Intended Meaning
By the city, Shahrur means the pluralistic society, not the closed monolithic society. For him, it stands in contrast to the village as a broader space for diversity and freedom, and from it he builds a social and political vision that rejects tyranny.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: definitional
- Movement of the argument: the city is defined here as a pluralistic society open to freedom.
- Key terms: city, plurality, freedom, village, tyranny.
- Degree of centrality: primary.
It offers a symbolic definition of the city as a space for diversity and openness, in contrast to a closed social model that narrows in the face of difference and feeds tyranny.
Links that help with reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought
- The Civil State, Religion, and Authority
- Freedom
- Plurality is a Qur’anic condition for development, whereas monism produces ruin and tyranny
Basis
- Supporting text: «The city: the pluralistic society».
Basis in the Book
- Book: The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought.
- Location: in the first section of the book
- Type of basis: nearby witness.
- Marker that helps verify: the city is based on plurality
- Reading note: this location is suitable as support because it links the city to plurality and contrasts it with the monolithic village.
Degree of Documentation
- 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 verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted textually.
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.
Related to
Editorial Note
The atom shifts the city from the meaning of place to the meaning of political association.