This axis 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.
Text of the verse as cited
{ … AND RECITE THE QUR’AN WITH MEASURED RECITATION }
Reader’s answer
Question
How does Shahrur situate Qur’an 73:4 within his method, what distinction does he draw between the topics of the Qur’an and the topics of the Message, and what function does the verse serve in his argument?
Shahrur cites Qur’an 73:4 to justify restricting “measured recitation” (tartīl) to the topics of the Qur’an: he gathers the verses connected to a single topic and then interprets that topic after this gathering. He contrasts this with the topics of the Message, for which he does not posit tartīl, but rather addresses them through the precise verses and their elaboration, then through independent reasoning (ijtihād).
Shahrur relies on Qur’an 73:4 when defining tartīl as gathering, into a sequence, the verses relating to a single topic. He distinguishes between the topics of the Qur’an, to which he restricts tartīl and which are followed by interpretation, and the topics of the Message, for which he does not posit tartīl but instead links them to the precise verses and their elaboration, then to independent reasoning (ijtihād). The function of Qur’an 73:4 in the argument is to establish the restriction of the process of tartīl to the topics of the Qur’an, rather than merely to cite it for a general meaning of tartīl.
Citation and location
Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation — p. 36.
Limits of the reading
- This passage presents Shahrur’s definition and the function of the verse in his methodological construction; it does not, by itself, establish the validity of this definition or its interpretive binding force.
- The citation does not provide an independent, detailed criterion for distinguishing between “the topics of the Qur’an” and “the topics of the Message” beyond the methodological formulation it contains.
- The citation establishes no relationship between Qur’an 73:4 and other verses except through the use that Shahrur himself describes.
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Brief reading
He uses it to establish that tartīl pertains to the topics of the Qur’an—that is, gathering verses on a single subject before interpretation.
Axes
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related concepts
- Tartīl (measured recitation): 2
- Topics of the Qur’an: 1
- Gathering verses: 1
Its place in the network of concepts
It establishes a method of ordering the reading on a thematic basis.
Role of the verse in the argument
- Foundational: 1
Instances of use
- Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 36: He uses it to establish that tartīl pertains to the topics of the Qur’an—that is, gathering verses on a single subject before interpretation.
- Concept: Tartīl (measured recitation)
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual citation: “{ … AND RECITE THE QUR’AN WITH MEASURED RECITATION } (al-Muzzammil 4).”
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.