Meaning
Shahrur holds that Islam is not limited to the Muhammadan mission; rather, it predates it both historically and conceptually. He supports this by noting that Islam is described on the tongues of Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.
Atom Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: historical
- Argument movement: Islam is presented conceptually as a history broader than the Muhammadan mission.
- Central terms: Islam, the Muhammadan mission, Noah, Abraham, Moses.
- Degree of centrality: foundational.
It supports a conception that makes Islam a human concept preceding the Muhammadan message, opening the way to read it as a continuous historical line rather than as a discontinuous beginning.
Links That Aid Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: Islam and Humanity
- Islam, Faith, and Righteous Deeds
- Islam
- Islam Historically and Conceptually Precedes the Specificity of the Muhammadan Message
Evidence
- Supporting text: “Islam is older than the Muhammadan mission, and Islam was described on the tongues of Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.”
Location of the Evidence in the Book
- Book: Islam and Humanity.
- Location: In the opening sections of the book, in its tracing of the occurrence of the term Islam across the prophets.
- Type of evidence: close textual evidence.
- Verification marker: From Noah to Muhammad
- Reading note: This passage serves as evidence because it establishes the antiquity of the description of Islam before the Muhammadan mission, and it accords with the atom.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom rests on explicit evidence 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 evidence is cited textually.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is declarative: it establishes a conclusion on which the subsequent course of the argument depends.
Related To
Note for the Reader
The atom focuses on the historical extension more than on explaining the conceptual distinction between Islam and the message.