Intended Meaning
Muhammad Shahrur criticizes the traditional explanations of invisible narratives such as al-Jassasah and the Dajjal, and he sees them as incompatible with reason and with the modern epistemic reality. Therefore, he calls for dealing with them as inherited interpretations that do not hold up before contemporary rational understanding.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Critical
- Argument movement: Inherited unseen narratives are presented to reason and reality, not to blind acceptance.
- Central terms: al-Jassasah, the Dajjal, reason, reality, tradition.
- Degree of centrality: Secondary.
This atom shifts the discussion from accepting the narrative to testing it rationally and epistemically. It is part of a broader critique of traditional explanations that do not withstand modern understanding.
Reading Aids
- Muhammad Shahrur: Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism
- Critique of Tradition, Jurisprudence, and Exegesis
Basis
- Supporting text: “He rejects traditional explanations of the unseen, such as al-Jassasah and the Dajjal, and sees them as clashing with reason and with the modern epistemic reality.”
Basis Location in the Book
- Book: Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism.
- Location: In the final section of the book, when discussing and critiquing strange hadiths.
- Type of basis: Close witness.
- Verification marker: myths and strange reports
- Reading note: The location is appropriate because it describes such reports as strange tales and myths that astonish ordinary people, and it is close to the rejection of their traditional explanations.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: Directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom relies on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Reading limits: The wording above is an analytical summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted textually.
Editorial Note
It is classified with atoms of critique of tradition, not with atoms of direct creed.