Modern Qur’anic Hermeneutics: A Case Study on the Controversy of

Shahrur’s thought of Religious Reform in Media

Fasjud Syukroni

and Kusmana

Faculty of Ushuluddin, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta, Indonesia

Keywords: Modern Qur’anic Hermeneutics, Renewal of thought, Shahrur, and Media

Abstract: This article discusses the controversy of Muhammad Shahrur’s reform ideas documented in media.

Shahrur’s proposal of modern Qur’anic hermeneutics which mainly falls on two points, documented off and

online attracts different responses. Shahrur believes that there is no synonymise words in Arabic language

of the Qur’an, and the second, Muhammad PBUH has roles and positions either as ordinary, prophet or as

the messenger. Using descriptive-analytic method, this study discusses how scholars responed over

Shahrur’s proposal of religious reform which are circulated in media. Shahrur also utilizes information

technology by opening a question and answer column at www.shahrur.org as medium to discuss different

kinds of issues. The study find that reader of Shahrur’s works can be grouped into two mind groups; those

who appreciate Shahrur’s reform and the other are those who decline his modern hermeneutic reading of the

Qur’an and the Sunnah.

1 INTRODUCTION

Muhammad Shahrur was a Muslim Reformist

thinker, born on March 11, 1938 in Damascus,

Syria. His father named Dayb Ibn Dayb and his

mother Shiddiqah Bint Shalih Filyun. Shahrur

married ‘Azi>zah. From his marriage he was blessed

with five children. His first child, T{a>riq, had

followed and developed his father's modern

hermeneutics method in reading the sources of Islam

through contemporary reading, by writing a book

“‘an al-Rūh wa al-Nafs wa al-Ma’rifah fi al-Tanzīl

al-Ḥakīm: Qirā’ah Mu’āṣirah (2018)”.

Shahrur continued his studies in civil engineering

in Saratow, near Moscow, the Soviet Union (now

Russia), in March 1957 on a local government

scholarship until he obtained a diploma in civil

engineering in 1964. Subsequently, in 1968 he was

sent to the University College Ireland in Dublin to

obtain a master’s degree and doctorate in the

specialization of Soil Mechanics and Foundation, to

obtain a Master of Science degree in 1969 and a

doctorate in 1972.

Although the Shahrur study has a civil

engineering background, his attention is very high to

study Islamic studies. Starting in 1972, Shahrur

intensely read books and discussed his ideas with

colleagues. In 1980, precisely during the month of

Ramadan, Shahrur managed to find a distinction

between “al-‘amal or ‘amala” which has meaning in

general action (work), and “al-fi‘l or fa’ala” which

refers to the meaning of specific actions (do).

The first person Shahrur invited to discuss his

ideas about the meaning of the word al-Kitab was, a

linguist Ja’far Dik al-Bab. The discussion lasted

long enough, between 1980-1982. Precisely in May

1982, Shahrur managed to find two important

elements of al-Mushaf al-Sharif, namely the book

which has subjective elements, and al-Qur’an which

contains the element of objective truth. Shahrur felt

very surprised and happy. He also talked with his

family. His father was the first person to understand

the concept, he was very interested and asked some

questions that were quite difficult to answer at that

time. Then not only that, Shahrur also succeeded in

placing the significance of the meaning of al-inzāl

and al-tanzīl, the distinction between al-imām al-

mubīn and al-lauḥ al-maḥfūẓ, al-islām and al-īmān.

Shahrur also succeeded in placing tartil meaning in

al-Muzammil: 4 “auzid‘ alaihi wa rattil al-Qur’āna

tartīla”.

Tartil is a derivation of the word ratala which

means composing and publishing. According to

Shahrur, it is impossible for the verse to be

understood with the meaning of beautifying it in

Syukroni, F. and Kusmana, .

Modern Qur’anic Hermeneutics: A Case Study on the Controversy of Shahrur’s thought of Religious Reform in Media.

