Approaching The Qur'an Through The Lens of Muhammad Shahrur: A Critical Analysis

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 For Shaḥrūr, past interpretations are outdated and, hence, are no longer adequate.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end, its revelations, and teachings turn into historical perceptions with the passing of time, and must eventually be superseded by the universal concerns of all humankind.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.