This node gathers three places where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The verse as cited
And those who disbelieved said, “We will never believe in this Qur’an…”
Brief reading
The verse is used as an example of how unbelief is expressed through an explicit declaration, and of reading the phrase “that which is before it” in a specific context.
Axes
- Faith-related
- Linguistic and semantic
- Narrative and historical
Related concepts
- Declaration: 2
- Open denial: 2
- That which is before it: 2
Its place in the concept network
It connects the explicit statement of a doctrinal position with the meaning of the Qur’anic expression.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Support: 2
- Example: 1
Usage locations
- Islam and Human Beings: He uses it to emphasize that unbelief is expressed through a clear statement, not merely through conviction.
- Concept: Declaration
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: «{ وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ بِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ… } (Saba’ 31)»
- Islam and Human Beings: He employs it as an example of unbelief as an explicit declaration of refusal, not merely an inner doubt.
- Concept: Open denial
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: «- { وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ بِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ… } (Saba’ 31)»
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 70: He uses it to show that “that which is before it” is something that accompanies the Qur’an at the moment of revelation, then interprets it as the rulings/message rather than the Torah and the Gospel.
- Concept: That which is before it
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: «{وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ بِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَلَا بِالَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ} (Saba’ 31)»
- Countervailing traditional reading: for him, “that which is before it” is not the Torah and the Gospel, but rather the rulings/message
Related books
This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.