This axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
Or has He taken daughters from what He creates and singled you out for sons?
Reader’s Answer
The Question
Where does the verse occur in the evidence, what function does it serve in Shahrur’s argument, and does the evidence establish a distinction specific to it?
The verse occurs within a list of verses that bring together daughters, females, and angels. Shahrur uses this group before presenting his linkage of the “age of motherhood” to ancient religious conceptions featuring female images; the evidence does not offer an independent interpretation of the verse or distinguish it specifically from the other verses in the list.
Shahrur cites Az-Zukhruf 16 within a group of verses connected, in the context of his presentation, to daughters, the female, and angels, then links the age of motherhood to the presence of female images in ancient beliefs and civilizations.
The Evidence and Its Location
State and Society — p. 79.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence does not independently explain the meanings of the verse’s terms.
- The evidence does not state a specific semantic distinction between “daughters” and “females,” nor does it establish whether they are synonymous or not.
- The verse’s connection to the argument about the age of motherhood is through a group of evidentiary passages at this point, rather than through an expressly stated, singular interpretive function for the verse alone.
- The evidence does not establish that the verse itself concerns motherhood; this linkage occurs in Shahrur’s subsequent construction after citing the group of verses.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
The verse is used to support the presence of the image of motherhood and females in the ancient religious imagination.
Axes
- Human and Ethical
- Political and Social
Related Concepts
- Motherhood: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to the concept of motherhood as an entry point for understanding ancient social representations.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
Usage Locations
- State and Society, p. 79: He uses it among evidentiary passages for the presence of the image of daughters and females in the ancient religious imagination associated with motherhood.
- Concept: motherhood
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual evidence: “- {Or has He taken daughters from what He creates and singled you out for sons?} (Az-Zukhruf 16)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.