The Intended Meaning
Shahrur understands the phrase {what is in the breasts} as referring to what a person harbors inwardly in the form of thoughts, not merely to outward actions Accordingly, talk about {what is in the breasts} becomes talk about God’s knowledge of these thoughts He incorporates this meaning into his account of the breadth of God’s knowledge and His encompassing awareness of what is hidden from people
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: interpretive
- Argument movement: expanding the meaning of what is in the breasts to include inward thoughts within God’s knowledge.
- Key terms: what is in the breasts, thoughts, God’s knowledge, encompassing awareness, human.
- Degree of centrality: secondary.
It supports a conception of God’s knowledge of what is hidden within, making the inward self part of the domain of divine knowledge, and linking the Qur’anic text to human responsibility for one’s inner state, not only for outward conduct.
Links That Help Reading
Basis
- Supporting text: “Talk about {what is in the breasts} is talk about God’s knowledge of human thoughts.”
Related Verses
Basis in the Book
- Book: Islam and Faith.
- Location: in the final section of the book
- Type of basis: close evidence.
- Verification marker: mere human thinking
- Reading note: This passage is suitable evidence because it explicitly states that God knows a person’s mere thinking at the very same moment, which is almost identical in meaning to God’s knowledge of what is in the breasts.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of level: the atom rests on an explicit witness close to the formulation of the claim.
- Limits of reading: the formulation above is an analytical summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is cited textually.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is definitional; it fixes a meaning or conceptual distinction that Shahrur relies on in building the idea.
Editorial Note
It is directly connected to the atom of God’s encompassing witness.