This page explains a conceptual relationship between two terms within Shahrur’s thought, and how this relationship works in the construction of meaning.
Within a Broader Family
This formulation belongs to the field of the Mother of the Book as the domain of the definitive verses, commands, and prohibitions. Its specific witness highlights a particular angle, while the encompassing family presents its connection to the basis of the message and the sphere of independent reasoning.
The Meaning of the Relationship
What is meant is that the Mother of the Book is not a secondary element in the structure of the Muhammadan message; rather, it is what this message is based on and rests upon. The witness clarifies that the Muhammadan message is built on the Mother of the Book as a set of fixed definitive verses, meaning that it represents the reference that gives the message its foundations and its stable principles.
The Two Terms in the Relationship
- First term: the Mother of the Book
- Relationship: constitutes
- Second term: the basis of the Muhammadan message
Evidence
- The Mother of the Book and Its Detail via The Mother of the Book as the Basis of the Muhammadan Message
- Witness: the Muhammadan message is built on the «Mother of the Book» as a set of fixed definitive verses
Its Impact on the Knowledge Map
This relationship gains importance because it connects the founding principle with the domain that branches out from it, making the Mother of the Book a conceptual center in understanding the Muhammadan message. In this way, it helps draw a knowledge map that shows that the meaning of the message cannot be understood apart from the definitive verses of the Mother of the Book; rather, it is determined through them as the basis of construction and the source of stability in the whole system.