This axis brings together 1 instance of the 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
Indeed, those who exchange the covenant of God and their oaths for a small price …
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur place Al Imran 77, and what does its invocation establish in his discussion of the marital covenant?
Shahrur invokes the verse in his discussion of the marital covenant after depicting a covenant to which the spouses commit themselves publicly before witnesses. Its function in his argument is to warn against breaking this covenant; he then draws from the gravity of the covenant conclusions concerning the inadmissibility of representation in it, the possibility of divorce when fulfillment becomes impossible, and the equality of the spouses in seeking it.
Shahrur places the verse within his presentation of the marital covenant as God’s covenant, to which the spouses commit themselves before those present and the witnesses, and invokes it as a warning to those who break covenants and oaths. In Shahrur’s argument, the verse serves to underscore each spouse’s responsibility to uphold the covenant, as part of his reasoning for the impermissibility of representation in the covenant, for divorce when fulfillment becomes impossible, and for the equality of the spouses in the right to seek it.
Citation and Location
Islam and Faith — p. 114.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not establish that the verse was revealed concerning the marriage contract, or that its original meaning is confined to it; what is established is Shahrur’s manner of employing it within his argument about the marital covenant.
- The citation does not state that “God’s covenant” and “oaths” are synonymous, nor does it state a semantic distinction between them; no such claim should therefore be attributed to him.
- The citation does not establish that the verse prohibits divorce; rather, Shahrur presents divorce as a way out when fulfillment of the covenant becomes impossible.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
The verse appears here to affirm the inviolability of breaking a covenant, and Shahrur reads it in the context of the spouses’ commitment to what they contracted before witnesses.
Axes
- Legislative
- Human and Ethical
Related Concepts
- Fulfilling the covenant: 2
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to the concept of fulfilling the covenant as an ethical foundation governing the contractual relationship.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Contexts of Use
- Islam and Faith, p. 114: He makes it a warning to the spouses against breaking the marital covenant after they have sworn it before witnesses.
- Concept: Fulfilling the covenant
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “The punishment of one who breaks God’s covenants and oaths: {Indeed, those who exchange the covenant of God and their oaths for a small price …} (Al Imran 77).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.