DOI: 10.5220/0009938419992005

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Recent Innovations (ICRI 2018), pages 1999-2005

ISBN: 978-989-758-458-9

1999

reading of the Qur’an (ta’annuq fi al-tilāwah).

Because the following verse (inna sanulqi ‘alaika

qaulan tsaqila) is completely unrelated to

beautifying the reading. The sentence of “qaulan

tsaqila (heavy words)” is more correctly interpreted

as a difficulty in understanding the contents of the

Qur’an. Thus, the verse “wa rattil al-Qur’ana

tartila” must be interpreted in the attitude of

Shahrur, namely compiling the verses of the Qur’an

which have the same topic, and sort it so that it is

easy to understand the content. At the same time

Shahrur did not have a computer, so all his hard

work was written by himself in paper sheets, and

told his son to keep the manuscript. Then Shahrur

bought one computer and started the writing process

again, it was completed in 1987. Only in 1989, all of

the texts were corrected in the final. Shortly

thereafter, the first magnum opus book was

published in 1990.

In general, Shahrur’s works can be divided into

two groups of themes, namely about technique and

Islam. For the Islamic theme, Shahrur included a

Muslim thinker who was productive in pouring his

Islamic ideas into an article, in the form of books, -

just mentioning a few of his books - like the “al-

Kitāb wa al-Qur’ān: Qirā’ah Mu’āṣirah (1990)”

which underwent a revision, in 2011 was published

with the title al-Kitāb wa al-Qur’ān: Ru’yah

Jadīdah, Naḥwa Uṣūl Jadīdah li al-Fiqh al-Islāmi:

Fiqh al-Mar’ah (2000) revised, reissued in 2018

with the title Naḥwa Uṣūl Jadīdah li al-Fiqh al-

Islami: Usus Tashrī‘ al-Aḥwāl al-Shakhṣiyyah, al-

Islām wa al-Insān: Min Natā’ij al-Qirā’ah al-

Mu’āṣirah (2016), this book was translated in

English under the title “Islam and Huminity:

Consequences of a Contemporary Reading (2018)”

by George Stergios with a foreword by Dale F.

Eickelman. Shahrur’s book has won the 2017 Sheikh

Zayed Book Award in the category “Contribution to

the Development of Nation,” an indication of it’s

continuing relevance to contemporary issues.

And the writing in the form of articles which can

be seen on the official website;

http://www.shahrour.org, twitter, facebook, and

others. For example, it can be seen on the

newsyrian.net web site, and abwa>b. Almost all the

themes of the discussion from the writings of the

Shahrur article are just a development or elaboration

further from the theme of the discussion in his book.

It’s just more contextual, because it is related to

various aspects of the reality of life.

Whenever a speaker at a scientific event, Shahrur

often spoke of the defeat of the Arab world over a

country as small as Israel, which occurred in 1967.

At that time Shahrur was 29 years old. Shortly after

the incident, he heard a Friday sermon delivered by

Imam Masjid, that “in fact we suffered defeat

because our women left home without head

coverings and open clothes”. On the same occasion,

there was one community group that said, “we lost

because we fasted Ramadan”. Commenting on the

case, according to Shahrur, Arab Muslims

experience a crisis or a problem of inequality in

thinking. At that time he was encouraged to express

his urgency in carrying out contemporary readings.

One of the starting points used as an answer to the

defeat of the Arab world is the attitude towards

tradition and modernity. Shahrur is a figure who

always emphasizes critical and proportional

thinking. For example, when a mufti said that “in

fact Islamic fiqh has successfully completed

hundreds of thousands of fiqh problems”. Then it is

not taken for granted as truth without evidence of a

clear and comprehensive construction of knowledge.

Shahrur also made a counter by asking

straightforwardly and critically, “have we all called

it a religious teaching that has a mercy character for

every human being?”

