What is meant
Shahrur sees the text as the highest reference in understanding, and holds that grammatical and morphological rules may not precede it or govern its meaning. For him, grammar and morphology are subordinate to the text, and the Qur’an must be understood through it, not measured against rules that preceded it.
The atom’s structure in the atlas
- Type of argument: methodological
- Argument movement: it places the text above the grammatical rule in interpreting meaning.
- Central terms: text, grammatical rule, morphology, authority.
- Degree of centrality: central.
It makes the text a governing principle and makes linguistic rules serve it rather than precede it. In this way, it ties direct understanding to the text and prevents meaning from being suspended on a structure that predates the Qur’an.
Links that help with reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: Toward New Principles for Islamic Jurisprudence
- the contemporary reading methodology
- The hijab is understood as clothing that does not conform to common traditions
Basis
- Supporting text: «He rejects giving grammatical and morphological rules precedence over the text, and affirms that authority belongs to the text, not to the rule».
Degree of documentation
- Level: structurally documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom rests on more than one witness or on a clear combination of closely related statements.
- Reason for classification: it is supported by three explicit statements that place the text before the rule.
- Limits of reading: the formulation above is an analytical summary, and is not treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted word for word.
Its function in the book
Its function here is argumentative; it supports a larger conclusion in the chapter or prepares for it.
Related to
Editorial note
The basis focuses on the priority of the text, not on the negation of language.