The Idea
This idea indicates that the believing community does not treat the founding text as ordinary material for reading; rather, it grants it a special status that places its meaning above ordinary debate. Sanctity here does not mean only reverence, but also the stabilization of the text’s referential authority and the granting to it of broad authority in directing understanding and conduct. Thus interpretation becomes intertwined with the formation of sanctity itself.
Concise Formulation
The interpreting community: clothed the text with sanctity and absolute referential authority
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim occupies an important place in the structure of the argument, because it explains how the authority of the text is formed within the religious domain. When the community clothes the text with sanctity and absolute referential authority, it becomes difficult to question interpretation or its plurality. The book therefore links the history of reception to the formation of textual authority, rather than linking the text and sanctity only as an immediate given.
Why It Matters
Its importance appears in that it explains why it is difficult to open the text to multiple readings when it is surrounded by absolute authority. Sanctity here is not merely a religious value, but also a mechanism for organizing meaning. This helps clarify Arkoun’s critique of interpretive rigidity, because he sees the suspension of questioning as beginning when the possibilities of reading are closed off before the text.
Reading Questions
- How does the community move from interpretation to the stabilization of sanctity?
- What is the effect of absolute referential authority on the plurality of possible readings of the text?
Documentation Level
High: the claim appears in a clear place in the book’s material.