The Unifying Idea
Shahrur views the Prophetic Sunna and Hadith as a human domain tied to history and politics, not as an infallible domain beyond criticism. Accordingly, his reading of them proceeds through scrutiny rather than acceptance.
The Propositions Included in the Axis
- The Prophetic Sunna is historical and circumstantial and is not to be followed as permanent legislation.
- Prophethood, in Shahrur’s view, is a historical function in organization, ijtihad, and state-building.
- Shahrur reads Hadith as history open to criticism, not as a final criterion.
The Axis’s Support from the Atoms
- The messengerly Sunna and the prophetic Sunna
- Prophetic obedience is historical and limited
- The station of prophethood and the station of messengerhood
- The station of prophethood directs social organization
- Hadiths that contradict the Qur’an are rejected
- Contradictory Hadiths are rejected
Method of Reading
This page is to be read as a depiction of a changing human domain, not as a binding text in itself. Therefore, the criterion of acceptance is conformity with the Qur’an and with reasonable meaning, while taking historical context into account.