Through his comments, Shahrur stated that the

fundamental problem of Muslims now is that they

have left the Kitabullah, and cling to what the jurists

have said. As a scientist, Shahrur greatly appreciated

the hard work of the early thinkers, especially the

sect imam (imam mazhab). According to him, they

successfully interacted with religious sources well

for their era. Indeed, it is the followers of the Imam

of the School who often predicate as a freeze on the

understanding of the Islamic Shari’a, especially

towards the Qur’an, Sunnah, ijma‘, and qiyas (the

four components are also referred to as “sources of

law”). The discourse of religion becomes static,

what is used is the product of expert jurisprudence,

not all the examples that are in the Messenger of

Allah. For Shahrur, it is precisely we who have to

take responsibility for the problem of the reality of

the pace of life in which we live, not the people who

have held ijtihad in the first century and so on.

Because none of them said, that all his words and

statements were made equal to the sacred Qur’an.

But on the contrary, they have explained, that what

they say is the result of ijtihad products, and their

understanding in the context of the time that

surrounds them. Therefore according to Shahrur, we

are also obliged to do what they have done, namely

we do ijtihad as they do ijtihad.

ICRI 2018 - International Conference Recent Innovation

2000

2 METHOD

The methodology is the epistemology section

which examines the sequence of steps taken so that

the knowledge gained meets scientific

characteristics. Related to this, the methodology can

also be seen as part of the logic that examines the

proper rules of reasoning. Methodology is an

expression of how the mind works so that it becomes

directed, systematic, and objective.

This type of research is qualitative research,

which is research that intends to understand the

phenomenon of what is experienced by the subject

of the study (read: factual history), for example the

behavior of perception, motivation, actions, etc.

holistically, and by way of description in the form of

words and language, in a special natural context and

by utilizing various scientific methods. The

definition of qualitative research can be simplified as

research data that is not numerical, or cannot be

assumed. Because, in analyzing the data using

words. What is clear, the main nature of qualitative

research is to develop new concepts that are

fundamental and theoretical.

From the author’s observation, it appears that

quite a number of scholars are interested in

responding to Shahrur’s thinking. So, the study of it

is not new anymore. Already many thinkers are

peeling his thoughts from various perspectives.

However, those who tried to discuss the issue of

various debates that occurred between the pros and

cons of Shahrur’s thinking had not yet elaborated. In

the process of collecting data, writing this article

uses a literature study or text studies, whether in the

form of books, or articles and videos in the media as

the primary data source. After the data is collected,

the data is analyzed to get conclusions. The

analytical method used is descriptive analytical

method, which is a method that describes the

discussion then analyzed. Using descriptive-analytic

method, this study discusses how scholars responed

over Shahrur’s proposal of religious reform which

are circulated in media.

2.1 The Method of Shahrur’s Modern

Qur’anical Hermeneutics

One characteristic of Shahrur’s modern Qur’anic

hermeneutics is to gather verses from the Qur’an

that are still one topic or theme. Then the collection

of Qur’anic verses which are still related to one

object of the discussion is carefully analyzed using

the “awareness nothing similar in language” of the

Arabic language of the Qur’an, that the diction of

the Qur’an is so unique that it does not have

synonymity language. Because however, adheres to

the synonymity of language, making an important

thing from a language understanding to be

untouched and neglected, which results in the loss of

constructs of critical and philosophical religious

understanding.

Based on the principle above Shahrur chose the

Mu‘jam Maqāyis al-Lughah (Encyclopedia of

Language Standards) owned by Ibn al-Fris, to

support the projection of his Qur’anic study

methodology. Shahrur succeeded in distinguishing

the words “al-Kitāb” and “al-Qur’ān”, “al-Zikr”

and “al-Furqān”, “al-Sunnah” and “al-Hadīth”,

“al-Nabi” and “al-Rasūl”, “al-Nubuwwah” and

“al-Risalah”, “al-Muḥkamāt” and “al-

Mutashābihāt”, “al-Lauḥ al-Maḥfūẓ” and “al-Imām

al-Mubīn”, “al-Kitāb al-Mubīn” and “Kitāb

Mubīn”, “al-Islam” and “al-Imān”, “al-

Muharramāt” and “al-Manhiyāt”, “al-Nisā’” and

“al-Rijāl”, “Kataba” and “Farad}a”, “Kufr” and

“Syirk”, “Waṣiat” and “Warith”, “al-Ab” and “al-

Wālid”, “al-Umm” and “al-Wālidah”, “Ijtanibū”

and “Lā Taqrabū”, “al-Israf” and “al-Tabżīr”, “al-

qada’” and “al-qadar”, “al-Naba”” and “al-

Khabar”.

