This node brings together two places where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that surround it.

The verse text as cited

AND YOUR LORD WOULD NOT DESTROY THE TOWNS THROUGH INJUSTICE WHILE THEIR PEOPLE WERE REFORMERS

Brief reading

It is cited to show that destruction is tied to injustice, one-sidedness, and the refusal of reform and critique.

Axes

  • Human and ethical
  • Political and social
  • Injustice: 2
  • Reform: 1

Its place in the concept network

It links injustice to the fate of society when the door to reform is closed.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Support: 2

Places of use

  • The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 20: He uses it to affirm that destruction is tied to injustice, one-sidedness, and the refusal of reform and critique.
    • Concept: injustice
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: «- {وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرَى بِظُلْمٍ وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ} (هود 117)»
  • The State and Society, p. 142: He uses it to state that the presence of reform within society prevents destruction, and that destruction applies only to unjust towns that are not reforming.
    • Concept: reform
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual evidence: «{وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرَى بِظُلْمٍ وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ} (هود 117).»

This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.