Meaning
Shahrur holds that al-Shafi‘i’s juristic construction was based on treating saying and utterance as synonymous, and he considers this synonymy incorrect. This consequently led to elevating the Sunna to a status parallel to the Revelation, even to a position from which it may sometimes abrogate it.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Critical.
- Argument movement: Equating saying with utterance is rejected because it generates an authority parallel to the Revelation.
- Central terms: saying, utterance, al-Shafi‘i, the Sunna, the Revelation.
- Degree of centrality: Central.
This atom critiques a linguistic premise in a juristic construction and connects it to consequences of authority in the ordering of sources. It seeks to undo the equation between human speech and the foundational text.
Links That Aid Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna
- Critique of Heritage, Jurisprudence, and Exegesis
- the Sunna
Evidence
- Supporting text: “Shahrur attacks al-Shafi‘i’s juristic construction on the basis of the synonymy between saying and utterance, and holds that this construction led to making the Sunna a source parallel to the Revelation, indeed one that sometimes abrogates it.”
Location of the Evidence in the Book
- Book: The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna.
- Location: In the first section of the book, in its treatment of the distinction between saying and utterance in arguing for the thesis of the two revelations.
- Type of evidence: Close evidence.
- Verification marker: The distinction between saying and utterance.
- Reading note: This passage is suitable evidence because it explicitly states the need to establish the distinction between saying and utterance, which is the core of the required 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 word for word.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is argumentative; it supports, or prepares the way for, a broader conclusion in the chapter.
Note to the Reader
It dismantles a linguistic foundation in the construction of juristic authority.