Summary of the Thesis
Shahrur makes interpretation a criterion for the conformity of report with reality and reason. Interpretation is not an arbitrary transfer of meaning, but rather an examination of the relationship of the text to objective truth and to reason at the same time.
Foundational Atoms
Point of Reliance within the Book
This meaning is drawn from the later passages of the Book and the Qur’an when it discusses interpretation as a tool for verifying the truth of a report and its coherence.
Limits of the Reading
This reading is limited to the criterion of conformity as Shahrur presents it, and does not enter into discussion of examples outside the adopted text. It is a concise interpretive summary.