The Intended Meaning
Shahrur holds that fitrah is linked to human values and natural reason, and that the state of maturity is founded upon it. Maturity here is not merely theoretical knowledge, but a departure from the sound nature of the human being and what is in harmony with it.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: value-based
- Argument movement: it links maturity to fitrah and human values, not to theoretical information alone.
- Central terms: fitrah, maturity, human values, natural reason.
- Degree of centrality: pivotal.
It grounds maturity in the sound nature of the human being and what accords with it, making the moral standard prior to theoretical debate. In this way, fitrah becomes a reference point for understanding human uprightness.
Links that help with reading
- Muhammad Shahrur, Religion and Authority
- Freedom, the Human Being, and Responsibility
- Islamic religion accords with fitrah and freedom as the basis of the human being
Reliance
- Supporting text: «links fitrah with human values and natural reason, and makes it the basis of maturity».
Place of Reliance in the Book
- Book: Religion and Authority.
- Location: in the first section of the book
- Type of reliance: close witness.
- Verification cue: it does not absolutely contradict the foundations of civil society
- Reading note: the phrase links religion to human fitrah and the principles of sound reason, which directly supports the atom.
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 literal quotation unless the witness is quoted verbatim.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is definitional; it sets out a meaning or conceptual distinction that Shahrur relies on in building the idea.
Related to
Editorial Note
The formulation is interpretive and rests on linking fitrah with values and maturity.