Intended meaning
The author holds that the Wise Revelation is not a book that narrates historical events in a direct, narrative manner; rather, it is a text that contains transcendent knowledge This knowledge is connected to the course of history and makes it possible to read its events scientifically
The atom’s structure in the atlas
- Type of argument: Distinguishing
- Argument movement: For him, the revelation is not historical narrative but transcendent knowledge that reads history.
- Key terms: the Wise Revelation, history book, transcendent knowledge, the course of history.
- Degree of centrality: Central.
This atom draws a boundary between the Qur’anic text and books of historical events. Its importance lies in its enabling a reading of history as knowledge rather than as narrative.
Links that help with reading
- Muhammad Shahrur al-Qisas al-Qur’ani vol. 2
- The Book, the Qur’an, and the Mother of the Book
- the Wise Revelation
- The Wise Revelation presents transcendent knowledge, not historical narrative
Grounding
- Supporting text: “He emphasizes that the Wise Revelation is not a history book, but it carries transcendent knowledge connected to the course of history and allowing its events to be read scientifically.”
Place of the grounding in the book
- Book: The Qur’anic Stories, vol. 2.
- Location: in the middle section of the book, within the distinction between the Qur’anic text and history books.
- Type of grounding: Close witness.
- Marker that helps verify: not a book of history
- Reading note: This passage is suitable as support because it denies that the revelation is a history book while preserving its connection to history, and it is very close to the atom.
Degree of documentation
- Level: Directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom is based on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of the reading: The formulation 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 assertive; it establishes a result on which what follows in the argument depends.
Related to
Editorial note
The atom defines the type of text and its function.