What is Meant
Muhammad Shahrur holds that inherited Islamic jurisprudence is not the Sharia itself, but a human, historical understanding of it. He thereby distinguishes between the fixed divine text and the changing traditional understanding, and treats old jurisprudence as an initial reading of the text, not as its synonym
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Critical
- Argument movement: It strips inherited jurisprudence of any claim to coincide with the Sharia and returns it to the position of a historical reading.
- Key terms: inherited jurisprudence, Sharia, historical understanding, ijtihad.
- Degree of centrality: Primary.
This atom places traditional jurisprudence within its historical context instead of elevating it to the rank of binding text. It is one of the most important keys to Shahrur’s critique of heritage because it separates revelation from its interpretation.
Links for Reading Support
- Principles of jurisprudence and the critique of inherited jurisprudence
- Critique of heritage, jurisprudence, and exegesis
- Traditional jurisprudence
Basis
- Supporting text: «Inherited Islamic jurisprudence is not the Sharia itself, but a human historical understanding of it».
Place of Basis in the Book
- Book: Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence.
- Location: Early in the book, within the distinction between Sharia and jurisprudence.
- Type of basis: Close evidence.
- Verification marker: Islamic jurisprudence is human, historical
- Reading note: This passage serves as valid support because it explicitly states that jurisprudence is human and historical, not the Sharia itself, and it is very close to the atom.
Documentation Level
- Level: Structurally documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom relies on more than one witness or on a clear synthesis of closely related phrases.
- Reason for classification: The passages state directly that jurisprudence is a human, historical understanding.
- Limits of the 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 fixes a meaning or conceptual distinction on which Shahrur relies in building the idea.
Related to
Editorial Note
The analytical formulation describes the position of inherited jurisprudence within history, whereas the witness remains the basis for direct documentation.