Intended Meaning
The author holds that ijtihad is carried out in the verses of the message, that is, the Mother of the Book and the definitive verses, because they are the field of direct understanding and derivation. But the verses of prophethood, or the ambiguous verses, are not a field for ijtihad; rather, they are a field for interpretation.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: methodological
- Argument movement: confines ijtihad to the definitive verses and leaves the ambiguous verses to interpretation
- Key terms: ijtihad, definitive verses, interpretation, ambiguous verses.
- Degree of centrality: central.
This atom defines the place of scholarly work within the text, making ijtihad belong to one field while preventing it from expanding into another. It is thus a methodological control tool for the reader’s relationship to the Qur’anic structure.
Links to help with reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: The Mother of the Book and Its Elaboration
- the methodology of contemporary reading
- interpretation
Basis
- Supporting text: «Ijtihad pertains to the verses of the message / the Mother of the Book / the definitive verses, whereas interpretation pertains to the verses of prophethood / the ambiguous verses».
Place of the Basis in the Book
- Book: The Mother of the Book and Its Elaboration.
- Location: in the first section of the book
- Type of basis: close evidence.
- Verification marker: ijtihad pertains to the verses of the message
- Reading note: this location supports the atom because it links ijtihad to the verses of the message and the definitive verses, and to nothing else.
Documentation Grade
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom relies on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: the wording above is an analytical summary and is not treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is transmitted word for word.
Function in the Book
Its function here is definitional; it fixes a meaning or conceptual distinction on which Shahrur relies in building the idea.
Editorial note
It organizes the distribution of functions between ijtihad and interpretation.