Thesis Summary
Shahrur holds that inherited fiqh is not equivalent to the Sharia itself, but rather a human, historical understanding of the text. Reconsidering fiqh is therefore not an attack on the original source, but a review of the method of understanding in a way that accords with the fixedness of the text and the changing nature of reading.
Related Verses
Foundational Atoms
- Inherited fiqh is a historical understanding
- The Qur’anic text is fixed and understanding is variable
- Prohibition is God’s right alone
Place of Support Within the Book
This idea appears at the beginning of the book, within the distinction between Sharia and fiqh, and then connects to the discussion of the limits of ijtihad and the domain of prohibition.
Scope of Reading
This summary is a synthetic condensation of a meaning repeated in more than one place. It does not deny the existence of earlier juristic efforts; rather, it places them within history, not above the text.