Al-Nisa' 15

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This locus brings together 7 instances 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

And those of your women who commit sexual indecency, call four witnesses against them …

Reader’s answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur read Qur’an 4:15, and how does he relate it to zina and to proving sexual indecency?

Shahrur reads the verse as a ruling specifically concerning what he calls “sexual indecency between women” or “lesbianism,” rather than a ruling on zina. He therefore rejects the view that Qur’an 24:2 abrogated it, and makes the application of the verse’s ruling conditional upon the testimony of four witnesses. This identification of the act, and its connection to non-abrogation, is Shahrur’s own interpretation of the verse, not a conclusion compelled by the text of the verse alone.

Shahrur states that Qur’an 4:15 speaks “exclusively of an indecency between women,” calls it “lesbianism,” and makes its punishment confinement in houses after the testimony of four witnesses has been completed. On the basis of this identification, Shahrur distinguishes between the indecency mentioned in Qur’an 4:15 and zina; accordingly, he rejects regarding the verse on flogging the female and male fornicator in Qur’an 24:2 as abrogating Qur’an 4:15 and 16.

Source and location

The Book and the Qur’an — p. 385.

Limits of the reading

  • This page documents Shahrur’s reading as presented in his source and does not assess the extent of its agreement with other exegetical traditions or legal schools.
  • The condition of four witnesses cannot, on the basis of this citation alone, be turned into a detailed procedural account of how testimony is given or of the standard of publicity.
  • The pairing of verses 15 and 16 in Shahrur’s discussion is part of his exegetical construction; yet it alone does not suffice to establish all the legal conclusions he may derive from it elsewhere.

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Brief reading

Shahrur uses it to distinguish women’s sexual indecency from zina and to link its ruling to a particular method of proof.

Axes

  • Legislative
  • Human and ethical
  • Linguistic and semantic
  • Sexual indecency: 4
  • Lesbianism: 3
  • Proving sexual indecency: 2
  • Women: 2

Its place in the conceptual network

It is connected to distinguishing terms and to the limits of sexual indecency in the domain of women.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Example: 2
  • Foundation: 2
  • Distinction: 1
  • Support: 1
  • Critique of tradition: 1

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • Concerns women’s sexual indecency
  • Linked to a specific mode of proof
  • Present in the distinction of terms

Instances of use

  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 385: He assigns it specifically to indecency between women and makes its punishment and evidentiary requirements distinct from zina, rejecting its inclusion under abrogation.
    • Concept: Lesbianism
    • Function of the verse here: Distinction
    • Textual citation: “Verse 15 speaks exclusively of an indecency between women … that is, what we today call ‘lesbianism.’”
    • Corresponding traditional reading: Those who uphold abrogation
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 395: He considers it a text specifically concerning indecency between females and uses it as an example of a new ruling through which the matter of indecencies in this domain was closed.
    • Concept: Lesbianism
    • Function of the verse here: Example
    • Textual citation: “He added a new indecency that does not exist in Moses, namely lesbianism … {And those of your women who commit sexual indecency …} (Al-Nisa’ 15)”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 57: He uses it to affirm that calling for witnesses means requesting witnesses present at the incident, not people killed in a battle.
    • Concept: Proving sexual indecency
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: “{And those women who commit sexual indecency … call four witnesses against them from among you} (Al-Nisa’ 15).”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 136: He cites it to explain that ityan denotes an act issuing from within the body or the self, rather than from outside it.
    • Concept: Sexual indecency
    • Function of the verse here: Example
    • Textual citation: “And His saying: {And those women who commit sexual indecency among your women …} (Al-Nisa’ 15)”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 234: He makes it a basis for addressing public sexual indecency among women and maintains that punishment requires public testimony, not mere circumstantial indications.
    • Concept: Sexual indecency
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual citation: “In reliance on His—exalted be He—saying: {And those women who commit sexual indecency among your women …} (Al-Nisa’ 15)”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 234: He understands the verse to mean that the punishment for public female homosexuality is house confinement or detention until God provides a way, rather than beating or killing.
    • Concept: Sexual indecency
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual citation: “In the case of public female homosexuality, society has the right to intervene with punishment in reliance on His—exalted be He—saying … Thus, the punishment is house arrest or detention, or finding a way out.”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, pp. 242–243: He distinguishes among the uses of the word al-nisa’ to show that it is not confined to the meaning of wives, but may indicate those deferred or the plural of imra’a, depending on the context.
    • Concept: Women
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of tradition
    • Textual citation: “As for ‘women’ (al-nisa’), it occurs as the plural of ‘woman’ (imra’a) … and it occurs in the sense of ‘what was deferred’ (ma nusi’a).”

This page is presented within the overall methodology for constructing the atlas.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas