This locus gathers 2 instances 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
WHEN HE DECREES A MATTER, HE ONLY SAYS TO IT, “BE,” AND IT IS
Brief reading
The verse comes to distinguish the decisive divine decree operating within the laws of existence from situational commands open to choice.
Loci
- methodological
- faith-based
Related concepts
- decisive decree: 2
- situational command: 2
- laws of existence: 1
Its place in the conceptual network
It serves to distinguish what is fixed in the cosmos from what is variable in discourse.
The verse’s role in the argument
- distinction: 1
- support: 1
Instances of use
- State and Society, p. 23: He makes it a criterion for the decisive divine decree that pertains to the laws of existence, not to moral commands open to choice.
- concept: decisive decree
- function of the verse here: distinction
- textual evidence: «{WHEN HE DECREES A MATTER, HE ONLY SAYS TO IT, BE, AND IT IS} (Maryam 35).»
- corresponding traditional reading: generalizing the scope of the decree to all human acts
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 64: He makes it an example of the variable part of the Qur’an, understood as a situational divine command in nature rather than a fixed law.
- concept: situational command
- function of the verse here: support
- textual evidence: «{GLORY BE TO HIM. WHEN HE DECREES A MATTER, HE ONLY SAYS TO IT, BE, AND IT IS} (Maryam 35)»
Related books
This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.