Shahrur’s Statement
Shahrur maintains that obedience is to the law, not to the person who possesses the instrument of coercion.
Context of the Statement
Shahrur interprets “those in authority” as those who hold legislative authority in society, rather than kings, princes, sultans, governors, and holders of executive authority who possess the instrument of coercion. In the same passage, he distinguishes between compliance with the laws of the legislative authority, which he describes as occurring with complete willingness and voluntary choice, and obedience to the executive authority, which he describes as occurring only through coercion.
Limits of the Reading
The cited passage does not describe the law as just, nor does it specify the conditions of the law or how the legislative authority is constituted; these details should therefore not be attributed to this passage alone.