The Question
Why does Shahrur insist on distinguishing between the Book, the Qur’an, the Mother of the Book, the decisive, and the ambiguous?
The Idea in the Atlas
This axis is the textual backbone of the project. Shahrur does not treat the terms of Revelation as synonyms, but as keys to an internal structure: what relates to legislation, what relates to knowledge, what relates to narratives and prophecy, and what opens the field of interpretation.
Quick Entry Points
- The structure of Revelation
- The Book and the Qur’an
- The Mother of the Book and its elaboration
- The Qur’an
- The decisive
- The Mother of the Book
- The ambiguous
- The Qur’an and the Mother of the Book
- Reclassifying the Book and the Mother of the Book organizes the structure of the Qur’anic text and its functions
- The terminological structure of the text establishes the internal distinction within Revelation
Questions for Reading
- What results from distinguishing between the Book and the Qur’an?
- How is the Mother of the Book connected to legislation and prohibition?
- Where does the decisive become the basis for judgment, and where does the ambiguous become a field for interpretation?
- Does this distinction succeed in disciplining reading, or does it open up a new disagreement?