Women 94

3 min read

This thematic entry brings together 2 instances in which this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

Text of the Verse as Cited

{O you who believe, when you go forth in the way of God, ascertain, and do not say to one who offers you peace, “You are not a believer”…}

Answer to the Reader

Question

Does Women 94 make religious unbelief a cause for fighting, and how does Muhammad Shahrur read it?

Shahrur does not read the verse as authorization to make religious unbelief a justification for fighting. Rather, when “going forth in the way of God” is understood as fighting, he sees it as prohibiting this rationale and commanding verification before judging one who offers peace. In his use, the verse restricts combative conduct through verification and does not permit denying a person’s faith merely because of the context of confrontation or the pursuit of worldly gain.

Shahrur uses Women 94 to criticize the view that unbelief in God’s oneness is a cause that necessitates fighting. This use is qualified in Shahrur’s text by reading “going forth in the way of God” as fighting; he says: “If we understand going forth in the way of God as fighting.”

Citation and Location

Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism — p. 110.

Limits of the Reading

  • The citation establishes Shahrur’s position as he formulated it; it does not establish that this is the only interpretation of the verse.
  • This reading is limited to the meaning explicitly stated by the citation in the specified location.
  • The index reference that lists the verse among the “verses detailing jihad” is insufficient to establish an independent interpretive claim; the direct citation on page 110 is relied upon here.

Continue From Here

Brief Reading

The verse is understood as a call to verify and to respect one who offers peace, while rejecting the making of unbelief a cause for fighting.

Themes

  • Faith-related
  • Political and social
  • Freedom of belief: 2
  • Verification: 2

Its Place in the Conceptual Network

It confronts readings that justify killing on the basis of suspicion regarding faith.

Role of the Verse in the Argument

  • Foundational: 1
  • Critique of tradition: 1

Instances of Use

  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, pp. 110–111: He understands it as prohibiting the making of unbelief a cause for fighting and as requiring verification and respect for one who offers peace.
    • Concept: Freedom of belief
    • Function of the verse here: Foundational
    • Textual citation: “He—exalted is He—says: {O you who believe, when you go forth in the way of God, ascertain…} (Women 94). This verse prohibits those who believe from considering religious unbelief a cause for fighting.”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 190: He uses it to refute an argument permitting the killing of one who professes Islam or offers peace, stressing that it prohibits denying faith and arbitrary killing.
    • Concept: Verification
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of tradition
    • Textual citation: “{O you who believe, when you go forth in the way of God, ascertain, and do not say to one who offers you peace, ‘You are not a believer’…} (Women 94).”
    • Corresponding traditional reading: Its use to establish the killing of one who appears to profess Islam and whose contrary position later becomes evident

This page is presented within the overall methodology for building the atlas.

Graph View

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas