Meaning
The author holds that many differences among the readings do not go back to an intended original in the text, but may be scribal corruptions that arose after codification because of consonantal differentiation and dotting. Nevertheless, he does not deny the existence of other differences among the readings that do not affect meaning.
Structure of the Atom in the Atlas
- Type of argument: critical.
- Argument movement: casts doubt on the origin of some differences among the readings.
- Central terms: differences among the readings, scribal corruption, consonantal differentiation.
- Degree of centrality: secondary.
It distinguishes between a valid difference and an incidental difference, proposing that some distinctions arose after codification rather than in the original text as received.
Links That Aid Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence
- Critique of Heritage, Jurisprudence, and Exegesis
- the Book Is a Dual Structure of the Precise and the Ambiguous
Basis
- Supporting text: “He questions many differences among the readings and considers some of them more likely to be scribal corruptions or effects of consonantal differentiation and dotting after codification, while acknowledging the existence of differences that do not alter meaning.”
Degree of Documentation
- Level: directly documented.
- Meaning of the level: the atom is based on explicit evidence closely corresponding 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 evidence is quoted word for word.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is declarative: it establishes a conclusion on which the subsequent course of the argument relies.
Related to
Note to the Reader
The atom undertakes a historical critique of the transmission of the text.