Intended Meaning
Shahrur holds that revelation does not oppose reason or reality, and therefore the verses of the Qur’an can be understood interpretively in the present or in the future. But this understanding does not occur at one and the same level; rather, it expands as human knowledge develops
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: methodological
- Movement of the argument: it makes revelation harmonious with reason and reality and open to renewed understanding.
- Central terms: revelation, reason, reality, interpretation, knowledge.
- Degree of centrality: primary.
It links Qur’anic understanding to the possibility of rational interpretation in the present and the future. It supports the reading that sees revelation as capable of renewal as knowledge expands.
Reading Aids
- Muhammad Shahrur, The Mother of the Book and Its Elaboration
- the contemporary reading method
- interpretation
- Rational interpretation turns the unseen into knowledge in harmony with reality
Basis
- Supporting text: “Revelation does not contradict reason or reality, and therefore all the verses of the Qur’an are open to interpretive understanding now or in the future, but to different degrees according to the development of knowledge.”
Location of the Basis in the Book
- Book: The Mother of the Book and Its Elaboration.
- Location: at the beginning of the book
- Type of basis: close witness.
- Verification marker: because human ijtihads abrogate one another
- Reading note: the passage defends the possibility of renewed ijtihad as knowledge develops, and therefore serves as support for the atom.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom rests on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: the wording above is an analytic summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is transmitted word for word.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is argumentative; it supports a larger result in the chapter or prepares the way for it.
Related to
Editorial Note
The atom states a principle of harmony, not a historical detail.