What Is Meant
The author holds that the ijtihads of the Prophet, the Companions, and the early jurists belong to their historical context; they are therefore studied as heritage and are not taken as a basis for contemporary legislation. The reference that should be relied upon today, however, is the Qur’an in a modern reading
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Critical
- Movement of the argument: It strips traditional jurisprudence of legislative status
- Key terms: traditional jurisprudence, historical, contemporary legislation, the Qur’an.
- Degree of centrality: Central.
This atom places old jurisprudence in the category of historical study, not that of contemporary binding authority. In doing so, it prompts the reader to reconsider the source of present-day legislation and to distinguish between heritage and reference.
Links to Aid Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: Mother of the Book and Its Elaboration
- Critique of Heritage, Jurisprudence, and Exegesis
- Traditional jurisprudence
- The Qur’an
- Qur’anic punishments are civil limits that can be regulated, not fixed bodily procedures
Basis
- Supporting text: “The ijtihads of the Prophet, the Companions, and the early jurists are historical, and are studied rather than followed legislatively in the modern era.”
Place of the Basis in the Book
- Book: Mother of the Book and Its Elaboration.
- Location: in the final section of the book
- Type of basis: Immediate witness.
- Verification marker: Human ijtihads that have been superseded
- Reading note: The phrase describes the earlier jurists’ efforts as superseded and no longer valid for later times, which is the core of the atom.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: Directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom relies on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Reading limits: The formulation above is an analytical summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is cited word for word.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is argumentative; it supports a larger conclusion in the chapter or prepares the ground for it.
Related to
Editorial Note
The criterion here is modernity, not sacralization.