Formulation of the Claim
The Qur’an presents Abraham as a foundational construction that gathers multiple elements into a new religious formulation.
Explanation
Abraham appears in the Qur’anic text not merely as a narrative figure, but as an axis around which meanings are arranged that go beyond the individual story. Through this arrangement, Abraham becomes a unifying element within Arkoun’s conception of the Qur’an, where he comes forward as a model that founds a complex religious meaning.
This construction derives its value from the fact that it links Abraham’s presence to a religious innovation within the Qur’an itself, not merely to the retrieval of an earlier legacy. Arkoun therefore understands this presence as a foundational formulation that reorganizes meaning around Abraham’s name and function.
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This atom falls within the reading that treats the Qur’an as a text that produces new semantic structures, not merely as a compilation of disparate materials. It is close to the book’s theses that trace how religious meaning takes shape through major figures and axes, including Abraham, within the horizon of reconstructing the early Islamic conception.
Limits of the Claim
This atom should not be taken to say that the Qur’an presents a complete historical biography of Abraham, or that it reduces his presence to a single simple function. What is meant here is his structural place within Qur’anic discourse as Arkoun reads it.
Brief Evidence Passage
The Qur’an presents Abraham as a foundational construction that gathers multiple elements into a new religious formulation. He does not appear only as a narrative figure, but as an axis around which meanings are arranged that go beyond the individual story. In this way, Abraham becomes a unifying element within Arkoun’s conception of the Qur’an, and a model that founds a complex religious meaning.
Nearby Links
- the Qur’an
- Abraham