Intended Meaning
Muhammad Shahrur holds that the verse, “So cut off their hands,” does not indicate the literal amputation of the hand. He places the verse within a broader field of punishments and meanings, and does not regard it as an explicit text commanding the severing of a limb.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Interpretive
- Movement of the argument: It understands cutting as not being literal amputation.
- Key terms: theft verse, “So cut off their hands,” amputation.
- Degree of centrality: Primary.
It prevents a literal reading of the punishment and makes the wording open to more than one meaning, thereby easing the direct obligation of the inherited understanding.
Links That Help Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: Toward New Principles for Islamic Jurisprudence
- Legislation, Limits, and Prohibition
- The Light Verse Sets a Minimum for Dress and Leaves the Rest to Custom
Grounding
- Supporting text: “He sees that ‘So cut off their hands’ does not entail literal amputation.”
Location of the Grounding in the Book
- Book: Toward New Principles for Islamic Jurisprudence.
- Location: in the first section of the book
- Type of grounding: close evidence.
- Marker that helps verification: “And suddenly we are faced with a sweeping torrent of opinions”
- Reading note: the passage discusses the term “cut off” and denies that literal amputation is entailed, which is a clear close grounding for the atom.
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 transmitted word for word.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is argumentative; it supports a larger conclusion in the chapter or prepares the way for it.
Related To
Editorial Note
The atom repositions the meaning of cutting within a broader semantic horizon.