What Shahrur Says
He says: “Whereas ijtihad lies in elaborating these decisive texts through the other verses.” Thus, the locus of ijtihad identified by the statement is the elaboration of the decisive texts through other verses.
Atlas Explanation
The statement does not define the decisive text independently, but links it to the process of elaboration. It is therefore read as a specific methodological principle: when addressing these decisive texts, ijtihad is directed toward clarifying them through other verses, rather than being satisfied with the decisive text in isolation.
Qualified Conclusion
The statement’s restriction of the field of ijtihad to elaboration indicates that the basis of the decisive text is not the subject of the ijtihad intended here. This is an inference from the direction of the statement, not a verbatim quotation asserting a total exclusion of ijtihad from the basis of the decisive text.
Open Question and Limits of the Evidence
The witness alone does not explain how the other verses are selected, how apparent conflict between them is resolved, or what the precise practical limits of ijtihad are. Nor does it independently establish a definition of the “decisive text.”
For connected reading: Muhammad Shahrur: Um al-Kitab and Its Articulation، the methodology of the contemporary reading، the decisive text.