The Intended Meaning
Shahrur holds that reading the Wise Revelation is not a continuation of a traditional jurisprudential reading, but rather a modern epistemic endeavor that relies on new tools for understanding the text. Therefore, he calls for dealing with the Qur’an as a renewable reference that requires a contemporary reading and open-ended ijtihad.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: methodological
- Movement of the argument: the Qur’an needs a contemporary reading with new tools.
- Core terms: the Qur’an, contemporary reading, new tools, ijtihad.
- Degree of centrality: central.
The atom draws an epistemic position that rejects inherited reading as the end of understanding. It calls for a living understanding of the text that takes into account the tools of the age and renews the connection with revelation.
Links Helpful for Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: the Qur’an in Contemporary Thought
- The Method of Contemporary Reading
- The Qur’an
- The Qur’an is a renewable reference that requires a contemporary reading and open-ended ijtihad
Grounding
- Supporting text: “Shahrur presents himself as a researcher in the Qur’an since 1970.”
Location of the Grounding in the Book
- Book: The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought.
- Location: in the first section of the book, within a statement about ongoing study
- Type of grounding: direct evidence.
- Verification marker: he began studying the Qur’an in 1970
- Reading note: the location is appropriate because it explicitly mentions the beginning of Qur’an study in 1970, which is direct support for the atom.
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 reading: the formulation above is an analytical summary, and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted word for word.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is methodological; it regulates the method of reading or inference followed by the book.
Related to
Editorial Note
This is a general entry for the project of contemporary reading.