The Unifying Idea
This axis reconstructs some Qur’anic concepts from within the text, so that they become closer to an epistemic and humanistic understanding than to an antagonistic one. This includes the concepts of unbelief, polytheism, and testimony, and it also includes family relations, which are read through the differentiation of terms and the standards of care and awareness.
The propositions included in the axis
- The concepts of unbelief, polytheism, and testimony in Shahrur are epistemic, not combative
- Family differentiation in the Qur’an redefines fatherhood, motherhood, and adoption
The axis’s support from the atoms
- Distinguishing the witness from the martyr
- Distinguishing the martyr from the witness
- Human testimony continues after the sealing of prophethood
- The Qur’an differentiates between family terms
- Motherhood goes beyond biological birth
How to read it
Read this axis as a rearrangement of concepts, not a change in their subject matter. The intent is to move them from the domain of conflict to the domain of knowledge, and from rigid meaning to human meaning.