The Unifying Idea
Shahrur’s understanding of the Sunna is based on distinguishing between two different statuses: a messengerly Sunna linked to legislation, and a prophetic Sunna linked to context and history. In this way, the Sunna is not read as a single undifferentiated whole.
The theses included in the axis
- The Sunna is divided into messengerly and prophetic according to status.
- The messengerly Sunna has its own field and limits.
- The Sunna is divided into messengerly and prophetic.
The axis’s support from the atoms
- The messengerly Sunna and the prophetic Sunna
- The Sunna is divided into messengerly and prophetic
- The messengerly Sunna has limits
The method of reading
What is meant here is not a formal division, but rather identifying the status to which a report or obedience is attributed. Accordingly, each report is understood according to its function and limits, not merely according to its general title.