Statement Attributed to Shahrur
Shahrur presents prophethood and messengerhood as “two basic types within revelation.” In this division, he associates prophethood with knowledge, reports, and the Qur’an, and associates messengerhood with rulings, obligations, and the Mother of the Book.
Defining the Scope of Messengerhood
Shahrur elaborates that the “Book of Messengerhood” comprises “the rules of conscious human conduct,” distinguishing between what is lawful and unlawful, and between “do” and “do not.” In the same passage, he defines the Mother of the Book as the collection of decisive verses and connects it with the body of rulings conveyed to the Prophet.
Limits of This Atom
This atom establishes the brief functional distinction between prophethood and messengerhood in this presentation; it does not encompass the other subdivisions of Shahrur’s classification of revelation or his interpretive arguments. For connected reading: Muhammad Shahrur: The Book and the Qur’an, The Book, the Qur’an, and the Mother of the Book, Prophethood, Mother of the Book, The Qur’an is guidance for all people.