This page explains a conceptual relationship between two poles 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. Its witness opens one particular angle, and the encompassing family places it within a conception of Islam as a human value horizon that predates the mission and extends beyond ritual affiliation.
Meaning of the relationship
This relationship indicates that Islam is not presented here as merely a particular faith affiliation tied to following Muhammad and his rites, but rather as a broader value framework that includes a general human dimension. That is, Islam, in this conception, opens onto an ethical and value-based meaning that goes beyond the confines of the narrow religious community.
The two poles of the relationship
- First pole: Islam
- Relation: constitutes
- Second pole: a broader human value framework than faith associated with following Muhammad and his rites
Evidence
- Islam and the human being through Islam is a broader human value framework than a specific faith affiliation
- Witness: Islam is a broader human value framework than a specific faith affiliation. Islam as a global value-based religion and Islam transcending narrow affiliation are reinforced so as to present Islam as a general human horizon, not a closed identity
Its effect on the knowledge map
This relationship is important because it shifts Islam in the conceptual map from being a confined religious identity to being a broad human value horizon. This connects the religious node to a more general level of meaning, and makes it a point of connection between private religiosity and the shared values that can be read as a basis for an open, non-enclosed universal understanding.