What Shahrur Says
Shahrur gives a direct definition: “Interpretation is the correspondence of the Qur’anic report with objective truth and reason.” In describing a verse as belonging to the ambiguous Qur’an and as “in need of interpretation,” he explains: “Interpretation is the correspondence of the verse with reason and truth—that is, the objective truthfulness and rationality of the report.”
Atlas Explanation
The criterion here is twofold: correspondence with objective truth and correspondence with reason. Thus, interpretation does not mean merely selecting a possible meaning for the text; rather, it means testing the Qur’anic report by these two criteria, as the quoted wording puts it.
Synthetic Conclusion
The statement connects “the correspondence of the verse” with “the truthfulness of the report”; it therefore presents interpretation as a criterion concerning the truthfulness of the report in terms of its objectivity and rationality, rather than as a general label for every interpretation.
Open Question and Limit of the Evidence
This witness alone does not specify how correspondence with objective truth and reason is applied in particular cases, nor what procedures determine whether it has been achieved.
Reading Links
- Muhammad Shahrur The Book and the Qur’an
- The Book and the Qur’an and the Mother of the Book
- Interpretation
- Interpretation as a criterion for matching the report with reality and reason
The Book and the Qur’an · Interpretation as a criterion for matching the report with reality and reason