What is meant
The author sees the prophetic hadith as having been used selectively within political and sectarian conflicts, not merely as neutral transmission. Accordingly, in his view, the formation of some religious conceptions is tied to the history of conflict and the selective deployment of reports.
The atom’s structure in the atlas
- Type of argument: critical
- Argument movement: the Sunna is read historically as a site of instrumentalization in conflicts, not merely as neutral transmission.
- Central terms: the Sunna, the prophetic hadith, sectarian conflict, selective deployment.
- Degree of centrality: primary.
It places reports in the context of political and sectarian conflict, explaining the formation of some religious conceptions as an effect of selective deployment rather than complete neutrality.
Links that help with reading
- Muhammad Shahrur’s messengerly Sunna and prophetic Sunna
- Critique of the heritage, jurisprudence, and interpretation
- the Sunna
Basis
- Supporting text: “The prophetic hadith was used selectively in political and sectarian conflicts.”
Degree of documentation
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom rests on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of the 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 argumentative; it supports, or prepares for, a larger conclusion in the chapter.
Editorial note
The atom needs a more precise calibration of the scope of generalization regarding the prophetic hadith.