What is meant
Interpretation, in Shahrur’s view, is not a general exegesis of the entire Qur’an; rather, it is the return of the verse to its objective truth or its theoretical rational law He reserves it for the ambiguous verses, not the decisive ones
The atom’s structure in the atlas
- Type of argument: interpretive
- Argument movement: confines interpretation to the ambiguous verses, not the decisive ones.
- Central terms: interpretation, the ambiguous verses, the decisive verses, objective truth.
- Degree of centrality: primary.
It establishes a rule for engaging with the text and prevents generalizing interpretation across all verses. It links understanding to the verse’s subject matter and its rational law, not to general explanation.
Links that help with reading
- [[sources/كتب/محمد-شحرور-ام-الكتاب-وتفصيلها|Muhammad Shahrur, Umm al-Kitab and Its Elaboration]]
- the contemporary reading method
- interpretation
- Qur’anic narrative falls within the epistemic dimension, not legislation
Basis
- Supporting text: «Interpretation, according to Shahrur, is the return of the verse to its objective truth or its theoretical rational law, and it is specific to the ambiguous verses, not the decisive ones».
Place of the basis in the book
- Book: Umm al-Kitab and Its Elaboration.
- Location: at the beginning of the book within the presentation of the relationship between the decisive and the ambiguous verses
- Type of basis: close witness.
- Marker that helps verification: the decisive verses were set against the ambiguous verses
- Reading note: this passage is suitable as evidence because it shows that the decisive verses provide the basis for dealing with the ambiguous verses, which supports restricting interpretation to its proper instances.
Degree of documentation
- 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 formulation 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 definitional; it sets out a meaning or conceptual distinction that Shahrur relies on in building the idea.
Related to
Editorial note
The atom defines the scope of interpretation and its limits.