This axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the verse as cited
So grant me, from Yourself, an heir, who will inherit from me and inherit from the family of Jacob, and make him, my Lord, pleasing [to You].
Reader’s answer
Question
How does Shahrur determine the scope of the verse, what distinction does he derive from it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
Shahrur relies on the phrase “from the family of Jacob” in the verse and considers min (“from”) to indicate partitivity; accordingly, he rejects the notion that the inheritance here encompasses prophethood. For him, the verse serves to critique arguments for the inheritance of prophethood, along with the associated claim of infallibility for heirs.
Shahrur holds that the preposition min in “from the family of Jacob” indicates partitivity, so that the inheritance mentioned does not encompass everything, including prophethood. He maintains that prophethood is a special election of a particular individual and is not something inherited. Shahrur deploys the verse to reject arguments based on it for the inheritance of prophethood, as part of his critique of extending infallibility and the light of prophethood to imams, saints, and scholars.
Evidence and location
Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 93.
Limits of the reading
- The evidence establishes Shahrur’s reading of min as indicating partitivity, but does not establish a comparative presentation of other interpretations of the verse.
- The evidence does not establish a detailed affirmative meaning of precisely what is inherited; rather, in this argument it denies that the inheritance encompasses prophethood.
- No relationship between the words of the verse, or between the concepts of prophethood and infallibility, should be attributed to the text itself except within the limits of Shahrur’s explicit deployment of them in critiquing the claim of inheritance and infallibility.
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Brief reading
Shahrur interprets it in a way that denies the inheritance of prophethood, in order to weaken traditional arguments for the inheritance of prophethood or infallibility.
Axes
- Methodological
- Faith-based
Related concepts
- Inheritance and prophethood: 2
Its place in the conceptual network
It is connected to the critique of the inherited structure of argumentation concerning prophethood and inheritance.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Critique of tradition: 1
Instances of use
- Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 93: He interprets it such that it does not indicate the inheritance of prophethood, but rather partial inheritance, in order to invalidate the argument of those who affirm the inheritance of prophethood or infallibility.
- Concept: Inheritance and prophethood
- Function of the verse here: Critique of tradition
- Textual evidence: “As for their reliance, in support of their claim, on His—Exalted be He—saying: { So grant me, from Yourself, an heir … who will inherit from me and inherit from the family of Jacob … } (Mary 5, 6), the Arabic language alone is sufficient to refute this claim.”
- Corresponding traditional reading: The claim that prophethood is inherited, or that the inheritance encompasses everything
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.