Thesis Summary
Shahrur reclassifies the Book and the Mother of the Book so as to distinguish between them, making the Mother of the Book the decisive verses on which the structure of the text rests. In this way, the functions of the Qur’an are organized within a clear division that does not conflate the terms.
Foundational Atoms
- The Book and the Qur’an are distinct
- The Mother of the Book is the decisive verses
- The Qur’an is reclassified structurally
- The verses of the Mother of the Book explain the prohibitions
Place of Reliance within the Book
This structure appears in the first section of the book, where the distinction between the Book and the Qur’an is made and the division of the verses is explained, and then where the decisive verses are linked to the prohibitions and the detailed exposition.
Limits of the Reading
The argument here combines more than one passage into a single formulation, while each element remains tied to its context within the book.