Meaning
Shahrur holds that Qur’anic narratives are connected to human freedom, responsibility, and cognitive development; thus, the human being is an agent in history, not governed by a fixed determinism. For him, the Qur’anic account opens a space for choice and the making of destiny, rather than surrender to rigid fatalism.
Structure of the Atom in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Evaluative
- Argument movement: The human being is an agent in history because they are free and responsible.
- Central terms: the human being, history, freedom, responsibility, cognitive development.
- Degree of centrality: Foundational.
The atom assigns the human being the position of agent rather than passive recipient, linking history to choice and responsibility, and making Qur’anic narratives a horizon for understanding human initiative and its transformation over time.
Links That Aid Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur, Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 1
- Freedom, the Human Being, and Responsibility
- the human being
- history
- freedom
Evidence
- Supporting text: “It links Qur’anic narratives to human freedom, responsibility, and cognitive development, and makes the human being an agent in history rather than subject to a fixed determinism.”
Location of the Evidence in the Book
- Book: Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 1.
- Location: At the beginning of the book, in its presentation of the human being’s becoming within the dynamism of history.
- Type of evidence: Closely related witness.
- Verification aid: the human being’s dialectic with the human being
- Reading note: The passage serves as evidence because it connects the understanding of narratives with the human being’s dialectic with other human beings and with nature, and is close to the atom.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: Directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom rests on an explicit witness close to the formulation of the claim.
- Limits of reading: The wording above is an analytical summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted textually.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is declarative: it establishes a conclusion upon which the subsequent course of the argument depends.
Related to
Note for the Reader
The atom shifts the center of gravity from determinism to action.