This locus brings together two uses of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that arise around it.
The Text of the Verse as Cited
Men are maintainers of women because God has favored some of them over others and because they spend from their wealth
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does the verse occur, how does Shahrur distinguish between men and women in it, and what function does it serve in his critique of the juristic reading?
Shahrur links this passage to Women 34 and makes its context one of moral and material capacity and competence, rather than masculinity and femininity. He employs this to critique the jurists’ restriction of the terms men and women to males and females, and the resulting understanding of qiwāma.
Shahrur cites the verse as Qur’an, Women, verse 34, in the context of his discussion of qiwāma. He holds that “men” and “women” in this passage do not refer unconditionally to males and females; rather, qiwāma is connected to moral and material capacity and competence. It thus includes those of both sexes who possess these capacities, as opposed to those of both sexes whose capacities are lesser. Shahrur uses this distinction to critique the juristic confinement of these terms to masculinity and femininity, maintaining that this restriction has led to inequitable fatwas against women. He states that the terms men and women have both a general and a specific meaning, and considers the context of the verse to determine the meaning intended here.
Citation and Location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 503.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation establishes Shahrur’s reading of this passage and his critique of the jurists, but does not establish a detailed presentation of particular juristic views.
- This citation alone does not warrant inferring an independent ruling concerning every use of the terms men and women in the Qur’an.
- The explanation is limited to qiwāma as Shahrur treats it in this excerpt.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
Shahrur critiques the traditional reading that confines qiwāma to sex, restoring it to moral and material competence.
Axes
- Political and social
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Qiwāma: 3
- Striking: 1
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It is connected to redefining family authority outside inherited conceptions.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Critique of tradition: 1
Contexts of Use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 503: He critiques the jurists’ interpretation, which confined men and women to males and females, and restores qiwāma to moral and material competence rather than sex.
- Concept: qiwāma
- Function of the verse here: critique of tradition
- Textual citation: “Thus this term was taken … in its specific meaning … in His saying, exalted be He, {Men are maintainers of women …}”
- Corresponding traditional reading: the jurists confined “men” to males and “women” to females, making qiwāma the authority of the male over the female
- Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence: It links the verse to the possibility of qiwāma being transferred and to a reinterpretation of striking as a measure concerning qiwāma rather than physical harm.
- Concept: qiwāma
- Function of the verse here: interpretation of qiwāma
- Corresponding traditional reading: interpreting striking as physical harm within a marital relationship of fixed authority
Related Books
This page is presented within the general methodology for constructing the atlas.