This thematic node 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
God does not forbid you from being kind and equitable to those who have not fought you because of religion and have not driven you from your homes. Indeed, God loves those who are equitable. * God only forbids you from taking as allies those who have fought you because of religion, driven you from your homes, and supported your expulsion. Whoever takes them as allies—those are the wrongdoers.
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Al-Mumtahanah 8–9 in his discussion of relations between states and situations of aggression?
Shahrur employs the two verses to propose a distinction between two situations: a friendly and peaceful relationship based on kindness and equity when the sovereignty and borders of states are respected, and a situation of aggression in which the aggressor state is portrayed as a “usurper,” against which resistance, enmity, and warfare are said to be permissible. This presents his contemporary political reading of the verses; it does not assert that the verses explicitly stipulate all the details of the modern system of international relations.
Shahrur reads the first verse as a basis for a friendly and peaceful relationship between states when sovereignty and geographical borders are respected, linking kindness and equity to international concord and exchange among peoples. He reads the second verse as concerning one state’s transgression against another, and infers from it the right to confront, oppose, and fight the state he calls the “usurper.”
Citation and Location
Islam and the Human Being — p. 42.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes this reading as Shahrur’s in the quoted passage; it does not establish that it is the only or the agreed-upon interpretation of the two verses.
- The available excerpt breaks off while he is discussing defense; no subsequent detail not visible in the citation should therefore be attributed to him.
- Shahrur’s reading should not be turned into a complete legal rule for war or international relations; the citation presents a general use of the verses and does not specify detailed conditions or procedures.
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Brief Reading
He makes the two verses a basis for distinguishing between peaceful relations among states and situations of aggression, regarding the second as a justification for resistance.
Themes
- Political and social
- Legislative
Related Concepts
- International relations: 2
- Peace: 1
- Aggression: 1
- Resistance to the usurping state: 1
Place in the Conceptual Network
It grounds the concept of international relations in the two situations of peace and aggression.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Foundational: 1
Instances of Use
- Islam and the Human Being, p. 42: He makes the two verses a basis for distinguishing peaceful relations between states from situations of aggression, and makes the second a justification for resistance to the usurping state.
- Concept: International relations
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual citation: “{ God does not forbid you from those who have not fought you… } (Al-Mumtahanah 8–9). As for the first verse, it shows that the relationship between states must be friendly and peaceful…”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.