The Intended Meaning
Sharia in the Qur’an is not a rigid system, but a framework with upper and lower bounds that leaves room for human ijtihad Here, ijtihad is the human effort to understand the text and apply it to changing reality according to time and place
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: methodological
- Movement of the argument: it makes Sharia an open framework for ijtihad, not a rigid system.
- Central terms: Sharia, ijtihad, limits, time and place.
- Degree of centrality: central.
It turns Sharia into a domain regulated by upper and lower bounds, and gives the human mind a role in application. In this way, it links legal ruling to changing reality without undermining the Qur’anic reference point.
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Basis
- Supporting text: «It affirms that Sharia in the Qur’an is not a rigid system, but a framework with upper and lower bounds that leaves room for human ijtihad according to time and place».
Location of the Basis in the Book
- Book: The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought.
- Location: in the first section of the book
- Type of basis: close witness.
- Verifying marker: we should follow it through ijtihad
- Reading note: this passage is suitable as support because it confirms that ijtihad is the path to understanding legislation according to the conditions of time.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: structurally documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom is based on more than one witness or on a clear composition of closely related expressions.
- Reason for classification: supported by two explicit texts that mention the legislative domain and ijtihad.
- Limits of reading: the formulation above is an analytical summary, and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is cited verbatim.
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
The atom summarizes the link between the framework and the limits of ijtihad.