Meaning
Shahrur holds that wisdom in the Qur’an is not the prophetic Sunna; rather, it consists of specific ethical and legislative commands and prohibitions within the Qur’anic context. He therefore connects it to a practical content that guides conduct and legislation, rather than to the commonly understood concept of the Sunna.
Atom Structure in the Atlas
- Argument type: interpretive.
- Argument movement: interprets wisdom as Qur’anic commands rather than an inherited Sunna.
- Central terms: wisdom, the Qur’an, the prophetic Sunna.
- Degree of centrality: secondary.
The atom returns the meaning of wisdom to the interior of the Qur’anic text and prevents its equation with the received Sunna as an independent or inherited authority.
Links That Aid Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna
- The Sunna Between Messengerhood and Prophethood
- the Qur’an
- the prophetic Sunna
- The contemporary Sunna is understood through Qur’anic vocabulary, not through inherited sacralization
Evidence
- Supporting text: “He maintains that wisdom in the Qur’an does not mean the prophetic Sunna; rather, in its context it refers to specific ethical and legislative commands and prohibitions.”
Location of Evidence in the Book
- Book: The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna.
- Location: in the first section of the book.
- Type of evidence: closely related passage.
- Verification marker: not the prophetic Sunna.
- Reading note: This passage serves as evidence because it denies that the wisdom mentioned in the Qur’an is the prophetic Sunna, while offering a closely related explanation of the idea of a specific legislative meaning.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: directly documented.
- Meaning of the level: the atom is based on an explicit passage 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 passage has been reproduced textually.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is definitional: it establishes a meaning or conceptual distinction on which Shahrur relies in constructing the idea.
Related To
Note to the Reader
The atom supports the recalibration of Qur’anic terminology.