Shahrur’s book that specifically contains the

principles of modern hermeneutics is, “Dalīl al-

Qirā’ah al-Mu‘asirah li al-Tanzīl al-Hakīm: al-

Manhaj wa al-Muṣṭalaḥāt (2016)”. This book can

also be referred to as “a contemporary dictionary of

terms”. Because, Shahrur explained more than

eighty words in al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf.

Modern Hermeneutics initiated by Shahrur is a

methodological offer in understanding the primary

Islamic books, namely the Qur’an and Sunnah. This

Shahrur methodology is supported by two basic

aspects, namely belief and thought; in it includes

philosophical, linguistic and Islamic law aspects. For

example, Shahrur clings to his principle, that al-

Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf is “kalāmullāh”. As for the

objective reality of life - both related to nature and

humans - is the “kalimātullāh” (read: the existing

reality). Only through “kalimātullāh” we can

understand “kalāmullāh” well. It’s just that we need

to keep in mind, our understanding of the natural

legal system and humans is subject to the context of

development, from “conditions of process” to

“conditions to” (becoming). Therefore, all our

understanding of “kalāmullāh” is manicured and

always develops accepting change, in contrast to

“kalāmullāh” itself, which is constant as a text

(Muh}ammad Shah}ru>r, 2008, 2016).

Modern Qur’anic Hermeneutics: A Case Study on the Controversy of Shahrur’s thought of Religious Reform in Media

2001

Shahrur is also principled, that the important key

to understanding al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf is actually

inside (internal), it does not need to bring things

from outside, because the key is not outside. As an

objective reality in nature and humans which

contains the secrets of the key to understanding it is

automatically inside (internal). Based on this

principle attitude, Shahrur addressed the Kitābullāh

as understanding the structure of the human body.

Because both have the same accuracy and detail.

Every member of the human body has their

respective roles, duties and functions. Likewise with

al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf, each branch has its own role

and function of knowledge (Muammad Sharr,

2015).

The main principles of modern hermeneutics in

interacting understand the source of religion; 1).

Kitābullāh as the primary source. Never assume the

Kitābullāh is secondary. 2). The Book of Allah who

controls the adth, not the adth that becomes the

power and judge of the Book of Allah. 3). All

adths other than those related to the moral system

(which actually develop and duplicate the moral

system in the Kitābullāh), and other than the hadiths

related to the rites (such as prayer, zakat, fasting and

ḥajj) are actually ijtihād from the Prophet that are

relative and not final. So that it can be read again, or

amended. In other words, hadith besides the two

things above are the “qānūn madani” (civil law) the

Prophet used in his era in the Arabian peninsula. 4).

Applying the principle “the text of divine verses

interprets one another” consistently. The

application of the method “text of divine verses

interprets one another” so that the product of

interpretation is more objective or minimizes

subjectivity. Let the verses of the Qur’an talk about

themselves “al-isṭinṭāq”, we as readers or reviewers

just catch the nomena (essence) behind the existing

phenomenon (structure). And no less important for

reading supports the spirit of objectivity, it is

necessary to apply the reading principle “naẓariyah

al-nuẓm” (the theory or principle of reading the text

by observing the context of the language system that

matches the text structure “siyāq al-kalām”).

