Meaning
Muhammad Shahrur holds that traditional jurisprudence emerged during the age of codification and was associated with al-Shafi‘i and a specific historical period. He therefore considers much of what has been attributed to Islam to be a human construct with no direct connection to the muṣḥaf, rather than a revealed text equal to the Qur’an.
Structure of the Atom in the Atlas
- Type of argument: historical
- Argument movement: It regards traditional jurisprudence as a historical product, not an equivalent of the Qur’anic text.
- Central terms: traditional jurisprudence, the age of codification, al-Shafi‘i, the muṣḥaf.
- Degree of centrality: pivotal.
It places jurisprudence within its historical context, thereby reducing the authority of its sacralization and reconsidering its attribution to the text, as a human understanding formed in a specific period.
Links That Aid Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: the Qur’an in Contemporary Thought
- Critique of Heritage, Jurisprudence, and Exegesis
- Jurisprudence Is a Historical Human Heritage That Does Not Possess Authority Equal to the Qur’an
Evidence
- Supporting text: “He links the emergence of traditional jurisprudence to the age of codification and to al-Shafi‘i, and holds that much of the jurisprudence attributed to Islam has no connection to the muṣḥaf.”
Location of the Evidence in the Book
- Book: The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought.
- Location: in the first section of the book, in the discussion of the age of codification
- Type of evidence: direct testimony.
- Verification aid: “All of this came from the age of codification.”
- Reading note: The passage is suitable because it attributes the problem to the age of codification and to al-Shafi‘i, and states clearly that much of jurisprudence has no relation to the muṣḥaf.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom rests 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 verbatim quotation unless the witness has been reproduced verbatim.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is argumentative; it supports a broader conclusion in the chapter or prepares the way for it.
Related to
Note to the Reader
This atom disentangles the link between history and sanctity.