Joseph 31

3 min read

This locus brings together 2 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 they cut their hands

Reader’s answer

Question

How does Muhammad Shahrur read God’s saying, “And they cut their hands,” in Joseph 31, and what substantiates his use of the verse?

Shahrur cites the verse to argue that the verb “they cut” describes hands being injured by knives in a context of astonishment and distraction, rather than laying down a legal ruling or specifying the extent of the injury. He makes it an example of the Qur’anic use of cutting with a sharp instrument, within his broader discussion of the meaning of “cutting.”

Shahrur understands the scene in Joseph 31 to mean that the women were cutting or peeling food with knives, then became distracted when Joseph appeared and cut their hands while unaware. Shahrur employs the verse as an example of cutting with sharp instruments occurring in the Revelation in the form “cutting,” and presents this example while asking where amputation occurs in the Qur’an.

Evidence and location

Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 114.

Limits of the reading

  • The verse occurs in a narrative context describing the incident involving the women; it is not a legal text on punishments.
  • The direct evidence establishes Shahrur’s interpretation of the scene involving knives and its inclusion within his discussion of “amputation,” but the excerpt itself does not set out his full argument concerning the theft verse.
  • The excerpt from The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought states that Shahrur opposes interpreting the cutting of the thief’s hand as amputation, but it breaks off before presenting the details of the argument based on Joseph 31; therefore, no detailed connection beyond what is explicitly stated is attributed to him here.

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Brief reading

Shahrur uses the verse for a linguistic distinction regarding the meaning of cutting, opening up a reading that differs from the common understanding of complete amputation.

Axes

  • Linguistic and semantic
  • Legal
  • Language: 2
  • Cutting: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It is connected to cutting as a term that requires semantic precision within the text.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Distinction: 1
  • Example: 1

Instances of use

  • The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought, p. 32: He cites it to make a linguistic distinction between the intensified form of “cutting” and cutting in the theft verse, in order to establish a difference in meaning.
    • Concept: language
    • Function of the verse here: distinction
    • Textual evidence: “as in His saying: {… And they cut their hands …} (Joseph 31)”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 114: He uses it as an example that “cutting the hand” may mean a wound or partial cutting rather than complete amputation, not severing the hand at the wrist.
    • Concept: cutting
    • Function of the verse here: example
    • Textual evidence: “{ … Then, when they saw him, they were awestruck by him and cut their hands } (Joseph 31).”

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

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas