Direct Meaning
In this witness, the definition is not limited to describing the verses as fixed; it also links them to the Mother of the Book and mentions that they encompass limits, commands, prohibitions, and obligations.
What Is Attributed to Shahrur
He says: “The muhkamm: the fixed verses that represent the Mother of the Book and encompass limits, commands, prohibitions, and obligations.” Thus, in this passage he establishes the link between the Muhkamm and the Mother of the Book, and identifies the areas encompassed by these verses.
Atlas Explanation
The statement is definitional: it brings together three points in a single witness—fixity, representing the Mother of the Book, and the muhkamm’s encompassing limits, commands, prohibitions, and obligations. The atom does not add a criterion from outside the text for determining which verses fall under this description. For the broader conceptual context, see The Book, the Qur’an, and the Mother of the Book; for the book context, see Muhammad Shahrur, Drying Up the Springs of Terrorism.
Limited Inference
The definition can be understood as linking the muhkamm with the Mother of the Book in Shahrur’s thought, because the text itself makes it representative of the Mother of the Book. However, this atom alone does not establish the implications of that in specific questions; a related reading path is The verses of fighting and the Muhammadan narratives do not legislate absolute violence.
Open Question and Limits of the Evidence
The witness alone does not explain how every muhkamm verse is determined in practice, nor does it establish that limits, commands, prohibitions, and obligations are an exclusive list of the muhkamm’s contents.
Drying Up the Springs of Terrorism · The verses of fighting and the Muhammadan narratives do not legislate absolute violence