What Is Meant
The author holds that the terms of the Qur’an are not synonyms; rather, each term has its own signification that distinguishes it from the others. Therefore, Qur’anic terms must not be treated as though they carry exactly the same meaning.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: methodological
- Movement of the argument: rejecting synonymy in order to fix the Qur’anic meaning of each term separately.
- Central terms: Qur’anic terms, synonymy, signification, term, meaning.
- Degree of centrality: pivotal.
It establishes a linguistic rule that governs the whole reading, because for him the difference among terms prevents their being equated and obliges the reader to distinguish between meanings before any judgment or interpretation.
Links That Help Reading
Basis
- Supporting text: «Rejection of synonymy in the terms of the Qur’an».
Location of the Basis in the Book
- Book: Islam and the Human Being.
- Location: in the final section of the book, within the principles of understanding the text.
- Type of basis: close evidence.
- Marker that helps verification: the principle of rejecting synonymy
- Reading note: This location is suitable as support because it explicitly states the rejection of synonymy in understanding the texts of the Book of God.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom rests on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: the wording above is an analytical summary, and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is transmitted verbatim.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is definitional; it establishes a meaning or conceptual distinction on which Shahrur relies in building the idea.
Editorial Note
This atom is among the most important atoms of the linguistic method in the atlas.