Ya-Sin 69

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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

And We did not teach him poetry, nor is it fitting for him

Reader’s Answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur employ the Qur’anic statement, “And We did not teach him poetry, nor is it fitting for him”?

Shahrur employs the verse to argue that the denial of poetry in relation to the Qur’an is not merely a historical response to the polytheists’ accusation against the Prophet, but also an alert to the reader not to treat the Revelation as one treats poetry. In his account, poetry is a realm of imagination and illusion, whereas the Revelation is truthful discourse connected to reality. He therefore makes the verse part of his foundation for a reading that seeks the significance and importance of the Revelation, rather than impressionistic or unrestrained figurative reception.

Shahrur connects Ya-Sin 69 with al-Haqqah 41, regarding both as a denial that the Revelation is “the speech of a poet” or something the Prophet was taught from poetry. Shahrur states explicitly that the importance of this denial, in his view, is to warn against viewing the Revelation and engaging with its verses in the same way that poetry is viewed and engaged with. At this point, Shahrur contrasts poetry as “illusion” and “imagination” with the Revelation as truthful and realistic, making this the basis for distinguishing between modes of reception.

Citation and Location

Towards New Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 89.

Limits of the Reading

  • The citation presents Shahrur’s position on the function of the verse in distinguishing Revelation from poetry, but it is not sufficient on its own to establish all the details of his method of contemporary reading.
  • The description of poetry as illusion and imagination is part of Shahrur’s polemical contrast at this point; it should not be generalized into a comprehensive literary judgment on all poetry on the basis of this citation alone.
  • The citation does not establish that Shahrur rejects every rhetorical or figurative use in reading the Qur’an; what it establishes is his rejection of treating it as poetic verses.

Continue From Here

Brief Reading

Shahrur employs it to affirm that the issue lies in our reception of the Qur’an, not in its truthfulness or in its being poetry.

Axes

  • Linguistic and semantic
  • Methodological
  • Absurdity: 2

Its Place in the Conceptual Network

It contributes to regulating reading between true meaning and the mode of understanding.

Role of the Verse in the Argument

  • Support: 1

Instances of Use

  • Towards New Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 89: He uses it together with the verse from al-Haqqah to affirm that the Qur’an is not poetry, and that the issue lies in how we receive it, not in its truthfulness.
    • Concept: absurdity
    • Function of the verse here: support
    • Textual citation: “And he says: { And We did not teach him poetry, nor is it fitting for him } (Ya-Sin 69); this is a truthful statement.”

This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas