What Is Meant Here
Shahrur does not use “qadar” and “qadaʾ” synonymously in this context. Qadar is objective existence, whereas qadaʾ is the conscious human act that takes place within freedom and choice. The distinction appears in his examples: death is qadar and killing is qadaʾ; the possibility of striking with the hand is qadar, while carrying out the strike is qadaʾ.
What Is Attributed to Shahrur
Shahrur explicitly affirms the distinction between the two terms: “He distinguishes between ‘qadar’ as objective existence and ‘qadaʾ’ as a conscious human act occurring within freedom and choice.” He then clarifies it through examples of action and occurrence: death and killing, the possibility of striking and the act of striking. He adds that a person’s sense of determinism increases in proportion to their ignorance of the determined conditions.
This distinction forms part of the reading of the Book the Book and the Qur’an.
Atlas Explanation
This atom delimits only the direction of the distinction: “qadar” concerns what the text describes as objective existence or possibility, while “qadaʾ” concerns the human act that occurs. The terms should therefore not be equated merely because of their proximity in ordinary usage.
For reading on the broader field connected to freedom, see freedom, the human being, and responsibility and freedom.
Conclusion and Limits
The distinction makes it possible to highlight a sphere for human action within what Shahrur calls “the determined conditions,” without turning this evidence alone into a complete theory of responsibility or religious obligation. Determining the criterion of responsibility and detailing its relation to rulings requires additional evidence.
This atom has no direct connection to the topic of the page disbelief and polytheism are contextual concepts, not instruments of authority, except insofar as it is a link included in the reading path.