This axis gathers 3 locations of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Verse text as quoted
WE RELATE TO YOU THE BEST OF STORIES THROUGH WHAT WE HAVE REVEALED TO YOU OF THIS QUR’AN, AND BEFORE IT YOU WERE AMONG THOSE WHO WERE HEEDLESS
Brief reading
The verse is cited to affirm that Qur’anic narrative belongs to the unseen of the past, and that the phrase before it indicates a clear temporal precedence.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Methodological
- Linguistic and semantic
Associated concepts
- Unseen of the past: 2
- Time: 2
- Precedence: 2
Its place in the conceptual network
It is linked to determining the location of narrative within time and to understanding the tools of signification.
The role of the verse in the argument
- Support: 2
- Example: 1
Uses
- Islam and Human Beings, p. 40: He cites it to state that Qur’anic narrative is from the unseen of the past, which God revealed to the Prophet ﷺ.
- Concept: Unseen of the past
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: «- { نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ … } (يوسف ٣)»
- The Qur’anic Narrative vol. 1, p. 128: He gives it as an example of “before it” as indicating a prior temporal past, not another meaning.
- Concept: Time
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: «أو مجرورة بحرف جر كقوله تعالى {نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ… وَإِنْ كُنْتَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ لِمِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ} (يوسف: ٣)»
- The Qur’anic Narrative vol. 2, p. 128: He cites it to clarify that (before it) comes with a preposition and conveys a clear temporal precedence before the revelation.
- Concept: Precedence
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: «أو مجرورة بحرف جر كقوله تعالى {… وَإِنْ كُنْتَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ لِمِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ} (يوسف: ٣)»
Related books
This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.