An-Nahl 44

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This axis gathers 4 instances of Muhammad Shahrur’s use of this verse in his books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The verse text as cited

وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Brief reading

Shahrur makes the verse a basis for understanding the function of the dhikr as clarification and communication, not as a traditional explanation added onto the text.

Axes

  • methodological
  • linguistic and semantic
  • legal
  • dhikr’s exposition: 2
  • dhikr: 2
  • clarification: 2
  • exposition: 2

Its place in the conceptual network

It is linked to the concept of exposition, on which he builds his relationship between revelation and people’s understanding of it.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • support: 2
  • foundation: 1
  • critique of tradition: 1

Pages in the atlas that refer to this verse

These links collect the pages that rely on the verse or make it part of the argument within the atlas.

Instances of use

  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 34: He cites it to affirm that the function of the dhikr is to explain to people, not merely to be recited devotionally.
    • concept: dhikr’s exposition
    • role of the verse here: support
    • textual evidence: «{وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ} (an-Nahl 44)»
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 156: He cites it to establish that the dhikr is the vocal form of the Book, and that the verse gathers revelation and descent into a single statement of exposition.
    • concept: dhikr
    • role of the verse here: foundation
    • textual evidence: «Since the dhikr is the vocal form of the whole Book, and it is the devotional form, He summarized revelation and descent in it by saying»
  • A Guide to a Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 35: He reinterprets tabyīn as conveying and displaying, not explaining, and builds on that to reject the idea that the Sunna explains the Qur’an.
    • concept: clarification
    • role of the verse here: critique of tradition
    • textual evidence: «{ … وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ … } (an-Nahl 44).»
    • corresponding traditional reading: the Messenger explains the Qur’an in his Sunna
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 121: He places it together with al-Baqara 159 within a framework in which the Messenger was commanded to convey the revelation, while the task of understanding and reflection is entrusted to people.
    • concept: exposition
    • role of the verse here: support
    • textual evidence: «And His – تعالى – saying: { وَأَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ … } (an-Nahl 44).»

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

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Backlinks3

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas