Intended Meaning
Shahrur maintains that hadith is accepted or rejected not merely because it is attributed to the Prophet, but according to whether it does not conflict with the Wise Revelation, with reality, and with the logical understanding of it. Therefore, the Qur’an and reality become two basic criteria in verifying a report and distinguishing what is accepted from what is rejected.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: methodological
- Movement of the argument: the acceptance of a report is linked to its lack of conflict with the Qur’an, reality, and reason.
- Key terms: the Qur’an, reality, logical conception, acceptance, rejection.
- Degree of centrality: central.
An explanation of Shahrur’s method of verification, where attribution to the Prophet is not sufficient, but rather the report must be consistent with the text, reality, and sound understanding.
Links to Assist Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur’s messengerly Sunna and the prophetic Sunna
- The Sunna between messengerhood and prophethood
- the Qur’an
Basis
- Supporting text: “Shahrur distinguishes between what he calls the messengerly Sunna and the prophetic Sunna, and makes the criterion for acceptance and rejection the absence of conflict between the hadith and the Wise Revelation, reality, and its logical conception.”
Basis in the Book
- Book: the messengerly Sunna and the prophetic Sunna.
- Location: in the middle section of the book, within the discussion of reports that conflict with reality and the Revelation.
- Type of basis: a close witness.
- Marker for verification: if it conflicts with the Wise Revelation
- Reading note: the passage serves as evidence because it clearly states that the rejected hadith is that which conflicts with the Wise Revelation and reality.
Documentation Level
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom relies 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 literal quotation unless the witness is quoted verbatim.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is methodological; it governs the way of reading or reasoning followed by the book.
Editorial Note
The atom sets out three interrelated criteria rather than a single one.