This axis brings together 3 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
Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an so that you may understand
Reader’s answer
Question
What is the place of Joseph 2, what distinction does Shahrur build upon it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The verse is Joseph 2. In the attached citation, Shahrur employs it to argue that sending down the Qur’an in Arabic is connected to human comprehension, and he pairs it with al-Zukhruf 3 to distinguish between sending down and making, and to examine the question of the eternity of the recited Arabic text.
Shahrur understands the statement “We sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an” to mean that sending down is connected to human comprehension. He distinguishes between the Qur’an, which he describes as having been made Arabic and sent down Arabic, and the Mother of the Book, which he says was sent down in Arabic only, without being made so. Shahrur uses Joseph 2, together with al-Zukhruf 3, to reject the notion that the recited Arabic text is eternal; he understands making as a transition into an Arabic form after a non-Arabic form.
Citation and location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 218.
Limits of the reading
- The citation does not establish that this passage appeared on p. 105, mentioned in the usage entry; the citation locator is p. 218.
- The citation does not offer an independent explanation of the meaning of Arabic as a language or of the wording of the verse outside its function in Shahrur’s argument.
- This verse alone does not establish the details of the boundaries of the Qur’an, the ambiguous verses, and the Mother of the Book beyond the formulation Shahrur presents here.
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Brief reading
The verse is used to establish that the Qur’an was sent down in Arabic, linking sending down to a linguistic form comprehensible to human beings.
Axes
- Linguistic and semantic
- Methodological
- Faith-related
Related concepts
- Sending down: 3
- Arabic: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It establishes the distinction between sending down as a linguistic formulation and the origin of the text.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Foundational: 2
- Supportive: 1
Atlas pages that refer to this verse
These links gather the pages that rely on the verse or make it part of the argument within the atlas.
Related structural theses
Usage loci
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 105: He relies on it to establish that the Qur’an was sent down in Arabic, as a prelude to distinguishing it from other parts that, in his view, are not Arabic.
- Concept: Arabic
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual citation: “… and likewise the Qur’an, as indicated by His exalted saying, {Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an so that you may understand}”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 133: He builds upon it his definition of sending down as the transfer of the Qur’an into an Arabic linguistic form comprehensible to human beings.
- Concept: Sending down
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual citation: “{Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an so that you may understand} (Joseph 2); thus, sending down is the transfer from an incomprehensible form to a comprehensible form.”
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 218: He employs it to argue that sending down is connected to human comprehension and that the Arabic Qur’anic text is not eternal in this sense.
- Concept: Sending down
- Function of the verse here: Supportive
- Textual citation: “And His saying, {Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an so that you may understand} (Joseph 2)”
- Corresponding traditional reading: The eternity of the Arabic text
Related books
This page is presented within the general methodology for building the atlas.