This axis brings together 2 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
Did I not make a covenant with you, O children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan? Indeed, he is a manifest enemy to you.
Reader’s Response
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the verse ﴿Did I not make a covenant with you, O children of Adam﴾ in his definition of the covenant?
Shahrur employs the verse as evidence for his particular definition of the “covenant” (ʿahd): for him, it is the human being’s undertaking to abide by the provisions of a prior pact, which he describes as a voluntary commitment to what a person binds himself to. In this use, the verse is not presented as an interpretation of its full context; rather, it supports the idea that a covenant is something that must be preserved and fulfilled.
Shahrur defines the covenant as an undertaking to abide by the provisions of a pact, and maintains that it comes after the pact. He cites Ya-Sin 60 in explaining why the covenant is called a covenant, linking it to what must be preserved. Shahrur describes the covenant as that by which a person voluntarily binds himself, and likens it to the contemporary idea of swearing to uphold a pact.
Evidence and Location
Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation — p. 66.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence establishes Shahrur’s use of the verse in defining the “covenant”; it does not provide a detailed interpretation of the verse or of the context of Surat Ya-Sin.
- The statement that the covenant “comes after the pact” is Shahrur’s terminological assertion in the cited passage, not a conclusion demonstrated in detail from the wording of the verse alone.
- The connection does not rest on mere verbal similarity; Shahrur himself explicitly cites the verse when presenting his definition of the covenant.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
For Shahrur, the verse grounds an understanding of the covenant as a voluntary commitment that follows the pact and consists in preserving its provisions.
Axes
- Methodological
- Legislative
Related Concepts
- Covenant: 3
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to the covenant in order to underscore the difference between the initial conclusion of a pact and the subsequent commitment.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Foundational: 2
Instances of Use
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 294: He makes it evidence that the covenant is the human being’s voluntary commitment to the provisions of the pact after its conclusion.
- Concept: covenant
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual evidence: “It was called a covenant because it is something that must be preserved, according to His—Exalted is He—words: {Did I not make a covenant with you …} (Ya-Sin 60).”
- Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 66: He makes the covenant a commitment subsequent to the pact—that is, an undertaking to preserve its provisions.
- Concept: covenant
- Function of the verse here: foundational
- Textual evidence: “It was called a covenant because it is something that must be preserved, according to His words—Exalted is He: { Did I not make a covenant with you, O children of Adam … } (Ya-Sin 60).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.