This thematic entry brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the verse as cited
“Then, when she delivered her, she said, ‘My Lord, I have delivered a female’—and God knew best what she had delivered—‘and the male is not like the female.’”
Reader’s response
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ God’s statement, “and the male is not like the female,” in the discussion of preference between male and female?
Shahrur employs the verse as a text that, in his view, establishes the female’s preference over the male in this instance, thereby responding to the reading that considers the male superior. He does not merely attribute the statement to the belief of the wife of ʿImrān; rather, he argues that her preceding apology for having given birth to a female is incompatible with her being the one who declares the female’s superiority.
Shahrur holds that the phrase “and the male is not like the female” entails an explicit preference for the female over the male, and he likens its indicative force to the expression, “What is the earth compared with the Pleiades?” He presents a contrary interpretation that attributes the statement to the wife of ʿImrān, then rejects it on the grounds that her preceding words indicate her apology for having given birth to a female; it is therefore inconsistent for her to be the one affirming the female’s superiority. Shahrur’s reading here forms part of his objection to what he describes as the influence of a male-centered social spirit on juristic exegesis in the matter of preference.
Citation and location
Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 174.
Limits of the reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s interpretive position regarding the meaning of the phrase; it does not, by itself, establish that this meaning is the verse’s only interpretation or its most compelling interpretation.
- The citation does not provide details of the other exegetical approaches or their evidence; the disagreement should therefore not be reduced to merely two positions.
- The expression “in this instance” confines the presentation to the context of the verse as Shahrur uses it, and does not automatically turn it into a comprehensive ruling concerning all questions of differences or rulings between the sexes.
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Brief reading
Shahrur cites it to reread preference in context and to affirm that the text establishes the female’s preference here.
Themes
- Human and ethical
- Linguistic and semantic
Related concepts
- Preference: 2
- Female: 1
- Maleness: 1
- Context: 1
Its place in the conceptual network
It is connected to deconstructing the prevalent male-centered reading through the meaning of context.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Example: 1
Instances of use
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 174: He cites it to overturn the prevalent male-centered reading and affirm that the text itself establishes the female’s preference in this context.
- Concept: Preference
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual citation: “{ AND THE MALE IS NOT LIKE THE FEMALE } is an explicit preference for the female”
- Opposing traditional reading: Preference of the male over the female
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.