3 RESPONSE ON SHAHRUR’S

MODERN QUR’ANIC

HERMENEUTICS: PROS AND

CONS

Shahrur’s first book “al-Kitāb wa al-Qur’ān”

was published in Arabic in Damascus and Beirut in

1990. The original edition was quickly sold out,

requiring a reprinting three months later. The

modern Qur’anic hermeneutic method contained in

the book “al-Kitāb wa al-Qur’ān” makes its name

famous in the world of Islamic thought. The book

was written for a long time, which is 20 years, about

800 pages. Because, immediately received a

response from religious experts and jurists.

Apparently Shahrur chose not to respond too often,

so as not to waste energy and time, even though

sometimes Shahrur responded. Shahrur continued to

work, criticisms from religious experts and jurists

did not make him stop to write his ideas regarding

modern hermeneutics (Muh}ammad Shah}ru>r,

1996). Shahrur also utilizes information technology

that is increasingly rapid, making various media

such as Facebook and the Website to spread his

thoughts widely and at the same time invite

discussion by opening questions and criticisms

against him.

Just because Shahrur expressed the main points

of his thoughts in reinterpreting the divine verses in

al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf, Shahrur was often reviled,

blasphemed with harsh words, such as the devil, the

dajjal, the infidel. There are quite a number of

articles uploaded intentionally on the internet, with

the aim of inviting Muslims to stay away from and

be aware of Shahrur’s perverse and misleading

thoughts, far from Islam, the “sunnah destroyer” or

“mukir al-sunnah”. Among them: the article

uploaded on 08-08-2004, 10:05 PM entitled “al-

Taḥżīr min al-Ḍāl Munkir al-Sunnah Muḥammad

Shaḥrūr”, which means “Alert from the

Misdirection of the ‘Sunnah Rejection’ Muammad

Sharr”. Articles uploaded on 03-06-2008, 11:29

AM. by Mustafa on the Website Muntadayāt

Bawābah al-‘Arab - al-Muntadayāt al-Syar’iyyah –

Muntadā al-‘Ulūm al-Islamiyyah al-Mutakhaṣiṣah

entitled “al-Radd ‘ala Ba‘di Kitabat Munkir al-

Sunnah Muhammad Shahrur”, Which means

“Criticism of Some of the Books of ‘Sunnah

Rejection’ Muhammad Shahrur”. The same-tone

article was also uploaded on 01-11-2010, entitled

“Dr. Shaḥrūr: Ankara al-Hadīth al-Nabawi….wa al-

Jins bayna al-‘Uzzāb Ḥalāl”, which means “Dr.

Shahrur: has denied the Prophet’s Hadith...and

having sex with an unmarried person is

permissible”.

Still in the same tone, in another article uploaded

more recently on 04-05-2016, 09:49 PM., Written

with the title “Taḥżīr min Fikr al-Murtad

Muḥammad Shaḥrūr”, which means “Watch Out

from the Thought of an Apostate Muhammad

Shahrur”. There is also an article entitled “Iḥżarū

ICRI 2018 - International Conference Recent Innovation

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al-Mad‘u Dr. Muḥammad Shaḥrūr.... Ya Banāt wa

Ya Syabāb”, means “Be careful of the Da’wah of

Dr. Muhammad Shahrur, Young Woman and

Youth”. According to the author, the articles on the

website were too hasty and rash in accusing Shahrur.

One of the reasons is, reading the book of Shahrur

partially.

Likewise, the counter view came from Syauq

Ab Khall and Gazi al-Taubah. According to both

of them, the whole offer of Shahrur’s thoughts is

deviant and heretical. His works did not provide a

solution for the stagnation of Islamic thought,

instead destroying all the foundations and pillars of

Islam. The perspective of contemporary reading of

Shahrur can “tear down or destroy the sunnah”.

Because, Shahrur rejected the position of the Sunnah

as interpretation, taqyid and detail on the Qur’an.

Whereas, based on Surat al-Hasyr verse 7, Muslims

are required to take and practice the sunnah.

