This thematic node 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.
The Verse Text as Cited
And indeed, he saw him in another descent * by the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary * near which is the Garden of Refuge
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ verses 13–15 of Surat al-Najm to distinguish the “Garden of Refuge” from the Garden of Reward, and what effect does this have on his reading of the Ascension?
Shahrur employs the divine statement, “near which is the Garden of Refuge,” to establish the existence of a Garden distinct from the Garden of the God-fearing and from the Garden of reward and punishment. He then makes this distinction an entry point for discussing what the Prophet saw during the Ascension. He says that the claim that he saw Paradise and Hell—together with the assumption that they had not yet come into existence—leads him to conclude that the Ascension took place in a dream. However, the attached excerpt breaks off before he completes his discussion of heart-based vision; thus, it does not establish the details of his final position on the mode of perception during the Ascension.
Shahrur distinguishes between the “Garden of Refuge” mentioned in al-Najm 13–15 and the Garden of the God-fearing, or the Garden of reward and punishment. From the verses on the “Garden of Refuge,” Shahrur moves to a discussion of the event of the Ascension, maintaining that the Prophet’s vision of Paradise and Hell during the Ascension, together with his assertion that they had not yet come into existence, means that the Ascension occurred in a dream.
Excerpt and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 321.
Limits of the Reading
- The excerpt is truncated and ends as Shahrur begins his statement about “heart-based vision”; therefore, no later detail may be attributed to him on the basis of this excerpt alone.
- The distinction mentioned presents Shahrur’s reading of the verse; it does not establish the meaning of the verse as the sole or agreed-upon meaning.
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Brief Reading
Shahrur distinguishes between the Garden of Refuge and the Garden of Reward, making the verse a key to understanding the perception involved in the Ascension on this basis.
Axes
- Theological
- Linguistic and Semantic
Related Concepts
- Garden of Refuge: 2
- Garden of Reward: 1
- Perception of the Ascension: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It belongs to the network that distinguishes among the levels and meanings of Paradise.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Distinction: 1
Usage Locations
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 321: He distinguishes between the Garden of Refuge and the Garden of Reward, using the verse to explain the perception involved in the Ascension on this basis.
- Concept: Garden of Refuge
- Function of the verse here: Distinction
- Textual excerpt: “He indicated that there is a garden unrelated to the Garden of the God-fearing or to the Garden of reward and punishment, which he called the Garden of Refuge in the divine statement, {And indeed, he saw him in another descent…} (al-Najm 13–15).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.