This axis brings together 3 instances 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
Indeed, Abraham was an ummah, devoutly obedient to God, a ḥanīf, and he was not among the polytheists.
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ Qur’an 16:120, and what distinction does he derive from it concerning the meaning of “ummah”?
For Shahrur, the verse serves as evidence for one of the uses of the root umm: he connects the phrase “Abraham was an ummah” with the meaning of leader and leadership, and attributes this meaning to gathering and following. It forms part of an account that distinguishes among the root’s multiple meanings, rather than constituting independent proof for ḥanīfiyyah or for a method of inquiry into religion.
Shahrur presents the root umm as branching into multiple meanings, including origin, reference point, community, and religion; he then mentions other meanings such as station, time, and intention. He employs Qur’an 16:120 to connect the description of Abraham as an “ummah” to the meaning of leader and leadership, taking gathering and following as the entry point to this meaning.
Evidence and Location
Islam and Faith — p. 179.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence does not establish that the verse is used to link “ummah” with Abrahamic ḥanīfiyyah; the occurrence of Abraham’s description as a ḥanīf does not here become an independent interpretive relationship.
- The evidence does not establish that Shahrur derives from the verse a “method of inquiry into religion.”
- The evidence does not explicitly state that “ummah” and “leader” are synonymous; rather, it connects the meaning of the verse to leader and leadership through gathering and following.
- Mere verbal similarity is insufficient to associate this verse with other passages addressing ḥanīfiyyah or religion.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
The verse is used to broaden the meaning of ummah and connect it to Abrahamic ḥanīfiyyah and to a method of inquiry into religion.
Axes
- Faith-based
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Ummah: 2
- Ḥanīfiyyah: 2
- Abraham the ḥanīf: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It connects the linguistic meaning of ummah with the Abrahamic conception of ḥanīfiyyah.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 3
Instances of Use
- Islam and Faith, p. 179: He cites it to affirm the breadth of the meaning of umm in Arabic and the Qur’an, and that it may signify a community or an exemplar.
- Concept: Ummah
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: ““Indeed, Abraham was an ummah, devoutly obedient to God, a ḥanīf…” (Qur’an 16:120).”
- State and Society, p. 184: He cites it to affirm that the inductive method of research does not contradict faith, but rather accords with Abraham’s ḥanīfiyyah.
- Concept: Ḥanīfiyyah
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “And this is a starting point with which God is pleased, as indicated by His—Exalted is He—saying: {Indeed, Abraham was an ummah, devoutly obedient to God, a ḥanīf} (Qur’an 16:120).”
- the Book and the Qur’an, p. 408: He uses it to highlight Abraham as the discoverer of ḥanīfiyyah in the cosmos and the founder of viewing religion as movement within limits.
- Concept: Abraham the ḥanīf
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “Hence Abraham was {.an ummah, devoutly obedient to God, a ḥanīf}. (Qur’an 16:120).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the overall atlas construction methodology.