Understanding the Qur’an without going through the

hadith will produce strange interpretations. Maybe,

after destroying and shifting it from a position as one

of the basic sources of the Shari’ah, slowly Shahrur

will begin to destroy the Qur’an (Syauq Ab Khall,

1990), (Gāzī al-Taubah, 2012).

So, Wah}bah al-Zuh{aili in Studium Generale on

Islamic Response to various Contemporary

Problems, in the IAIN Sunan Kalijaga Postgraduate

Program, May 2001, said that Shahrur was “ḍāll wa

muḍill” (heretical and misleading). Due to, not

mastering Arabic, lack of understanding of the

proposals of jurisprudence, and not having adequate

knowledge of classical Islamic discourse. Shahrur is

also accused of being a person who often misreads

divine verses.

In short, the view of the people that contradicts

contemporary hermeneutics initiated by Shahrur is

about the interpretation products that are considered

deviant, strange and different from the existing and

developing interpretations. According to them,

contemporary hermeneutics like allowing khamr

(that’s right, Shahrur doesn’t say “haram” to khamr,

but is limited to “naha”. That is, for cases of

anesthesia before doing surgery for example, alcohol

may be used, while for drunk, it is not allowed.

“Khamr” to get drunk is in the category “iṡm bi gair

al-ḥaq” as based on QS. al-A’raf: 33, then this is

haram. The khamr for anesthesia before performing

the operation is “iṡm bi gair al-ḥaq”, so for that case

it is permissible, because there are benefits as based

on QS. al-Baqarah: 216. Foresight like this that is

not understood by those who are against the modern

hermeneutics Shahrur), allowing adultery, and

allowing women to only dress in bikinis. The

deviation does not get there, Shahrur’s hermeneutics

make there are two words

“al-Nisā’” in al-Muṣḥaf

al-Sharīf which means men, as well as “the concept

of Islam and Faith” (consider Muslims for people

who simply believe in God who is the most single

and absolute, final day and righteous deeds, without

having to believe in the Prophet Muhammad).

For

further explanation, so as not to misunderstand,

please see: Muammad Sharr, al-Islām wa al-

Insān: Min Natā’ij al-Qirā’ah al-Mu’āṣirah,

(Beirut: Dr al-Sq, 2016).

What is clear, Shahrur cannot be said to be a

sunnah destroyer, only because of his statement

about the Prophet’s hadith which took past settings,

and certain places (read: the Arabian peninsula). So

many of the Prophet’s hadiths are no longer relevant,

due to their temporal nature. In fact, in the book “al-

Kitāb wa al-Qur’ān”, Shahrur asserted that he did

not mean at all to reject the Sunnah. It’s just that it

puts the Sunnah proportionally and critically.

Then Shahrur also never allows adultery, he only

says that sexual relations between unmarried men

and women are forbidden (haram), and the

community cannot punish whips when there are no

four witnesses at least. For bikini issues, need

separate discussion and writing to discuss the issue

of women’s clothing based on Shahrur’s

interpretation. But clearly, Shahrur has no intention

to allow naked women for example. And clearly, the

local wisdom of the community is also a basis for

legal consideration. Then for the problem there are

two words “al-Nisā’” which can mean the men, is in

QS. al-Azb: 55 and al-Nr: 31. According to an

Arabic grammar lecturer, Dr. Muammad ‘Ind

Sulaimn, the interpretation of Shahrur can be

justified. Because, etymologically, the word “al-

Nisā’” is indeed possible to designate the meaning

of a men, and in the context of the divine verse

structure it also demands to be given meaning as a

men. See, facebook Muammad ‘Ind Sulaimn on

June 15, 2017.

Today, Shahrur became a famous reformist

thinker. Often Shahrur is invited to attend scientific

forums, in the electronic mass media such as

newspaper or magazine, radio and television

stations. Example, the TV program “la’allahum

ya’qilūn” (so they can think) which was broadcast

during the Ramadan month of 2018 is a continuation

of a series of programs related to modern Qur’an

Hermeneutics that was broadcast during the month

of Ramadan in 2017 “al-Naba’ al-‘Aẓīm” (TV

program “al-Naba’ ‘al-‘Aẓīm” [great news] Dr.

