What Is Attributed to Shahrur
Shahrur defines nabaʾ as follows: “Nabaʾ: information about an unseen past or future matter, conveyed in a concise, summary form.” The definition explicitly connects nabaʾ with the unseen and includes both the past and the future within its scope.
Atlas Explanation
The definition indicates that reference to the unseen here is not limited to what will happen; it also includes what has passed. Describing nabaʾ as “concise” and “summary” characterizes the manner in which it appears in the quoted wording.
Qualified Inference
The definition may be read as bringing together two dimensions: the subject of nabaʾ, namely the unseen past or future; and its form, namely concision and summary. This merely organizes the statement itself and does not add a meaning beyond it.
Open Question and Limits of the Evidence
This passage does not establish an independent terminological distinction between Muhammad Shahrur, Qur’anic Stories, vol. 1 and “information,” since it defines nabaʾ as “information.” Nor does it, by itself, explain the criterion of the “unseen” or apply the definition to every occurrence of the term.
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