This thematic entry brings together 1 instance of this verse’s use in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Verse Text as Cited
{And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another; and if a heavily burdened soul calls for help in bearing its load, none of it shall be borne, even if he be a close relative.}
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Shahrur employ the verse {No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another} in his discussion of fighting?
Shahrur employs the verse, together with the verse on proportionality in responding to aggression, to reject using fighting as a pretext for killing individuals or targeting institutions and markets that have not been shown to be aggressors. Responsibility, in this usage, is individual: a person is not made to bear another’s burden, nor is anyone other than the aggressor treated as responsible for someone else’s aggression.
Shahrur places Fatir 18 within what he calls a “system” governing fighting, alongside the verse {So whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same manner as he assaulted you}. He criticizes the practical call to assassinate security personnel, destroy public institutions, and bomb markets, linking his criticism to disregard for the principle of proportionality in fighting and the principle that no one bears another’s burden.
Citation and Location
Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism — p. 101.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not provide an independent linguistic or doctrinal exegesis of the verse; rather, it invokes it in a political and ethical polemic concerning fighting.
- The excerpt does not state literally that “fighting does not entail collective liability”; more precisely, Shahrur invokes the verse against targeting persons and facilities whom he does not identify as aggressors.
- Attributing the ruling to “fighting” in general requires attention to the fact that the passage deals especially with criticizing assassination, bombing, and the targeting of institutions and markets.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
He uses it to affirm that responsibility cannot be transferred from its bearer and that fighting does not entail collective liability.
Themes
- Human and ethical
- Legislative
Related Concepts
- Individual responsibility: 2
- Fighting: 1
- Not bearing another’s liability: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to the principle of individuality in responsibility and recompense.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
Instances of Use
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 101: He employs the verse to affirm that fighting does not entail collective liability and that responsibility is not borne by anyone other than its holder.
- Concept: Individual responsibility
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “And His—exalted be He—saying: {And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another…} (Fatir 18), are two provisions of this integrated system.”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.