This axis brings together 3 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Verse Text as Cited
So We sent upon them a bitterly cold wind during days of misfortune
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does the citation of Fussilat 16 occur, how does Shahrur distinguish between the day and time, and what function does the verse serve in his argument?
The citation occurs in Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 2, p. 52, in his discussion of the destruction of the people of Hud by the wind. Shahrur makes it the comparative verse on which he relies to argue that “day” in another verse about the wind does not mean a fixed measure of time, but rather a moment or occasion, and that misfortune pertains to the event occurring in time rather than to time itself.
Shahrur cites Fussilat 16 when interpreting the destruction of the people of Hud by the wind, comparing it with the verse “on a day of continuous misfortune,” which occurs in the same context of the wind. Shahrur holds that “day” in the phrase “a day of misfortune” does not mean a period of twenty-four hours, but indicates a moment or occasion; he makes the occurrence of “days of misfortune” in Fussilat 16 part of his justification for this understanding. Shahrur distinguishes time as a container for events from the event occurring within it, and attributes misfortune and good fortune to events, not to time itself.
Citation and Location
Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 2 — p. 52.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not offer an independent interpretation of all the terms in Fussilat 16; rather, it employs it in comparison with the verse “a day of continuous misfortune.”
- The citation does not establish that “day” and “days” are synonymous; rather, it uses the difference between the two forms to construct its argument about the meaning of “day” in that context.
- This passage does not establish a general ruling for every Qur’anic occurrence of the word “day” or the description of misfortune.
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Brief Reading
He uses it to interpret the day as a moment or occasion, linking misfortune to the event itself rather than to abstract time.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Misfortune: 2
- Days of misfortune: 2
- Bitterly cold wind: 1
- ʿĀd: 1
- External punishment: 1
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It serves his reading of time in narratives as a setting for an event, rather than as a fixed unit of calculation.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 2
- Example: 1
Instances of Use
- Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 2, p. 52: He uses it to interpret “day” as a moment or occasion rather than twenty-four hours, linking misfortune to the event rather than to abstract time.
- Concept: Misfortune
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “How then can the Exalted say elsewhere {So We sent upon them a bitterly cold wind during days of misfortune…} (Fussilat 16)?”
- Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 2, p. 52: He uses it to highlight that the punishment was connected with specific days/occasions, not with absolute cosmic time.
- Concept: Days of misfortune
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “How then can the Exalted say elsewhere {So We sent upon them a bitterly cold wind during days of misfortune…} (Fussilat 16)?”
- State and Society, p. 89: He presents it as an example of a type of external punishment by which the town of ʿĀd was destroyed.
- Concept: Bitterly cold wind
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual citation: “…as happened to the people of ʿĀd, who were the people of the prophet Hud, as in His—Exalted be He—saying: {So We sent upon them a bitterly cold wind …}”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.