This axis brings together 1 locus where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the verse as cited
If only there had been among the generations before you people of enduring virtue who forbade corruption on earth—except for a few of those whom We saved among them. And those who did wrong pursued the luxuries in which they had been indulged, and they were criminals.
Reader’s answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Hud 116 in his discussion of corruption and following the affluent?
Shahrur employs the verse in comparison with al-Isra’ 16 to examine what he calls the deviant collective behavior prevalent in the town. From the two verses, he gathers terms including “its affluent ones,” “they acted defiantly therein,” “its criminals,” and “corruption on earth,” then considers “its affluent ones” to be the most important term and the one driving the other terms. The claim that the absence of those who forbid corruption is a factor paving the way for destruction is not formulated in these words in the available excerpt, although the verse itself brings together forbidding corruption and the wrongdoers’ pursuit of the luxuries in which they had been indulged.
Shahrur places Hud 116 alongside al-Isra’ 16 in the context of examining the deviant collective behavior prevalent in the town. From the two verses, Shahrur extracts a set of terms that, in his view, revolve around this deviant collective behavior, including: its affluent ones, they acted defiantly therein, its criminals, and corruption on earth. Shahrur considers “its affluent ones” the first and most important term, seeing it as encompassing and driving the remaining terms.
Excerpt and location
State and Society — p. 113.
Limits of the reading
- The excerpt is taken only from the beginning of the analysis and ends when he announces that he will begin with the term “its affluent ones.”
- The excerpt does not provide a detailed definition of the affluent or a full interpretation of the phrase “people of enduring virtue.”
- A definitive causal formulation between the absence of those who forbid corruption and destruction should not be attributed to Shahrur on the basis of this excerpt alone.
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Brief reading
Shahrur links it to following the affluent and to the spread of corruption, making the absence of those who forbid corruption a factor paving the way for destruction.
Axes
- Political and social
- Human and ethical
Related concepts
- Corruption on earth: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It enters into the network linking social authority and general corruption.
Role of the verse in the argument
- Support: 1
Loci of use
- State and Society, p. 113: He uses it to link following the affluent to general corruption, and to show that the absence of those who forbid corruption prepares the way for destruction.
- Concept: corruption on earth
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual excerpt: “As verse 116 of Hud shows in His saying: {If only there had been among the generations … and they were criminals}.”
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.