ … }“

This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas