The Material World Is Not an Illusion
Editorial verification status: This atom was extracted from an explanatory audiovisual source and has now been linked to the closest books within the Shahrur project at the book level. For precise academic citation, consult the original book and the original episode together.
Formulation of the claim
Shahrur rejects the idea that the world is merely a mental illusion or an idea with no reality. He affirms instead that cosmic existence is material and real, not imaginary.
Explanation
Here he confronts certain philosophical readings that tend to deny reality to the world. He sees the Qur’an as affirming the materiality of the cosmos, but linking that materiality to God’s words, not to randomness. Reality, then, is not the opposite of meaning; rather, it is one of its manifestations. This stance preserves a place for natural science without severing it from the Qur’anic vision.
Its place in the episode’s argument
This atom prevents a misunderstanding: Shahrur does not deny the world in favor of the abstract; rather, he connects them.
Limits of the claim
This does not mean that he equates matter with God or makes matter eternal.
Brief witness
“Cosmic existence is material… and this existence is real, not an illusion.”
Related links
- Shahrur - Islam and the Human Being
- Shahrur - The Qur’an
- Shahrur - The State and Society