This axis brings together two places where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The verse text as quoted

Worship God and avoid the taghut

Brief reading

It makes the verse closely tied to formulating a principle that links worship of God with distancing oneself from the taghut, as two inseparable matters.

Axes

  • Faith-based
  • Methodological
  • taghut: 2
  • monotheism: 1
  • messengerships: 1

Its place in the concept network

It establishes a methodological distinction between monotheism and its counterpart in the conceptual structure.

The role of the verse in the argument

  • Grounding: 2

Places of use

  • Toward New Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 113: He interprets it to mean worship of God together with distancing oneself from the worship of the taghut, as if it were a formulation of two inseparable commands.
    • Concept: taghut
    • Function of the verse here: Grounding
    • Textual evidence: «{ Worship God and avoid the taghut }, and we understand that He—Glory be to Him—commands us to worship Him and to stay away from the worship of the taghut»
  • Toward New Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 127: He presents it as a shared summary across all messengerships in the call to monotheism and avoiding the taghut.
    • Concept: monotheism
    • Function of the verse here: Grounding
    • Textual evidence: «We find Noah calling his people to it: { … } (Al-A’raf 59) … and the gist of the foregoing is the saying of the Exalted: { And We certainly sent into every community a messenger, [saying], “Worship God and avoid the taghut” … } (An-Nahl 36)»

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