What is meant
Shahrur sees that the Qur’an does not use family terms in a single sense, but distinguishes between father and parent, and between mother and female mother, as well as between the two parents and the parents. This linguistic distinction indicates to him that each term has a specific meaning that cannot be replaced by another.
The atom’s structure in the atlas
- Type of argument: Distinctive
- Movement of the argument: Separating family terms from one another and not reducing them to a single meaning.
- Central terms: father, parent, mother, female mother, the two parents.
- Degree of centrality: Pivotal.
It supports the principle of distinguishing between Qur’anic terms in the family sphere, and prevents merging terms with different relations into a single meaning, which is consistent with his method of precise signification.
Reading aids
Basis
- Supporting text: “Shahrur continues his sharp distinction between the terms: father/parent, mother/female mother, the two parents/parents.”
The basis in the book
- Book: Islam and Faith.
- Location: in the middle section of the book, in his linguistic discussion of family terms.
- Type of basis: Close evidence.
- Mark for verification: the distinction between father and parent
- Reading note: This location is suitable as evidence because it clarifies his method based on distinguishing between father and parent, mother and female mother, and the two parents and parents.
Degree of documentation
- Level: Directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom relies on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: The wording above is an analytical summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is cited textually.
Its function in the book
Its function here is declarative; it establishes a result on which what follows in the course of the argument depends.
Editorial note
It should be read together with the atoms of guardianship and dress, because they affect the entire family field.