Formulation of the claim
Prophethood is understood as a historical, psychological, and social phenomenon.
Explanation
For Arkoun, prophethood is not reduced to an abstract theological meaning; rather, it is read within the conditions of history and the psychological and social dimensions connected to it. It is therefore treated as a function or an experience that appears within a human group and within a specific cultural context.
This understanding shifts prophethood from the sphere of traditional acceptance alone to the sphere of analysis, which links it to historical structure and collective representations. It does not deny its religious dimension, but it describes the way of viewing it within Arkoun’s critical project.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom comes within Arkoun’s effort to rethink the concepts that ground Islamic discourse, by subjecting them to historical and anthropological scrutiny rather than merely repeating their inherited definitions. Prophethood here is a telling example of this shift in perspective, because it is placed among the phenomena that can be understood through the interaction of history, psyche, and society.
This formulation is connected to what surrounds it in the book, namely the attempt to broaden the field of study to include what was considered beyond critical scrutiny. Dealing with prophethood in this way is consistent with Arkoun’s tendency to dismantle closed conceptions of the sacred, meaning, and foundation.
Limits of the claim
This atom should not be taken as a denial of prophethood or as reducing it to a single final interpretation; rather, it is a description of Arkoun’s way of placing it within the horizon of historical and social analysis.