An-Nisa 125

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

The verse as quoted

And who is better in religion than one who submits his face to God while being a doer of good and follows the creed of Abraham, inclining toward truth? And God took Abraham as an intimate friend.

Brief reading

Shahrur makes the verse a basis for understanding the acceptance of the creed when it is coupled with submission to God and beneficence, not merely with formal affiliation.

Axes

• Faith-based
• Human and ethical
• Methodological

Related concepts

• Religion: 2
• Religion and beneficence: 2
• Beneficence: 2
• Creed: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It enters a network that distinguishes between religion as accepted in terms of meaning and the outward form of the creed.

The role of the verse in the argument

• Foundation: 2
• Support: 2

Uses

• Islam and the Human Being: He makes it evidence that any creed is acceptable if it has submitted its face to God and is doer of good.
  • Concept: Religion
  • Function of the verse here: Foundation
  • Textual evidence: “And in verse 125 of Surat An-Nisa’: { وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ … } (An-Nisa’ 125).”
• Islam and the Human Being: He makes it a basis for considering the accepted religion to be what is coupled with beneficence, whatever the religious creed.
  • Concept: Religion and beneficence
  • Function of the verse here: Support
  • Textual evidence: “And in verse 125 of Surat An-Nisa’: { وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ … } (An-Nisa’ 125).”
• Islam and Faith, p. 110: He cites it to argue that any creed becomes acceptable if it realizes submission to God together with beneficence.
  • Concept: Beneficence
  • Function of the verse here: Support
  • Textual evidence: “And in verse 125 of Surat An-Nisa’: { وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ … } (An-Nisa’ 125).”
• Islam and Faith, pp. 233-234: He cites it to argue that beneficence is linked to hanifism, and that the creed is the evolving principle upon which rulings are based, not religion itself.
  • Concept: Creed
  • Function of the verse here: Foundation
  • Textual evidence: ”- {وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا…} (An-Nisa’ 125).”

Related books

• Islam and the Human Being
• Islam and Faith

This page is presented within the broader methodology of atlas construction.