Jonah 5

3 min read

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

He is the One who made the sun a radiance and the moon a light, and determined for it phases so that you might know the number of years and the reckoning …

Reader’s Answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur read God’s statement, “and determined for it phases so that you might know the number of years and the reckoning,” in Jonah 5?

Shahrur employs the verse in his discussion of “objective existence,” as a real existence that can be studied through the tools of human knowledge. The mention of determining the moon’s phases, and linking this to learning the number of years and reckoning, signifies for him the orderliness of the world and the possibility of knowing it scientifically, rather than making it an illusion or a subject beyond the scope of human inquiry.

Shahrur cites Jonah 5 among a group of verses through which he argues that the heavens, the earth, and objective existence were created “in truth”—that is, that they truly exist rather than being mere conceptions. Shahrur understands from this framework that objective existence can be studied within human consciousness, and that science, proof, and research theories are tools for this study.

Citation and Location

The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought — p. 37.

Limits of the Reading

  • The citation establishes Shahrur’s inclusion of the verse in his argument concerning the reality of existence and its susceptibility to study; it does not by itself establish the broader statement that “qadar is the order of existence and its laws,” in all its details.
  • The verse’s association with reckoning should not be turned into a claim that Shahrur derives from it all the methods of modern science; the cited text affirms the possibility of study and the role of its tools at a general level.
  • The other citation from “The State and Society” addresses Shahrur’s distinction between qadar and qada’, but it does not cite Jonah 5 in the available excerpt; it should therefore not be treated as direct evidence of his use of this verse.

Continue From Here

Brief Reading

Shahrur uses the verse to affirm that qadar is an orderly system governed by cosmic laws that can be understood and calculated.

Axes

  • Faith-based
  • Methodological
  • Qadar: 2
  • Cosmic laws: 2

Its Place in the Network of Concepts

It links qadar to cosmic laws within a view that renders the universe intelligible.

The Verse’s Role in the Argument

  • Support: 2

Instances of Use

  • The State and Society, p. 25: He cites it to show that qadar is the order of existence and its laws, which make reckoning and knowledge possible.
    • Concept: Qadar
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: “{He is the One who made the sun a radiance and the moon a light, and determined for it phases …} (Jonah 5).”
  • The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 37: He employs it to show that the universe is governed by laws that can be understood and calculated, rather than by chaos.
    • Concept: Cosmic laws
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: “- {He is the One who made the sun a radiance and the moon a light …} (Jonah 5)”

This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas