This page explains a conceptual relationship between two terms within Shahrur’s thought, and how this relationship functions in the construction of meaning.
Within a Broader Family
This formulation is part of a field that distinguishes between Islam and specific faith. Viewing it opens one particular angle, and the encompassing family places it within a conception of Islam as a human ethical horizon that predates the mission and is broader than ritual affiliation.
Meaning of the Relationship
This relationship indicates that Islam is not confined to the time of the Muhammadan mission, but is older than it in both existence and signification. The evidence states that Islam was described in relation to prophets who came before Muhammad, such as Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Jesus, and then Muhammad himself. This makes Islam a concept that predates the mission, understood as a religious reality extending across the revelations.
The Two Terms of the Relationship
- First term: Islam
- Relationship: precedes
- Second term: the Muhammadan mission
Evidence
- Islam and Man via Islam precedes the Muhammadan mission
- Evidence: - Islam is older than the Muhammadan mission, and the description of Islam appears on the tongues of Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.
Its Effect on the Knowledge Map
This relationship gains importance in the conceptual map because it connects Islam to a broader prophetic chain than the Muhammadan moment alone, thereby preventing it from being confined to a single historical event. It also clarifies the continuity of the concept across the prophets, and reorganizes the relationship between Islam and the Muhammadan mission within a historical conception that goes beyond the last prophetic beginning to a more ancient and more comprehensive origin.