This thematic axis brings together 1 locus where this verse is used in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Text of the Verse as Cited
Thus he lured them by deception. Then, when they tasted the tree, their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to cover themselves with leaves from Paradise. And their Lord called to them, “Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is to you both a manifest enemy?”
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does Shahrur employ Al-A’raf 22, and what does he establish through it in the context of the story of Adam?
Shahrur employs the verse in his discussion of the exposure of the private parts after the tree, linking it to the search for something to cover them with leaves from Paradise, within the observation that the verses do not mention clothing or a garment actually existing in Paradise.
Shahrur maintains that the verses about Paradise, at this point in his presentation, do not mention the actual existence of a robe or clothing there; rather, they mention the exposure of Adam’s and his wife’s private parts and their covering themselves with leaves from Paradise. Shahrur makes the exposure of the private parts and the recourse to leaves from Paradise to cover them a link between the first act of disobedience and the subsequent search for a covering.
Evidence and Location
Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 272.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence does not establish that Shahrur invokes the verse specifically together with Taha 121; this connection should therefore not be included in the answer.
- The evidence does not provide an independent terminological distinction among terms such as “robe,” “clothing,” and “covering”; rather, it is limited to denying that clothing or a robe is actually mentioned in Paradise and to describing the act of covering with leaves from Paradise.
- The evidence does not establish a broader judgment concerning the nature of Paradise or the meaning of the private parts beyond this argumentative context.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
In Shahrur, the verse occurs in the context of the story of Adam to indicate the moment the private parts are exposed and the beginning of the attempt at covering.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Human and ethical
Related Concepts
- Clothing: 2
- Covering: 1
- Private parts: 1
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It is connected to the trajectory of clothing as an extension of the idea of concealing nakedness.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Context: 1
Usage Loci
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 272: He invokes it together with Taha 121 to affirm the moment the private parts are exposed and the beginning of the attempt at covering in the story of Adam.
- Concept: clothing
- Function of the verse here: context
- Textual evidence: “Adam and his wife began to cover themselves with leaves from Paradise after their private parts became apparent to them (Taha 121, Al-A’raf 22)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.