Muhammad Shahrur, broadcast by the Rotana

Khalijia channel, was made into a book in three

Modern Qur’anic Hermeneutics: A Case Study on the Controversy of Shahrur’s thought of Religious Reform in Media

2003

parts with the title according to the TV program,

published by Hattlan Media and Hattpost). This was

because at the request of the public. Shahrur

explained all his thoughts rationally and intact,

especially regarding hermeneutic methods and

interpretive products which had been considered

wrong by religious experts and jurists. Starting at

this time many Muslim communities have accepted

Shahrur's offer of modern Qur’anic hermeneutics

approaches, rather than interpretive approaches and

products that have been present and developed. We

can clearly see the comparison of the audience

between the programs delivered by Dr. Muhammad

Shahrur who greatly emphasized reason in

understanding divine verses, with a series of

religious programs starring Shaykh al-Azhar

Ah}mad al-T}ayyib that greatly accentuated the text

rather than reason. Equally in 30 episodes, the

Ramadan program, starring Shaykh al-Azhar

Ah}mad al-T}ayyib was around 18,751 spectators,

while the Ramadan program, starring Shahrur, was

around 1,553,453 spectators. This shows the victory

of “reason” over “text”.

This is all evidence that the community has

begun to accept its contemporary hermeneutic

products, Shahrur opened an official website on

contemporary hermeneutics methods and products,

on the website there is a question and answer

column directly with Shahrur. All negative features

of Shahrur’s contemporary hermeneutic products

cannot be justified at all, many thoughts of Shahrur’s

hermeneutics are read partially.

For those who are pro for contemporary

hermeneutic products, among them there are those

who call Shahrur as Immanuel Kant in the Arab

world, or Martin Luther in Islam, as the book written

by Shakib Halaq regarding the thoughts of

Muhammad Shahrur in French

(https://almasdare.com/68091).

Therefore, while the use of contemporary

hermeneutics in order to find objectivity,

significance, and relevance of objects with context,

there is no obstacle to applying modern

hermeneutics in different contexts, even though it

must intersect with existing interpretation products.

A scientific method that corrects itself. Shahrur

does not find it difficult to improve his ideas. The

holiness of al-Muṣḥaf’s text is because it is a living

text for living people. What is required of the

modern Qur’anic interpretation of Shahur is to see

the credibility and relevance of the text, to say the

great truths of God (ṣadaqallāh al-‘aẓīm). The

application of divine revelation in the era of the

Prophet and companions is the only example. How

do these early generations act with absolute divine

revelations to be applied to relative reality. One of

the goals of contemporary reading Muhammad

Shahrour is to move the center of religion from the

seventh century to be adjusted according to era, tools

and epistemology. Traditional reading of religious

texts keeps us away from reality.

4 CONCLUSION

Whatever and however type of text, it must be

constructed by three patterns, namely the author of

text, text, and the reader or listener. From this it is

understandable, every time the reader examines the

text, he will automatically use all the knowledge he

has to understand the text being studied. If he does

not do it, he has paralyzed his own reason, so that he

cannot understand the meaning of the text being

studied at all.

Based on research related to public acceptance of

Shahrur’s contemporary reading in electronic media,

the conclusion of this article confirms several things,

that people begin to accept modern interpretations of

the Qur’an. This is normal. Because, the method of

reading the Shahrur is unique and rational. Shahrur’s

method of interacting with divine verses seeks to

take off subjectivity, and also attempts to capture the

mind’s ideas objectively from the divine text. Even

though later this interpretation will fall relatively, so

it is still open to reinterpretation. But at least it can

be able to allow the space of discourses in the divine

texts to talk about themselves.

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Modern Qur’anic Hermeneutics: A Case Study on the Controversy of Shahrur’s thought of Religious Reform in Media

2005