What is Meant
The author sees human legislation as the variable dimension because it is tied to time and place, and therefore accepts change according to circumstances. It is contrasted, in his conception, with the fixed realm of prohibitions, values, and limits.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Distinctive
- Movement of the argument: It separates the fixed value-based and limit-based dimension from the variable legislative dimension.
- Key terms: the fixed, the variable, human legislation, time and place.
- Degree of centrality: Primary.
This atom establishes the binary of the fixed and the variable, and gives human legislation flexibility linked to time and place within fixed limits that do not change.
Links for Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: A Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation
- Legislation, Limits, and Prohibition
Basis
- Supporting text: “He distinguishes between the fixed and the variable: the fixed is prohibitions, values, and limits, whereas the variable is human legislation tied to time and place.”
Degree of Documentation
- Level: Directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom rests on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: The formulation above is an analytical summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted word for word.
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 essential for understanding his legislative renewal.