Thesis Summary
Shahrur stresses that understanding Islam begins with the Book of God, not with the inherited tradition, and that reading must be a rational, tartīl-based reading. In this way, the Qur’an becomes its own interpreter, while acknowledging that its terms are not synonymous but differ in meaning.
Foundational Atoms
- Starting from the foundational text
- Tradition should be set aside
- Tartīl is the principal method of reading
- Tartīl brings together closely related topics
- The Qur’an interprets the Qur’an
- Qur’anic terms are not synonymous
- Each Qur’anic term has a distinct meaning
Place of the Argument within the Book
These meanings are concentrated in the final section of Islam and Human Being, with early preliminaries concerning linguistic meaning and the structure of reading.
Limits of the Reading
This page presents a methodological construction drawn from several locations. It does not mean that every detail appears in the text in one continuous formulation.