Summary of the Thesis
Shahrur distinguishes between Mecca’s ritual function and that of the Sacred House, on the one hand, and the requirements of a political capital, on the other. He also rearranges the story so that the Sacred House predates Abraham, and Abraham’s role was purification, not foundation.
Related Verses
Foundational Atoms
- Mecca is not fit to be a civil capital
- The Sacred House predates Abraham
- Abraham purified the House and did not build it
Position within the Book
This idea appears in the first section of the book in the discussion of the Mother of Cities and the Ancient House, and of the distinction they entail between ritual and capital.
Limits of the Reading
This formulation reconstructs the narrative sequence from within the book, but it remains an interpretive reading rather than an independent historical account.