What is meant
Those in authority are the representatives of the legislative authority and obeying them here means obeying the legal system they represent, not obeying them as individuals in themselves From this it is understood that the legislative sphere is based on representation and guardianship, not on individual sanctity
The atom’s structure in the atlas
- Type of argument: political
- Movement of the argument: it makes those in authority representatives of the legislative authority, not sacred persons.
- Central terms: those in authority, legislative authority, obedience, representation.
- Degree of centrality: foundational.
It links obedience to the legal institution, not to individuals, thereby separating political authority from personal sanctity and supporting a civil conception of power.
Links that help with reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation
- The Civil State, Religion, and Power
Basis
- Supporting text: «Those in authority: representatives of the legislative authority».
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 the reading: the wording above is an analytical summary, and is not treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is transmitted textually.
Its function in the book
Its function here is definitional; it establishes a meaning or conceptual distinction on which Shahrur relies in constructing the idea.
Editorial note
This atom is central to the topic of the state and authority because it defines the meaning of obedience and its limits.