This axis brings together 1 locus of 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
{ وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا فَابْعَثُوا حَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهَا إِنْ يُرِيدَا إِصْلَاحًا يُوَفِّقِ اللَّهُ بَيْنَهُمَا }
Reader’s Answer
Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Qur’an 4:35 in interpreting marital discord and its treatment?
Shahrur employs the verse to argue that “discord” (shiqāq) is not merely a passing disagreement, but a disagreement coupled with effort and striving; thus, when there is fear that it may arise between the spouses, the verse sets forth the path of arbitration, with an arbiter from the husband’s family and an arbiter from the wife’s family, while making reconciliation contingent on the will to reform. This states Shahrur’s way of reading the verse as presented in the excerpt; it is not an independent assertion of the verse’s meaning or a judgment on the validity of this linguistic definition.
In discussing qiwāma and the distinction between discord and separation, Shahrur states that discord in Qur’an 4:35 is “disagreement with effort and striving.”
Excerpt and Location
Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 250.
Limits of the Reading
- The excerpt establishes Shahrur’s definition of discord and his citation of the arbitration verse in this context, but it breaks off after the beginning of another citation from Sūrat al-Anfāl; it therefore does not establish the remainder of his linguistic argument or the details of his comparison between discord and separation.
- This excerpt alone is insufficient to establish that discord is a defined “stage” in the progression of marital conflict; what it establishes is his description of it as disagreement with effort and striving.
- The excerpt offers no independent ruling on the conditions, powers, or outcome of the arbitrators’ intervention.
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Brief Reading
Shahrur cites it as evidence that discord is a stage of conflict marked by striving, and that its remedy is arbitration by both sides.
Axes
- Legislative
- Political and social
Related Concepts
- Discord: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It forms part of the regulation of family and social dispute resolution.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Loci of Use
- Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 250: He cites it as evidence that discord is a stage of conflict marked by striving, and that its remedy is arbitration by both sides.
- Concept: discord
- Function of the verse here: support
- Textual excerpt: “The two terms occur in the verses on qiwāma, where discord appears in His—Exalted is He—saying: { وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا … }”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.