Formulation of the claim
Synchronic reading differs from historical reading because it looks at the text in its linguistic structure as it appears at the moment of reading, not through the course of its reception and interpretation over time.
Explanation
Synchronic reading focuses on the text in its present form and on the meanings it makes possible within its linguistic system. The historical perspective, by contrast, follows how Muslims understood it and how its readings and interpretations changed over time.
Its place in the book’s argument
This idea comes within the distinction between ways of reading the Qur’an that deal with the text in its immediate linguistic construction, and those that follow the formation of its meaning in history. It supports the direction that links understanding the Qur’an to looking at it in itself, while paying attention to what its successive readings have made of it.
What the atom does not say
This idea does not say that either method cancels out the other, nor does it offer a final judgment in favor of synchronic reading alone. It also does not spell out the results of each reading, but limits itself to stating the difference between the two angles of view.