Reference location: Episode 15: Disbelief and Polytheism: Declaration and Practical Position, at 12:59–13:03. Audible statement: “If this had not happened, the abolition of slavery in Arab countries would not have happened by a fatwa; it happened by a decision.”
Slavery Is Not a Fixed Qur’anic Ruling but a Historical Reality
Source note: This page summarizes explanatory audiovisual material. Book references provide nearby context and are not verbatim evidence; for precise citation, consult the original episode and book.
Formulation of the claim
Shahrur maintains that slavery was a historical social reality, not a fixed Qur’anic institution, and that its abolition came by a political decision, not by a jurisprudential fatwa.
Explanation
He indicates that jurisprudence discussed slavery because it existed in reality, but it did not succeed in transforming it into an explicit ruling of prohibition. He goes on to say that the modern world abolished slavery through international and political decisions, not because of internal jurisprudential development. In this way, he uses slavery as an example to show that much of jurisprudence was describing reality rather than changing it. This point reflects his view of the historicity of rulings tied to society.
Its place in the episode’s argument
It is used as a practical example that jurisprudence took shape under the pressure of political and social reality, not as an eternal system.
Scope of the claim
It does not say that the Qur’an mentioned slavery as something required; rather, it says that jurisprudence dealt with it as an existing reality.
Brief evidence
“The abolition of slavery in Arab countries did not happen by a fatwa; it happened by a decision.”
Related links
- Shahrur - Islam and the Human Being
- Shahrur - State and Society
- Shahrur - Jurisprudence