Abstract:
“Read the Qurʾān as if it was revealed last night”, is a statement said and endorsed
by the Syrian academic Muḥammad Shaḥrūr (1938-2019). Distinct from the long-established theory that to understand the Qurʾān is to first learn about the culture in
which it was revealed, Shaḥrūr’s main thesis in approaching “God’s Book” deviates
from the norm by arguing for a contemporary reading (qirāʾa muʿāṣira) of this Holy
Scripture, in a manner by which the reader must approach the text from his own
historical position. For Shaḥrūr, past interpretations are outdated and, hence, are no
longer adequate. In his view, counting on medieval dogmas and solutions decided upon
during previous eras holds the Muslims back from reaching real reform and progress.
He emphasizes the authority of one’s own rational and critical thinking, as against
“borrowed authority” and the inherited traditional tafsīr or fiqh works (musallamāt
mawrūtha) of medieval Islam, irrespective of the level of subjectivity or unfamiliarity.
He further argues that even the Prophets’ prominence is solely derived from their own
rational judgements (ijtihād) of God’s objective truth, and maintains that each prophet
taught the “universal message” of God in relation to the particular concerns of his
people at that time. Accordingly, he reasons that once the prophetic era comes to an
end, its revelations, and teachings turn into historical perceptions with the passing of
time, and must eventually be superseded by the universal concerns of all humankind.
Moreover, he adds that approaching the Qurʾān should be based on modern sciences,
such as civil engineering, physics, mathematics, as well as Western philosophies.
Shaḥrūr is not the first intellectual in history to believe in the universal epistemology of
Islam, and like other Muslim reformers before him, he strived to combine Qurʾanic with
modern worldviews. However, it is Shaḥrūr’s “unorthodox” approach to the Qurʾān that
differentiates him from his earlier counterparts. He breaks with the norms of tradition
and gives new meanings for the divine words and consequently reaches a new sense of
the Qurʾanic verses. Unlike traditional exegetes, non-synonymity, and non-abrogation
are at the core of his methodology. His “unorthodoxy” can further be illustrated by his
theory of “God’s limits” (ḥudūd- upper and lower boundaries) in relation to Islamic law,
within which, according to him, societies can create their own rules and laws. These
limits, Shaḥrūr argues, are eternal, immutable, and absolute whereas human legislations
(the flexibility within God’s boundaries) are relative and subject to change. With his
theory of limits, he revises Islamic law and establishes new codes of practice with
respect to family law and ʿibādāt rituals. Furthermore, in Shaḥrūr’s view, ethics must be
prioritized over rituals and the strict adherence to sharīʿa law. Like his Western counterparts, Shaḥrūr considers Islamic law as ineffective and deficient. He calls for the
obliteration of the Sharīʿa and its replacement with Western/ civil legislations and
institutions. The significance of his argument can be illustrated in years of public
debates regarding the verbatim execution of sharīʿa law in Muslim countries.
Muḥammad Shaḥrūr’s controversial works arouse the mind to intense scrutiny
specifically when certain ideological dilemmas present themselves. There is no doubt
that Shaḥrūr’s “unorthodox” works challenged the authority of traditional Islamic
institutions. Alarmed with the popularity of Shaḥrūr’s works, and troubled that it would
become an influential source, a large number of traditional ‘ulamā’ and fuqahā’ refuted
his ideas in various ways, however, not effectively. In the sense that, contrary to their
intention, Shaḥrūr’s books became even more popular among Muslim readers. And
despite the fact that further publications by Shaḥrūr were banned in certain Arab
countries, they kept in circulation. He gained publicity through Syrian and Emirati TV
interviews and was awarded the U.A.E. “Sheikh Zayed Award” in 2017.
Shaḥrūr’s critics approached his work from a purely religious and emotional
perspective. The purpose of this study, however, is to evaluate Shaḥrūr’s theories and
arguments from a secular standpoint, try to allocate hidden objectives /intentions, and to
assess whether his method fits in line with this new group of approaches which some
revisionist historians claim should be considered as an approach in Historiography. This
thesis intends to demonstrate that, despite the fact that the Qurʾān’s essential message is
active piety where all narratives fall under the categorization of moral choices, referring
back to the historical context in which the Qurʾān was revealed is crucial to
understanding the divine text, and neglecting it is a kind of reductionism. This study
also aims at proving that the Shaḥrūr phenomenon is not original, and that his notion of
the universality of the Qurʾān along with his theory of limits, despite his progressive
intentions are not realistic, and embody as Yūsuf al-Ṣayḍāwī said: “bayḍat al-dīk” (a
rooster’s egg).
This thesis utilizes a descriptive-historical research methodology. It is a systematic
analysis and description of Muḥammad Shaḥrūr’s works and theoretical conclusions.
The purpose is to provide a detailed representation of Shaḥrūr’s ideas as a means of
generating hypotheses and pinpointing areas of controversy.